For the first time in department history, NYPD and LAPD hockey players will share the same sheet of ice, squaring off Saturday at 3:45 p.m. at The Rinx in Hauppauge on Long Island. It's a cross-country first that pits two police forces known more for squad cars than skate blades against each other in a matchup.
NYPD captain and hockey player George Antzoulis said he's curious to see how the two departments click once the puck drops. As reported by the New York Post, Antzoulis said he expects to see what kind of rivalry develops between the coasts. He's also hoping the first meeting won't be the last, telling the Post he hopes for a rematch in Los Angeles next year.
Getting to the rink at all is its own feat for some of these officers. Antzoulis said players from both teams will be working long days and nights before the game, and that some will go straight to the rink after a midnight shift — a scheduling scramble that echoes what he described from an earlier charity matchup, when a quotation reported by dailymail.com as reported by OutKick said, “Guys are missing work, missing overtime, missing things with their family, switching their tours around.”
Hitting Allowed, and a History of Fireworks
Saturday's game won't be a no-contact affair. Antzoulis said it will include hitting, and that a bigger hit could trigger a free-for-all — a warning that carries extra weight given his own history on the ice. In March, Antzoulis threw haymakers during an internationally viral line brawl at UBS Arena, the scene of the annual NYPD-FDNY charity game.
That game turned ugly fast. Per the same dailymail.com account, NYPD and FDNY players got into multiple brawls during the charity matchup, and the chaos was substantial enough to draw international attention. The on-ice temperature didn't stop the NYPD from walking away winners, beating FDNY 3-2 and earning its first win over the department in almost 10 years, according to a report from PIX11.
A Different Kind of Milestone
The NYPD-FDNY matchup has deep roots as a charity fixture — the March game marked its 52nd staging, per dailymail.com — with proceeds benefiting first responder, widow and orphan charities, PIX11 reported. An NYPD-LAPD game is a different kind of milestone.
Saturday's meeting at The Rinx is being billed as the first time the two departments have faced each other in department history, giving Long Island hockey fans a chance to watch a rivalry take shape in real time. Whether it carries the same physicality as the NYPD's recent games against FDNY remains to be seen, but Antzoulis made clear that contact will be part of the script.
