NHL Team Bans Fan Who Fulfilled Friend's Wish By Dumping His Ashes On The Ice
Colorado Avalanche.
Jun. 24 2022, Published 9:59 a.m. ET
An NHL fan who spread his late friend's ashes on the ice in Colorado has been banned from Avalanche games, RadarOnline.com has learned.
KDVR reported that Ryan Clark, a self-proclaimed "die-hard" fan of the Avs, is banned from the arena for the rest of the season as Colorado takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals.
“If you saw the little bit of the amount that I actually got on there, the Zamboni took care of it round one,” Clark told KDVR.
Colorado Avalanche.
The incident took place Jan. 8, when Clark dumped some of his best friend's ashes over the glass onto the ice.
“The usher asked me, ‘What was that?’ I gotta be honest with you. It was my friend. ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, he passed away. Yesterday was his service and I spread some of his ashes out there,’” Clark told KDVR.
Colorado Avalanche.
Clark was taken to the arena's concourse to speak with security before being taken out of the building, KDVR reported. “I knew what I did was considered wrong. I owned up to it the second it happened,” Clark said.
Not long after, Clark got a letter in the mail saying that he was no longer allowed at Ball Arena for the rest of the season. That was long before the Avs would reache the Stanely Cup finals, where they have a chance to hoist the trophy on June 24 at home. Colorado leads the series 3-1.
“If you’ve ever seen ‘Angels in the Outfield,’ like this is just the hockey version. So when they’re at home and they need a little assistance, my boy’s out there to assist,” Clark said.
Colorado Avalanche.
According to KDVR, Clark's best friend is Kyle Stark, whom he met while working at King Soopers in 2009. They later became roommates, and Stark was the best man at Clark's wedding.
“If he was still here, we’d probably be at the stadium. We’d be doing what we had to to get the thousand-dollars-to-sit-up-top tickets,” Clark told KDVR.