The Dauphin Kings home ice was awash with what looked like kielbasa in a Ukrainian-inspired hockey fan promotion Saturday night.

The Manitoba hockey club hosted a Ukrainian night at Credit Union Place, complete with the first-ever kielbasa toss at a washing machine placed at centre ice.

Fans threw "kielbasa", sections of garden hose wrapped in brown paper, onto the ice at Dauphin's Credit Union Place during a hockey game on Jan. 23. (Video by Christian Laughland )

Fans bought "kielbasa" from the team before the event. However, instead of the real thing, the team wrapped up sections of garden hose in brown meat-wrapping paper to make it look like the eastern European sausage.

"We toyed with the idea [of using real kielbasa], but we didn't want to upset any of our loyal Ukrainian fans, so we went with the next best option," said team coach and general manager Marc Berry. It's against Ukrainian culture to throw food, he said.

Fans tried to toss the rings into a washing machine as they listened to the traditional song Who Stole the Kishka. (Kishka is actually a different type of sausage.)

The fan appreciation game mimicked the Frisbee tosses done elsewhere, in which fans toss Frisbees at a bucket to win a prize.

The team made 200 of the paper-wrapped rings and sold them for $1 each as a team fundraiser. They completely sold out, Berry said.

The Dauphin Kings held a Ukrainian night on Saturday, Jan. 23, complete with singing and dancing. (Twitter/Dauphin Kings )

Video of the spectacle posted on YouTube had garnered about 2,500 views by Tuesday morning.

The team also hosted Ukrainian singing, dancing, food and other Ukrainian-themed events. Berry said the idea for a Ukrainian night came from a local businessman. It's now something they want to turn into annual event.

"The atmosphere was incredible," Berry added. "We had one of the biggest crowds we've had all year and the atmosphere was outstanding."

Dauphin, 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, is home to Canada's National Ukrainian Festival.