DURHAM, N.H. (AP) – Police arrested 90 people and twice fired pepper gas to disperse a bottle-throwing crowd of about 4,000 that spilled into downtown streets after New Hampshire lost the NCAA hockey championship game Saturday night.
The disturbance began shortly after the Wildcats lost to defending champion Minnesota, 5-1, in the nationally televised game in Buffalo, N.Y. It was more than two hours before they dispersed after the second gassing.
University spokeswoman Kim Billings confirmed the arrests, but didn’t know the charges or if any students were jailed overnight. She said 17 people also were treated at the scene for exposure to pepper gas.
Firefighters answered 21 calls, mostly for burning trash bins, and one burning couch, she said. She did not know if there was any property damage.
Billings said other university officials said the disturbance was worse than the one that followed the Wildcats’ loss to Maine in the title game in 1999.
“We are very disappointed in our students,” Billings said.
She said students will be brought before the student conduct system, and there “probably will be a number of suspensions.”
“It was an outrageous occurrence,” said Gregg Sanborn, executive assistant to the university president. “It seems to be a situation these days where it’s becoming part of the culture.”
Billings said there were 135 police officers, and they were prepared for a possible disturbance. Officers from other departments around the state were called in should there be a problem, and police met the crowd in riot gear – masks, helmets, clubs and shields.
The crush of students blocked traffic on the main street, and students threw bottles at police and threw fireworks; one bottle broke a store window. They also tried to tip over cars.
A bonfire burned in front of one fraternity house around the corner.
Police wrestled several people to the ground.
“I don’t know about tonight’s game, but I’m learning that in a riot, the best thing to be is sober,” freshman Dan Binette said.
Senior Tripper Sutton placed part of the blame on university officials.
“If they gave us a place to go, this wouldn’t happen,” he said. “The university owns all sorts of fields and buildings. They should have made this a special event and given us some place to go instead of the street.”
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