[Dion]

Toronto Maple Leafs: Anger, sadness and optimism from fans after loss to Boston

But anger plus disappointment didn’t equal rage and destruction. For many, it just meant heartbreak.

“It’s just … I feel empty. I don’t even know what to say,” said a downcast, jersey-clad Ethan Lowe, a 17-year-old Torontonian.

“Unfathomable,” chimed in Alex Hnatykiw, 19, who’d driven into downtown Toronto from Bolton to catch the game with her friend. “I want to cry.”

As the crowd gradually thinned, a dozen police on horseback trotted through the intersection of York St. and Bremner Blvd. Hooves crushed beer cans and glass and other street party detritus, while dejected fans sauntered away in all directions, their crestfallen wandering peppered with the odd raspy yell of anger toward the victorious Bruins.

Beneath the shadow of the Gardiner Expressway, a man offered his outstretched hand to every passerby, to make sure everyone he saw left with that message. “Next year, bro,” he said. “Next year.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013...to_boston.html