Tossing your hat onto the ice after a player records a hat trick is a time-honored tradition in hockey. (Remember that Ticketmaster commercial that ran on NHL Network every five minutes a few years ago?)

The tradition exists overseas as well, but apparently no one told the police working Tuesday’s KHL game between Sibir and Ak Bars at the Ice Sports Palace Sibir. As Sibir romped to a 6-1 victory, Jarno Koskiranta recorded a hat trick, giving fans in attendance the opportunity to chuck their caps to the ice:

Great scene, right? Well, the police didn’t think so and arrested three fans who littered the ice, along with a Sibir team employee. The reason? According to Dmitry, via SovSport, it was because those fans were “disrupting the peace in public places.”

“Apparently, in Novosibirsk have not had a hat-trick, and the police was not used to such a reaction of fans,” said Sibir GM Cyril Fastovsky (translated). “We will do everything possible to continue this does not happen again."

Boy, pretty harsh. You'd think by the police reaction that the crowd started doing The Wave; now that's something that warrants handcuffs.

Sibir posted a message on their VK page stating that the fines imposed on the fans will be covered by the club and that they’ve hired an attorney to represent those who were arrested. A letter of protest has also been sent to the police so that this doesn’t occur again in the future.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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