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You might not expect a fight to break out when you head to a hockey game that’s being played for charity. However, we were treated to a very notable exception when members of the NYPD and the FDNY met on the ice for a game that ended with players from both teams trading blows after the benches cleared.
It’s been close to 60 years since some members of the New York City Fire Department decided to form a hockey team that also included a handful of police officers patrolling the beat in The Big Apple when it was formed in 1968.
The combined squad spent a few years facing off against college and semi-pro teams before the guys affiliated with the NYPD decided to form a team of their own. In 1974, those two squads met on the ice for the first time in a game where the FDNY secured a 4-2 victory at Abe Stark Arena on Coney Island.
What was eventually dubbed the “Battle of the Badges” became an annual tradition that’s now spanned more than 50 years, and on Sunday, we were treated to the 52nd installment when they met at UBS Arena.
Fans who headed to the home of the Islanders were treated to a spirited contest where the boys in blue snapped an eight-game winless streak and exchanged a ton of punches with their firefighting counterparts.
A fight immediately broke out after the NYPD beat the FDNY in a charity hockey game
The guys representing both departments are skating entirely for pride, as the only money they’re playing for is the cash that is funneled into charitable foundations, including the PBA Widows and Children’s Fund, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Widows and Children’s Fund, and the Ray Pfeifer Foundation (the last of which cover medical expenses for first responders who were on the ground for 9/11).
However, this is not your typical charity hockey game, as the players who take part are very invested in the outcome. Heading into 2026, the FDNY had the edge in the all-time series with a 30-18-3 record, and they were also riding a hot streak that had seen them go 7-0-1 in the previous eight showdowns.
It took less than 90 seconds for the NYPD to draw first blood, but the FDNY was able to answer less than two minutes later. They headed into the third period tied at two goals apiece, and the cops netted what ended up being the game-winning goal on the power play 58 seconds in the final frame to get their first victory since 2016.
A number of penalties were handed out midway through the first period when multiple fights broke out, but the two sides managed to keep it fairly clean from that point on.
Gloves are off at FDNY vs. NYPD pic.twitter.com/hnudCeeQOz
— Alex V. Mitchell (@AMitchReporting) March 29, 2026
However, that was not the case after the NYPD was able to withstand the FDNY’s last-ditch barrage with the goalie pulled, as both sides found themselves engaged in a fracas involving every single player after the police sealed the deal.
In case you weren’t aware, the NYPD and FDNY play an annual charity hockey game against each other.
The cops got a gritty 3-2 win over the firefighters and what followed was a truly incredible, three-minute long bench clearing brawl. pic.twitter.com/0IsnBLiUAY
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 29, 2026
Well done, boys. Well done.