March 29, 2001: Tie Domi fights Flyers fan
It was a late-season spirited contest between the Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Philadelphia. Between two combatants, it got a bit out of hand.
Those two were Toronto’s Tie Domi and Philadelphia’s Chris Falcone.
Chris Falcone? Who?
For a few moments during the third period of the Leafs 2-1 win over the Flyers, these two would happen to meet in the most unlikely of places — the penalty box.
Two-minute minor penalties were given to both Domi and the Flyers Luke Richardson at 3:36 of the period, after a scrum involved Domi, Richardson and the Leafs Darcy Tucker. The Flyer faithful started to throw things at Domi in the penalty box, to which he responded with a water bottle squirt, then another.
At this point, Falcone became incensed and clawed towards the glass from his second row seat dividing the stands from the penalty box. After a right-hand swing at Domi missed and another Domi squirt landed, the glass gave way and Falcone tumbled into the box.
Falcone then pushed the NHL off-ice official and got into it with Domi, pushing him into the corner of the penalty box, while the fans cheered in both excitement and disbelief, chanting "Domi sucks" to a decibel level some rock bands would love to reach.
Linesman Kevin Collins had to separate the two and upon disengaging from the scrum, Falcone suffered a nice gash over his right eye. He was ushered off the rink by Philadelphia’s finest and issued a citation.
Post-fracas, the two men would actually talk some fifteen years later on 94WIP’s Morning Show where Domi would explain the events that happened after that mishap in the penalty box. Domi was promoting his book "Shift Work" and Falcone called into the show.
A quote from that conversation, courtesy of BarStool Sports: "We solved it like two street guys," Domi said. "No lawyers, no nothing. We shook on it. You [Falcone] came with your family to two playoff games in Toronto, I put you up here. Everything’s good now, I’m really glad it all worked out and people really have to know the truth on what happened. You’re a great guy and a family guy and I’m happy everything’s behind you."
You can relive that penalty box moment and insanity, from this YouTube clip below.
Only in Philadelphia…
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
