Palin drops puck, players drop gloves

by FOXSports.com

Sarah Palin and 'Hockey Mom' winner Cathy O'Connell drop the first puck in Philly. (Tom Mihalek / Associated Press)

The City of Brotherly Love gave Palin a mixed welcome — some fans booed, some stood and cheered — at the Wachovia Center before the Flyers started their season against the New York Rangers.

Palin was invited by Flyers owner Ed Snider to drop the ceremonial first puck of the season, and was joined at center ice by two of her daughters and the winner of a team promotion for the "Ultimate Hockey Mom." She even got a peck on the cheek from Rangers captain Scott Gomez, an Alaska native.

"As a proud hockey mom and an avid NHL fan, I was thrilled to be here," Palin said. "I enjoyed joining the Philadelphia Flyers to drop the puck at tonight's game. I wish them the best of luck this season."

But if players were on their best behavior in front of Palin, that quickly changed. No sooner did the puck drop than the gloves did, too.

Less than two minutes into the game, Riley Cote of the Flyers and Colton Orr of the Rangers each received a five-minute major penalty for fighting. Brandon Dubinsky and Mike Richards bookended the first period with a scuffle of their own — and similar penalties to match.

And in the end, the Flyers couldn't come up with any Palin-inspired spark, losing their home opener 4-3 against the Rangers.

Last month, Palin visited a Philadelphia bar with Flyers Snider, who has donated money to Republican presidential nominee John McCain's campaign.

"Because of the tremendous amount of publicity she has brought to our sport, we invited the most popular hockey mom in North America to our home opener to help us get our season started," Snider said in a team statement announcing Palin's visit. "We are very excited she has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey."

The NHL said it did not view the Flyers' invitation to be politically motivated.

"Governor Palin is a supporter of the sport, which she has proclaimed publicly," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "As a public figure who has a very public connection with hockey, her recent associations with the Flyers and other NHL franchises is not surprising and, in our view, not inappropriate."

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.