Punch - up in Piestany The Punch - up in Piestany was an infamous bench - clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany , Czechoslovakia on January 4 , 1987 . The brawl resulted in the disqualification of both nations , which caused the Canadians to lose a chance at the gold medal , while the Soviets had already been eliminated from medal contention . The brawl is famous for officials having turned off the arena lights in a desperate attempt at ending the 20 minute melee . Much of the blame for the brawl was placed on Norwegian referee Hans Rønning , who was selected for the game based on his perceived " neutrality " rather than experience . Following the brawl , the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) suspended the players involved in the brawl for 18 months , and the coaches for three years . The players ' suspensions were later reduced to six months on appeal , allowing several players from both teams to return for the 1988 tournament in Moscow . Both nations won medals in 1988 , as Canada won the gold medal while the Soviets won silver . The brawl dramatically raised the profile of the World Junior Hockey Championships in Canada , which now attracts a level of attention similar to that of the Stanley Cup Finals . The fervent patriotism displayed by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation analyst Don Cherry in the aftermath of the brawl led to a sharp rise in his own popularity with Canadian fans . Several players in that game went on to play in the National Hockey League , including Brendan Shanahan , Theoren Fleury , Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny . Hockey ' s " Cold War " . Canada and the Soviet Union had engaged in an increasingly intense rivalry since the Soviets first emerged on the international scene by winning the 1954 World Hockey Championships . From 1963 until 1983 , the Soviets captured 17 World Championship titles amidst repeated accusations from Canada that their teams were made up of professionals masquerading as amateurs . The accusations eventually led to Canada boycotting the 1972 Olympic hockey tournament . Finally , the 1972 Summit Series was organized , pitting the Soviet all - stars against Canada ' s NHL all - stars . The eight game series was won by Canada 4 – 3 – 1 as Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the deciding contest . The Soviets handily won a second Summit Series against World Hockey Association all - stars in 1974 . The series led to the creation of the Canada Cup , a tournament held five times between 1976 and 1991 . Canada won four titles , losing to the Soviet Union in 1981 . Also from 1976 until 1991 , top Soviet club teams toured the NHL in what became known as the Super Series . The World Junior Championships were formally created in 1977 , and to that point had been dominated by the Soviet Union with seven championships . Until 1982 , Canada sent either their Memorial Cup champion or an all - star team . 1982 was the first time Canada sent a national junior team , under the auspices of Hockey Canada ' s " Program of Excellence " . The Canadians won that tournament , and again in 1985 . The " Cold War " culminated in 1987 with Rendez - vous ' 87 , as the Soviet national team played a two game series against the NHL all - stars in place of the NHL All - Star Game . The series was split , with the NHL winning the first game 4 – 3 , and the Soviets the second , 5 – 3 . The 1987 Canada Cup followed , and was won by Canada two - games - to - one , with the third game being described as the greatest in hockey history . The winning goal was scored by Mario Lemieux on a pass from Wayne Gretzky . Game summary . In 1987 , the World Junior Hockey Championship was a round robin tournament . The teams with the top three records won the gold , silver and bronze medals . Finland had finished their schedule with a 5 – 1 – 1 record to lead the tournament . Canada entered the game with a 4 – 1 – 1 record , and had already been assured the bronze medal . A victory against the Soviets would have guaranteed Canada the silver , and a victory by more than five goals would have won the gold medal . The Soviet Union , entering the game with a 2 – 3 – 1 record , had already been eliminated from medal contention . The match - up between the two squads was deliberately scheduled to be the final game of the tournament , as organizers expected at least one of the teams would be playing for the gold medal . The IIHF assigned Norway ' s Hans Rønning as the referee for this game . The assignment was based on his neutrality , despite being inexperienced officiating at the international level . Upon hearing of Rønning ' s assignment , Canadian representative Dennis McDonald sought out IIHF supervisor of officials , René Fasel , hoping to convince him to select a different official . Aside from the question of his competence to call a game of this magnitude , the Canadians were also concerned about Rønning following an earlier game in the tournament he officiated between Canada and the United States . A skirmish had broken out during the pre - game warm - ups against the Americans three days earlier . The officials were not on the ice when the melee occurred , however Rønning randomly ejected one player from each team for the brawl . Canadian Captain Steve Chiasson was thus barred from the game against the Americans , as well as the following game for being assessed a match penalty . Unable to convince IIHF officials to change the assignment , McDonald was concerned about how the game would be played . Rønning ' s inexperience at that level was later identified as a significant cause of the brawl , as several stick infractions by both sides had gone uncalled , causing anger to rise between both teams . Off the opening faceoff , Sergei Shesterikov elbowed Canadian Dave McLlwain , who responded by cross - checking the Soviet player . Neither player was assessed a penalty . Five minutes in , Theoren Fleury scored the opening goal for Canada . In celebrating the goal , Fleury slid across centre ice on his knees , acting as if his stick was a machine gun , pretending to " fire " on the Soviet bench . Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president Murray Costello later said " It was an inflammatory act , completely unnecessary , lacking any sort of respect . " The first period continued in the same fashion , both teams repeatedly slashing their opponents and Canada leading 3 – 1 . Interviewed by the CBC during the intermission , Fleury stated " The boys are up for the gold medal . Everybody is so tense . Tempers are flying . It ' s really tough out there . . . I can ' t believe it . It ' s so tense . It ' s so tense . " Early in the second period , the game was paused for a moment of silence in memory of four Swift Current Broncos players who were killed when their team bus crashed in Saskatchewan five days previous . There was a drop in intensity in the five minutes of play that followed . However , just after the six - minute mark , following a minor scuffle that sent two players from each team to the penalty box , the teams resumed shoving and slashing at each other . Each team also scored a goal , giving Canada a 4 – 2 lead halfway through the game . The brawl . The brawl began off a face - off as Shesterikov collided with Everett Sanipass , which led to a fight between the two . Soviet player Pavel Kostichkin also leveled a two - handed slash at Fleury , leading to another fight . The battle quickly escalated into a line brawl involving all players on the ice for both teams . Returning from a commercial break , Canadian commentator Don Wittman understated the severity of the fighting by saying " well , we had a real skirmish just moments ago following a face - off . " Evgeny Davydov was the first player from either team to leave his bench to join the melee , prompting all players from both teams to leave their benches . The brawl was violent at times . Mike Keane paired off against Valeri Zelepukin , with the Canadian " fighting like it was for the world title " according to Fleury . In another fight , Vladimir Konstantinov leveled a head - butt that broke Greg Hawgood ' s nose . Brendan Shanahan later described it as " the greatest head - butt I ' ve ever seen . " Stephane Roy was pummeled by two Soviet players . The remaining players paired off as the officials attempted to break up the fighting . The players were involved in at least a dozen separate fights over the entire ice surface . Unable to control the situation , Rønning and his linesmen eventually left the ice under the orders of Czechoslovakian officials . In a desperate attempt at ending the brawl , tournament officials had the arena lights turned off , leaving the players to fight in the dark as the fans whistled loudly in disapproval of the entire situation . By the time the fights had finally broken up , the IIHF ordered the game suspended . Aftermath . The IIHF held an emergency meeting in an arena office to decide how to handle the incident . Each team was represented by a delegate , and led by IIHF President Günther Sabetzki . The delegates voted 8 – 1 in favour of expelling both teams from the tournament , the lone dissenting vote being that of Canada ' s Dennis McDonald . McDonald was incensed by the voting . Three nations — Finland , Czechoslovakia and Sweden — all stood to gain medal position by voting the two teams out . The Americans only promised support if other nations supported Canada , while Sabetzki could barely control his disdain for the Canadians . After voting to disqualify the two teams , officials still invited them to the tournament banquet and medal ceremony . McDonald stated the Canadians were not interested . Sabetzki and Czechoslovak officials responded by ordering the Canadian team out of the arena within half an hour . Upon leaving , the Canadians were met by armed soldiers , escorted across the border , and out of Czechoslovakia . The IIHF voided the standing of both teams , including individual statistics . In the words of McDonald , " it was like we were never here . " Both teams attempted to blame the other for allowing the violence to get out of hand . Soviet official Anatoly Kastriukov blamed a Canadian trainer for igniting hostilities by running over to the Soviet bench and " pummeling " one of their assistant coaches . The Canadians , meanwhile , pointed to Davydov being the first off the bench as being the spark that lead to the brawl . CBC commentator Don Cherry was one of the first to float a conspiracy theory that the Soviets had done so as a deliberate attempt to have Canada disqualified , and therefore lose a medal . Alan Eagleson suggested that the IIHF ' s decision would have been different had it been the Soviets in