During the warm-up, the visiting Syracuse Crunch came together with the Toronto Marlies at the red line on two occasions and things became quite heated, although no punches were thrown.
The game, up until late in the second period, showed no signs of the animosity that nearly bubbled over pre-puck drop, but after various altercations, including a fight between Sam Carrick and Anthony DeAngelo, the final buzzer saw both benches clear.
The tipping point: Syracuse failed to clear out of the Toronto zone as the buzzer sounded, and as the Marlies players went to congratulate Rob Madore, Tanner Richard took a totally unnecessary cheap shot at Rich Clune from behind.