The brawl that broke out among child players during an intermission at the Hershey Bears game over the weekend was described as a “staged fight” by youth hockey’s regional governing body, which said it is investigating the incident and threatening to discipline players and officials involved.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association (AAHL) said “we are aware of a staged fight at occurred at the Hershey Bears (AHL) game involving a Pennsylvania 8U team.”

“Affiliate, league, and club officials are investigating the matter and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against those players and team officials involved with the staged fight,” the AAHL said.

The team in question was from the Central Penn Panthers hockey club, which is based in Lancaster and has programs for players from ages 4 to 18, according to its website. 8U teams are for players aged 8 and younger.

Players from the youth club held a scrimmage during the intermission of Saturday’s Bears game against the Cleveland Monsters. The exhibition “was not sanctioned by USA Hockey or the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association,” the AAHL noted.

In a statement, the Central Penn Panthers said “we are currently conducting an internal review to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the incident,” and that “we believe it is important to allow this process to take place before drawing conclusions.”

The Hershey Bears likewise issued a statement that the youth match “did not reflect the values of the sport or the standards we expect when young athletes are on the ice,” and that “we are reviewing this matter and will work closely with participating teams and partners to ensure clear safeguards, supervision, and expectations are in place for any future youth activities held during our games.”

Footage of the fight spread widely on social media Saturday night, including a clip from local ABC27 sportscaster Allie Berube showing players dog-piling on top of each other and throwing a few punches and shoves before getting up and skating away, without any coaches or referees intervening.

Many viewers on social media commented that the fight seemed rather haphazard and aimless, as if it was a mock-up of a stereotypical professional hockey brawl. Some opined that the kids should be allowed to have a bit of fun; others said the team was encouraging potentially dangerous behavior by treating violence between children as a spectator event.