The National Hockey League is on hiatus for a few days as teams gear up for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, but there was still some hockey going on over the weekend including what should have been a friendly exhibition game between the NYPD and the FDNY.
The game wasn’t all that friendly though as both teams got physical with one another throughout the contest, and that would be true of the game from start to finish.
With only 30 seconds left on the clock in the game’s third and final period on Saturday night, Thomas Esposito of the FDNY and Ryan Dermody of the NYPD treated fans to what would prove to be the best tilt of the game. Right from the faceoff the two men squared off, dropping their gloves and their helmet’s as Paul “Biznasty” Bissonnette went wild in the booth while making the call.
In the early going it looked as though Dermody would get the best of his opponent, but a devastating right hand from Esposito would send the NYPD’s Dermody down in a heap. Although Dermody was still clinging to Esposito it was clear that he was seeing stars, and the officials on the ice made the right call stepping in to protect him from any further punishment.
Dermody was on shaky legs even when he got back to the NYPD bench, leaving absolutely no doubt about who walked away with the victory in this particular tilt.
Update: There was a devastating knockout just seconds later in the very same game!