Vancouver Canucks hockey fans took to the streets with torches after their team's loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. Royal Canadian Mounted Police and riot officers were called in from as far as 40 miles outside the city using tear gas to quell the violence as jersey-wearing rioters lit overturned cars, lit fires and looted stores for four hours, reports The New York Times. In contrast to the peaceful celebrations following Canadian victories during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, many compared the post-game upheaval to the 1994 riots following Canucks's lost in Game 7 to the Rangers in New York, a fiasco that caused over $1 million in damage and seriously injured one man. The Vancouver Sun published their editorial about the loss hours after police had controlled the riots with the encouraging title "Yes, it was a heartbreaker, but do not despair"--it gave no mention of the violence.

The riots began around 8:15 p.m. local time as fans spilling out of the arena and bars started overturning cars and lighting them on fire.

St. Paul's hospital near the Canucks' arena treated at least 60 people for broken bones and related injuries.

Rioters broke the windows of and looted the Hudson Bay Company department store.

Police exercised restraint, reports The Vancouver Sun.

A local doctor who had treated injuries after the 1994 riot and also worked during the Vancouver Olympics in 2011 told The Times, "The kind of people who were coming down here tonight, they were just looking for a different kind of fun."

In brighter news for Boston fans, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, 4-0.

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Adam Clark Estes