The scene would have fit perfectly in a Tim Hortons commercial, if it weren’t for the fact that dozens, if not hundreds of those present were obviously drunk.

On Tuesday, February 16, around 11:00 p.m., a half-block stretch of Granville Street was taken over by an impromptu game of ball hockey.

Both the game’s players and their large audience were remarkably well-behaved. And there was even a rough semblance of organization brought to things. (There was some sort of a system worked out for shifts, though I couldn’t figure out what it was.)

A spectator who arrived earlier than I informed me that a small group of guys arrived with hockey nets and goalie pads, threw down a pile of sticks, and the game began.

Dozens of Vancouver police officers were nearby, but none of them seemed concerned with the scene. It was, after all, just another game of Canadian shinny .

You can follow Travis Lupick on Twitter at twitter.com/tlupick.