Downtown Vancouver "descended into chaos" following the Canucks' loss to the Bruins in Stanley Cup Final Game Seven, with rioters "burning cars and looting stores and brawls and fights breaking out." Police made "dozens of arrests, but could not provide an exact number." Vancouver Police Constable Jana McGuiness "could not confirm any fatalities or whether any police officers were injured." She said that there were "unconfirmed reports of four stabbings." Police plan to set up a tip-line or e-mail address today "so people can send in footage of the violence." Mayor Gregor Robertson said that he was "disappointed at tonight's 'embarrassing' turn of events" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 6/16).
The mood inside Rogers Arena "turned ugly" during the postgame trophy presentations. That anger was "aimed mostly" at NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, whose "voice was drowned out by booing from many of the roughly 10,000 fans who remained." Several drinks were thrown onto the ice near where Bettman was standing (N.Y. TIMES, 6/16).
Robertson tweeted, “Surveying the damage downtown. Dedicated crews working hard to clean up and fix windows http://twitpic.com/5c9vpt.” Cubs VP/Ticket Sales & Service Colin Faulkner tweeted: “I was at that Hudson Bay buying expensive merchandise during the Van Olympics, now people are just walking out with merch for free.”
