Jan. 4, 1987 Canada and USSR brawl to elimination from junior tournament
Both teams disqualified after 20-minute bench-clearing brawl
A 20-minute bench-clearing brawl against the Soviets ended Canada's hopes of winning the gold medal at the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piestany, Czechoslovakia.
Midway through the final game's second period, a fight between two players escalated into both teams emptying the benches and slugging it out, leaving the on-ice officials overwhelmed.
Seeing no way to stop the battle, the referee and linesmen left the ice and let the players slug it out.
At one point in the brawl, the house lights were turned off in an attempt to stop the fighting. But that didn't ease the tension and the brawl continued.
The fighting only stopped when players became exhausted and headed to the dressing rooms.
The aftermath of the Punch-up in Piestany, as it came to be known, resulted in both teams being disqualified from the tournament and the Canadians, who had been assured of the bronze medal, left with nothing.
Once all the suspensions were handed down, the team from Finland was awarded the gold medal.
Some of the notable players in the fight were Theoren Fleury and future Edmonton Oiler Luke Richardson for the Canadians, with Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny for the USSR.
The video shows the fisticuffs that resulted in the expulsion of the two teams. The story, by Al Nagy, aired on CBC Newsday Jan. 4, 1987.
Tonight, Team Canada will take on United States for the gold medal in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, starting at 5:30 p.m. MT.