All-night parties celebrating the University of Minnesota's victory over Maine in men's hockey spilled into the streets in and around Minneapolis' Dinkytown and turned destructive Saturday night and into Sunday as revelers set fires in the street and launched beer bottles at police officers.

The roving crowds, described by police as riotous mobs, stalled traffic, overturned large trash bins and paper stands and burned couches and Dumpsters at several locations from about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. The group swelled to more than 600 people at times, police said.

Police arrested a reveler.

Richard Tsong-Taatarii

Star Tribune

"These were supposed to be celebrators," Inspector Rich Stanek of the Minneapolis Police Department said Sunday. "Heck, their team won, they didn't lose."

More than 75 Minneapolis police officers and more than 25 state troopers and University of Minnesota police officers repeatedly tried to disperse the crowds and to keep them off the streets, only to have them regroup.

Dressed in riot gear, police used chemical irritants and arrested 35 to 40 people, mostly on suspicion of disorderly conduct, Stanek said. Some were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. By Sunday afternoon, most had been released, police said.

Stanek said no damage was done to businesses in the commercial district. He attributed the disturbance to a mix of heavy drinking, large groups of people, mild weather and elation about the game, which ended a good three hours before bars closed.

Fans set shirts afire.

Thomas Whisenand

Minnesota Daily

"It was a mob mentality," Stanek said. "This was a riot."

Still, there were many who tried to stop the bottle-throwing and destruction, he said.

"To the students' credit, there were many of them who clapped and praised the officers," Stanek said, adding that some people apologized to the police for others' behavior. "They were trying to police themselves, which was really encouraging."

Shortly after the game ended in St. Paul about 9:30 p.m., crowds began gathering outside of campus bars around Williams and Mariucci arenas and fraternity row along University Avenue SE.

Reveler swings from a traffic light

Richard Tsong-Taatarii

Star Tribune

Police received their first call about a rowdy crowd of bottle-throwing people, many of them intoxicated, about 9:45 p.m.

The crowd at 19th and University avenues SE. moved west between SE. 4th St. and University Av. SE., Stanek said.

"At a couple of different points, they were burning tires, couches, Dumpsters -- anything they could find," Stanek said. "They were setting fire in the streets."

Some people jumped on the hoods of squad cars as a State Patrol helicopter with a search light hovered overhead. Some shot off fireworks. The windows of about four squad cars were broken, Stanek said.

Flames from one fire reached 40 to 50 feet, creating concerns about damage to power lines. Ambulances stood by, but no serious injuries were reported.

Stanek said some people in the crowd assaulted each other. Other witnesses observed men and women exposing themselves.

About four officers were treated for minor injuries.They had been hit on the hands and neck by bottles, rocks and chunks of concrete, Stanek said.

As officers moved the crowd down the streets, firefighters put out the fires.

A morning mess

By 5 a.m. Sunday, police had taken control of the area. Officers stayed in the area until about 8 a.m.

In the morning, front-end loaders moved large pieces of debris blocking streets. Street sweepers cleaned up most of the broken bottles and other items that littered the streets.

Sunday afternoon, trash containers on fraternity row still reeked of smoke. Part of a half-ripped fence lay on the ground. Some bottles and debris remained.

Charolette Baierl and Holly Wautier, both first-year students at the university, were walking around campus taking pictures of the aftermath Sunday afternoon.

They had been walking to their dormitories Saturday night when they ran into the rowdy crowds.

Baierl, who said police sprayed chemical irritant at her, said people were swearing and trying to incite the police.

"People there were looking for a fight," she said. "I would have been an angry police officer last night."

Wautier said the crowd didn't appear to be violent. "It seemed like everyone wanted to celebrate, but it just went too far."

Jason Smishek, another witness, said he thought that police acted conservatively, trying not to incite the crowd, but that they were too liberal with chemical irritants.

The Gophers hockey players had returned to Dinkytown late Saturday to celebrate when they found the streets mobbed.

"We had to fight our way through campus," senior forward Erik Wendell said. "It was really tough to get through. We were trying to avoid the areas where the police were. It was unbelievable to see all those people."

After 18 years of service in the department, Lt. Stanek said the events of the night before were a first for him.

"It was a long night," he said. "I've seen a lot of things. It was an eye-opening experience."