Vancouver police gird for big hockey crowd

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 4 (UPI) -- Hot, sunny weather Saturday prompted Vancouver, Canada, police and fire officials to prepare for a huge crowd downtown for the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

With the combination of summer-like weather and the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Boston Bruins Saturday night in Game 2 of the finals, police expected revelers numbering at least as many as the 40,000 who turned out under cloudy skies for Wednesday's Game 1, The Vancouver Sun reported.

"We can anticipate with good weather that we will have larger crowds than we saw on Wednesday," Vancouver Police spokeswoman Jana McGuinness told the newspaper. "Also ... it's a Saturday and people don't have to get up for work the next day.

"As a result, we're going to be increasing the deployment in the area, and there will be a visible increase in officers."

McGuinness said some of the officers will be inspecting bars to enforce seating limits after the game ends, while others will enforce public liquor laws, such as pouring out any alcohol they find on the streets.

The extra policing and fire protection will cost Vancouver close to $1 million, the Sun said.