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It's March 13, 1955, at the Boston Garden Arena in Massachusetts.

Inside, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins

are nearing the end of a heated game of ice hockey.

The Canadians pass the puck from player to player.

The team star athlete Maurice Richard races across the ice towards the net.

But Bruins defender Hal Laco intercepts him, raises his stick,

and strikes Maurice in the head.

Recovering from the blow, a furious Maurice skates straight up to Howl, lunges, and then slashes him across the face,

before breaking his stick over Howe's back with such a force that it splinters.

One of his teammates tries to intervene, but Maurice can't be restrained.

With a hook to the jaw, he knocks out his interfering teammate and returns his fury back on howl.

As the men brawl, officials rushed to tear them apart, but Maurice keeps on punching,

until finally he is torn away and forced to leave the ice, bloody and in deep trouble.

By the mid-20th century, Maurice Richard is one of Montreal's greatest homegrown heroes. In a country where hockey is said to transcend even religion, Maurice, a French-Canadian,

claims legendary status. For much of Quebec's French-speaking population, Maurice is more than an athlete to root for.

He's an inspiration. And when the icons brawl in Boston earns him a season-long suspension,

his punishment will be deemed more than just an excessive ruling. For many French-Canadians,

it will feel like an affront, awakening long-held feelings of resentment toward Canada's English-speaking

...