Trash cans fly during high-school hockey riot in South Jersey

An ice-hockey game between high-schoolers in South Jersey resembled a full-on riot Friday night as police in Washington Township had to avoid flying trash cans, coins and spit.

Someone even brought a smoke bomb.

"People obviously got a little wrapped up in this game. They lost control," said Capt. Rich Leonard, spokesman for the Police Department in Washington Township, Gloucester County.

The mayhem took place about 9:30 p.m. during a game between youths from Washington Township and nearby Williamstown at the Hollydell Ice Arena.

Leonard said several fights broke out in the bleachers and that when a Washington Township officer attempted to intervene, he was spit on and trash cans and coins were thrown at him.

Multiple units from surrounding townships were called in to restore order, Leonard said, and officers cleared the bleachers for both teams. During the evacuation, Leonard said, someone set off a pyrotechnic device, believed to be a smoke bomb, in the lobby of the arena while it was full of officers and spectators.

The game was canceled, Leonard said, and no one was arrested. "I don't believe they were able to identify the perpetrators," he said.

Leonard said it wasn't the first time the department was called to the rink for problems between teams.

"Obviously, if someone brings a smoke bomb, that's a problem," he said.

A man who answered the phone at Hollydell referred all calls to a manager, who was unavailable.

Administrators with Washington Township and Williamstown high schools said ice hockey is a club sport and declined to comment on Friday's incident.

No one was injured.