BOSTON — It had all the makings of a feel-good ice hockey moment — except the guy who scored the goal was black.Soon after Joel Ward eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins on Wednesday with a Game 7 overtime goal for the Washington Capitals, Twitter erupted in a shower of n-words and other racial insults."Go play basketball, hockey is a white sport," "4th line black trash" and "white power" were some of the nicer phrases tweeted by angry Boston fans. One said that the fact that a black player scored "makes this loss hurt a lot more."The Bruins and the NHL quickly condemned the tweets that cast a pall over one of the most thrilling moments of the season and numerous Boston fans went online to denounce the racist tweets. But the outburst was a reminder of the difficulties ice hockey has had overcoming the idea that black people are unwelcome on the ice or in the stands.Anson Carter, a black winger who played for four seasons for the Bruins during a 10-year NHL career, said he was "very surprised" by the reaction because the Boston fans had treated him well."I thought we were beyond that. But then again, nothing surprises me," Carter said. "I know racism exists. But if people think all NHL fans are racist, that's the furthest thing from the truth."
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