FLASHBACK: Riots after Colorado Avalanche Win First Stanley Cup

Hockey fans across the state of Colorado once again got to see the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup this year, the third time that the team has brought it home. However, this year was quite a bit tamer than the celebrations that took place the first year that the Avalanche won.

Colorado Avalanche Win Their First Stanley Cup

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The Colorado Avalanche became a team in the mid-1990s comprised of hockey players from the former Quebec Nordiques and won the Stanley Cup that same season on June 10th, 1996. It was the first time that a major Colorado sports team had won a championship and hockey fans across the state couldn't have been more excited.

The game took place on the other side of the country but when Coloradans caught wind that the Avs had won, the celebrations in downtown Denver began right away. However, what began as a fun party gradually became a much uglier, dangerous get-together.

Downtown Denver Stanley Cup Celebration Turns Ugly

People that attended the celebration of the Colorado Avalanche winning their first Stanley Cup were in high spirits at the beginning of the night. People gathered in downtown Denver on 15th and 16th Streets decked out in Colorado Avalanche gear hooting and hollering and, of course, drinking.

However, witnesses say that right around 1 a.m. of what would technically be the next day, the celebration started to get ugly.

Video of that night captured people starting fires, climbing up street signs and hitting them with a broom, fighting, and creating a huge inconvenience for not only traffic but the police as well.

The festivities really took a turn for the worse when police had to resort to tear gas and mace to disperse the crowd leading to multiple injuries and 15 arrests.