contention for a medal , and not the Canadians . The IIHF voted to suspend all players involved from competing in international events for 18 months , and all coaches for three years . The player suspensions were later cut to six months , which allowed eligible players such as Fleury and Mogilny to participate in the 1988 tournament . An 18 - month ban would have also prevented any of the players from participating in the 1988 Winter Olympics . The IIHF also considered demoting both teams to the B pool as further punishment but backed off as the next year ' s tournament was set to be held in the Soviet Union , while Canada represented the only media revenue the tournament generated at the time . Among the Canadians , only two players were not suspended : Jimmy Waite and Pierre Turgeon . Waite felt he could not risk being ejected for fighting under the belief that the game would resume , and that the Canadian backup goaltender , Shawn Simpson , was injured . Steve Nemeth would later apply for early reinstatement arguing that he was not fighting , but trying to help break the players apart . Many of their teammates never forgave Nemeth and Turgeon for failing to defend their teammates . In the words of Everett Sanipass : " I ' m looking for someone to help ( Stephane ) Roy out and I look over at the bench . There ' s this dog Turgeon , just sitting there , with his head down . He wouldn ' t get his ass off the bench . . . just sitting there when everyone ' s off the Soviet bench and at least one of our guys is in real trouble getting double - teamed . " Legacy . At the 1988 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Moscow , Canada and the Soviet Union won the gold and silver medals , respectively , as both teams ' rosters featured several players from the 1987 tournament . Since the 1987 tournament , the two nations have maintained their dominance of the tournament . Canada has won 12 gold medals between 1988 and 2008 , while the Soviet Union , and its successor , Russia , has won five . Hans Rønning ' s assignment to officiate the game was viewed by other on - ice officials as a nod to organizers from Lillehammer , Norway , who had just won the right to host the 1994 Winter Olympics and were observing the game . At age 38 , Rønning expected the 1987 tournament to be among his last international assignments . Rønning never officiated another international game , though he did referee two more seasons in Norway before retiring . In Canada , public sentiment widely supported the players . Opinion polls taken in the aftermath of the brawl saw 87 – 92 % of respondents supporting their actions . Don Cherry ' s passionate defence of the Canadian team led to a sharp increase in his popularity . Toronto Maple Leafs owner , Harold Ballard had special gold medals made up for the Canadian team . Ballard stated that " I believe the Canadian boys deserve the gold medal and I ' m going to see to it that they get them . Imagine how these Russians engineered this whole thing over there just because they ' ve got a lousy team and were scared to go home finishing in sixth place . " Canadian hockey officials criticized the players for the brawl . In 2005 , the suggestion of a reunion for the 1987 team was met with uncomfortable silence and " I don ' t think so " from Hockey Canada officials . Immediately following the tournament , Canadian officials were seen as trying to distance themselves from the team : " The CAHA ( Canadian Amateur Hockey Association ) didn ' t do anything for these kids " , reporter Jim Cressman said . " These kids were good enough to make this team . They gave up their holidays , did their best , risked getting hurt and ended up on the wrong end of a bad decision - and the CAHA basically handed them their tickets . " Mike Smith was in the airport while the Canadian juniors were waiting for their flight , and took the opportunity to criticize them for their play at the tournament as well as the brawl . Before Piestany , the junior tournament had a small following in Canada . Only one Canadian reporter flew overseas to cover the 1987 tournament . That changed in 1988 , as the major Canadian media outlets all sent reporters to Moscow . The tournament ' s prestige in Canada continued to grow . By the 2005 tournament , over 100 Canadian reporters covered the tournament in Grand Forks , North Dakota . The brawl was seen as an embarrassment by Soviet officials who prided themselves on the discipline of their teams . A senior official , Anatoly Kostryukov said that the " ice hockey department and the Ice Hockey Federation of the USSR will soon analyze the Soviet team ' s performance at the championship , and those guilty of the incident will be strictly punished " . The Soviet media agency , Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was highly critical of the coaching staff ' s inability to control the players . Head coach Vladimir Vasiliev was dismissed as the coach of the Soviet national junior team as a result of Piestany . Players . Of the 20 players who dressed for Canada in that game , 19 went on to play in the National Hockey League . In 1987 , only one Soviet had ever played in the NHL , Victor Nechayev . The players for this Soviet team would be among the first wave of Eastern Bloc players to arrive in the NHL with the fall of the Iron Curtain . Five of them would ultimately win the Stanley Cup .