Police say alcohol likely contributed to what's become a well-documented rink brawl in Saint John this past weekend.
There was a license for selling booze at the event at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena.
"The rink itself has never had a liquor license," says Dave Nicholson, rink manager at the Lord Beaverbrook Rink.
Nicholson says the Southern Stingers hockey team applied for the right to sell alcohol at the rink, last fall.
"They applied to the liquor commission, and jump through all the hoops and meet the requirements, and then the license is issued," says Nicholson.
CTV News was not able to make contact with the Southern Stingers for comment on Tuesday, but Nicholson said it will be up to the team to make a decision about selling alcohol in the future.
"The team itself has indicated they're going to be looking at increasing the security," says Nicholson.
Cell phone video of the brawl has gone viral. Major online sporting publications around the world have featured video and stories about the fight.
"In the past, something like that took place, it was talked about at 'Tims' the next morning, and then it was gone," says Nicholson.
Alcohol at sporting events has been an issue in venues big and small. Last fall, the Rogers Centre in Toronto stopped selling cans of beer, after cans were thrown at players on the baseball field.
Every venue has its own set of rules when it comes to the sale and consumption of alcohol.
As for the idea of banning alcohol from the rink?
"I think you're going to have the same problem anywhere you go where liquor is served," says Carla Ward.
"You just hope people are consuming things responsibility and not acting like idiots," says Len Falkenstein.
"It's just a matter of maybe keeping people informed about these kinds of incidents that cause trouble," says Harry Levesque.
The New Brunswick Junior Hockey League confirmed this afternoon that the Grand Lake Moose player involved in the brawl will be suspended for the entire 2017-18 season to come.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore.
