Will Jones, who posted the video of the teams celebrating on Twitter, was about ready to take a faceoff when the Panthers won. He's seen in the white jersey in the faceoff circle cheering on the Panthers, along with the rest of his teammates and opponents.
The teams skated back to their benches for a moment, cheering and stick-tapping along the ice, before the game eventually continued.
"It was pretty much back to normal, guys complaining about calls and stuff like that," Jones said. "It might've been more of a lighthearted game, but pretty much back to normal."
The 22-year-old said the teams were hoping the Panthers game would be over before they had to play their game. Had it not been for Brandon Montour's goal with less than a minute left in regulation, that would've been the case. Not to say the lifelong Panthers fan wasn't happy that his team tied the game late.
"We thought we'd be ok until [Montour] scored," Jones said.
As the puck dropped in the men's league game, the focus never really shifted away from the Panthers.
"We were all sidetracked," said Jones, adding that one of his teammates had overtime streaming from his phone on the bench. "We all knew what was going on. We were kind of just playing because we had a commitment."
When the crowd at the bar on the second floor of the arena started cheering, the guys down on the ice knew the Panthers had shocked the world.
But then they had to go back to competing.
"We said, 'Alright, now we've got to play against each other,'" Jones said. "But for that second we were all rooting for the same team."
Jones's team pulled out the 6-2 win in at the IceDen, where the Panthers hold their practices. He even had a goal and a couple assists. He said he's been working at the arena for seven years and has only been playing hockey for three.
But he's been a lifelong fan of the Panthers -- the fandom passed down from his dad -- and ranked this moment as his top moment as a fan.
"For me, this is number one," Jones said. "This year -- the way they shattered expectations -- is what made it number one for me."
Since he was born in 2000, Jones wasn't around for the 1996 season, which is widely regarded as the franchise's most successful one.
Now the Panthers are through to the Eastern Conference Second Round, taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As for any more potential conflicts with the men's league?
"Hopefully not," said Jones with a chuckle.
