DETROIT (AP) -The Stanley Cup is back in Detroit’s hands, and Red Wings fans jumped and screamed as their team finished off the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road to take the NHL championship for the fourth time in 11 seasons.
“The Cup has come back to Detroit! We’re Hockeytown,” shouted Greg Litvinskas, 25, of Saginaw, Mich., one of a packed crowd at Mr. B’s Pub in the suburb of Royal Oak. “This is what the city needs.”
When Detroit clinched the Cup with a 3-2 victory in Game 6, the crowd in Mr. B’s erupted in cheers.
In downtown Detroit, Joe Louis Arena again was home to fans who cheered, screamed, stomped, shouted and high-fived.
When the final horn sounded, glitter was poured from the catwalk onto several thousand celebrating fans.
Shawn Coppins, 36, of Mount Clemens had a head full of the sparkling stuff.
“After Monday night’s letdown, I’m glad to be here at the Joe for this one,” said Coppins, one of thousands who went to Joe Louis to watch the game via video link from Pittsburgh. “Who wouldn’t enjoy coming here?”
Coppins said he’s looking forward to a parade downtown and even thinks embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would get a standing ovation in the euphoria of moment.
Minutes after the game, Kilpatrick issued a statement saying the city would hold a victory parade at 11 a.m. Friday.
“Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings on this great victory. The Wings are a world class team representing a world class city,” he said.
Pat Connors said despite the hour drive from her home in New Hudson to Joe Louis, watching the game at the team’s home arena is “100 times more exciting. You get to party with all the fans.”
In Royal Oak, police prepared for celebrations by calling in officers from about a dozen local jurisdictions, Deputy Police Chief Chris Janhke said Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday night, when the Red Wings lost 4-3 at home in triple overtime, yellow tape and police officers lined Main Street sidewalks to keep fans out of the roadway in case of a Red Wings win. Janhke called that deployment “a good practice run” for Wednesday night.
Janhke said police will only disperse crowds if things get “out of control.”
“We don’t want to interfere with celebration,” he said. “It is only when you have a few individuals out there who take it too far, is when we take action” to remove troublemakers.
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Associated Press Writer Ben Leubsdorf in Royal Oak, Mich., contributed to this report.
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