There was a cleanup Thursday morning to rid Ste. Catherine St. of shattered glass after looters smashed the windows of some downtown businesses, including an SAQ outlet, following the Montreal Canadiens' 5-2 Game 7 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Montreal police made 41 arrests, including six minors, after about 50,000 hockey fans decked out in team colours poured into the downtown core Wednesday night to celebrate the Habs victory.
Post-game celebrations were exuberant, but remained family-friendly and under control until shortly before midnight.
The vandalism occurred after the Ste. Catherine St. area had already mostly emptied out, following a family-friendly scene where a young girl hoisted a makeshift Stanley Cup from atop her father's shoulders to the cheers of onlookers.
Some fans who had watched the game on giant HD screens at the Bell Centre joined with others who had emerged from pubs and bars and proceeded to taunt police officers and throw bottles.
A number of revellers and two officers suffered minor injuries.
Riot cops moved in to quell the disturbance, rattling their shields as a warning to the crowd.
They began blasting tear-gas canisters into the mob. As people coughed and scurried away, the police followed; slow crowd members were slammed repeatedly to prod them along. Whether they were looters or happy hockey fans, if they were there, they were hit repeatedly.
At an early-morning press conference on Thursday, police told reporters the vast majority of fans behaved well.
"It's only 500 people who become criminals. That's the problem," said Sylvain Brouillette, assistant director of operations for the Montreal police department.
Some business owners expressed fear that trouble may come again in the next round of playoff games.
"I'm very concerned about what's happening right now," said Jean-Jacques Trudel, manager of local business Layton Audio.
Arrests
Most of the 41 people was arrested on breaking and entering, mischief and public drunkenness charges and have been released, though several face more serious charges and remain behind bars.
They include:
- -Travis De Wolf, who is charged with assault on a police officer
- -Patrice Leveille, who is charged with armed assault
- -Martin Daoust Vilard , who is charged with armed assault. Vilard has a prior criminal assault record and pending cocaine charges.
Excitement, optimism
Aside from the post-game trouble, fans were satisfied with how Wednesday night unfolded.
"It was awesome!" one Habs devotee said of the team's performance.
The 5-2 triumph over the Penguins left many with the feeling that the bleu-blanc-rouge have benefitted from divine intervention in the playoff series.
"The hockey gods are with us this year," said one man.
The latest playoff upset has convinced many that Stanley Cup glory for the Canadiens isn't far off.
"We beat number one. We beat number two. We're going to win!" said one fan among a group of girls hoisting a homemade cup in the air.
With files from The Canadian Press
