If mom and apple pie define America, as the old expression goes, then surely hockey and beer are as Canadian as it gets.

But that tradition is increasingly under threat, at least in its current form. More and more arenas across the country are saying no to that post-game beer in the dressing room that has been as much a part of the game as bodychecks and slap shots.

The Mile One Centre in St. John's, N.L., became the latest to crack down on the traditional post-game brew when it banned beer in dressing rooms after recreational league hockey games.

Mile One Centre in St. John's, Nfld. More

Considering that the players consuming post-game brews play in what's commonly known as ``beer leagues," this is a major change in direction for Canada's national sport.

One rec league player, who requested anonymity, called the move "an assault on the game.

"Not having a beer in the dressing room just isn't right," said the Toronto-area resident, who admits players routinely smuggle in beer in their equipment bags for that post-game cold one.

But the days of arena staff looking the other way as players violate liquor licence regulations is rapidly coming to an end. Bans similar to the one in St. John's have been instituted from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island, starting as far back as 2007.

"It's hard to believe arenas still have to act on this," said Robert Solomon, policy director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and law professor at Western University in London, Ont. "You would have thought the message would have gotten through, but traditions die hard.

"These are strong traditions. After a victory, the team generally doesn't go out and order milk and cookies because we have this idea that real men can drink a lot and hold their liquor."

St. John's city councillor Sandy Hickman, who spearheaded the ban at the Mile One arena, agrees.

"How many arenas across the country do you think they're drinking beer after games?" he asks. "But things have to change with the times."

Hickman says the Mile One move wasn't precipitated by any one incident. Instead, an arena manager adiscovered empty beer bottles in a dressing room and decided to crack down.

A citizen complaint about drinking that followed prompted the city to move with haste.

"We decided that was enough," he said. "We've always pushed against beer in dressing rooms, but I guess this was the last straw."

Anyone caught with beer in the dressing rooms will be barred from the arena, Hawkins said.

What's amazing, in many ways, is that bans like this one are even necessary.

Under liquor licence regulations across the country, alcohol can be drunk only on private property or in a licensed room.

"If (arena operators) don't have a licence for the dressing room, serving or allowing alcohol to be consumed would be illegal," said Solomon.

"Everyone does it, but it isn't allowed."

One reason behind the growing number of alcohol bans may be the matter of liability. As Solomon points out, if a player has one too many and injures someone in a parking-lot brawl, the arena could be liable if it's proven they were aware alcohol was being drunk in the dressing rooms.

"It would have to be proved that the arena hadn't addressed issues in the past," he said. "But if they allow alcohol on the property illegally, that may put in jeopardy their liquor licence."

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