The fight and video of it - which have made national headlines - developed after the Winter Classic, about 7:15 p.m., outside the famous eatery at 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, in South Philly.

The brutal beatdown, in which two men in Flyers jerseys pummeled a single Rangers fan as other fights erupted around them, outraged South Detectives Capt. Laurence Nodiff, who is asking for the public's help in identifying the aggressors.

"I just think it's disgusting," Nodiff said. "I think Flyers fans should be able to go to other cities and root for the Flyers, yet we have this brutal attack on a Rangers fan here."

Police confirmed that the main victim was an off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., cop who is an Iraqi war vet. Nodiff said that the officer had suffered a concussion and required numerous stitches. The whites of his eyes are filled with blood and his entire face is black-and-blue, Nodiff said.

"He sustained a very brutal beating," Nodiff said.

Last night, the Newark Star-Ledger identified the off-duty cop on its website, nj.com, as Neal Auricchio Jr., 30, and reported that he was awarded the Purple Heart in 2007 after surviving a sniper's attack in Iraq. Auricchio "won Woodbridge's 'Hero Award' in the same year and was praised by colleagues for his work as a police officer and volunteer firefighter in Middlesex County," the report said.

After viewing a video of the Geno's beatdown, the officer's wife, Maria Auricchio, asked why her husband had been attacked and why nobody had summoned help, the report said.

The hockey tickets were a Christmas gift to her husband, she said.

Police on Wednesday released an edited version of the video, in which a Flyers fan in a Claude Giroux jersey throws the first punch. Nodiff said the fight started when the Flyers fans had paid a homeless man, who cleans the windshields of passing cars with a squirt bottle and rag, to spray the Rangers fans with his water bottle.

"After that, there is a verbal exchange, and the spray-bottle guy runs away," Nodiff said. "So far from our investigation, it appears the Flyers fans clearly instigated this event."

Yesterday, police were closely monitoring news accounts and blog posts about the assault, looking for names and clues.

"We are on some of the hockey websites," Nodiff said. "We're not sure if the information is valid . . . but each name that appears, we have to go out and track down and interview the person and see if their picture looks like the people in the video."

On a post about the assault on the Facebook page of the Broad Street Hockey blog, a man named Edward Neary claimed responsibility for the attack, writing, in part: "it was me and my friends do somethin about it" and "They started it the one guy slapped my girls ass and licked her [breast]."

Neary - who on his own page claims his alma mater as Father Judge High School, his favorite athlete as "Seriously I will Punch You In the F---ing Face" and his favorite book as "Captain Under Pants" - later took back the comment and said that it had been a "practical joke." He apologized "to the south Philly police department for wasting there time and energy."

Fans on the Broad Street Hockey blog lambasted Neary in the comments section, calling him a "moron," "a nincowpoop" and a "jabroni."

"So, in the end, he either gets to explain to the police why he was stupid enough to jump some Rags fans in a rather noticeable location or explain to them why he was stupid enough to think he'd earn some sort of bragging rights for trying to take credit," wrote DragonGirl0583.

Nodiff said there had been no arrests in the case as of last night. Tipsters should call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.

Neal Auricchio Jr. fought two tours in Iraq, returning to war even after a sniper blew apart one of his calf muscles.

But the 30-year-old Purple Heart winner and off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., police officer may never want to visit Philadelphia again.

With good reason.

Auricchio is the New York Rangers fan who was sucker-punched and beaten unconscious by three Flyers fans after the Winter Classic hockey game Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. The video of the beating went viral.

Auricchio and a friend were enjoying postgame cheesesteaks at Geno's in South Philadelphia when the unidentified Flyers fans bribed a squeegee guy to squirt the Rangers fans with his spray bottle, said Capt. Laurence Nodiff, commander of South Detectives.

"The guy goes up and does it, and then runs away," Nodiff said.

That's where the video picks up.

Wearing a No. 24 Ryan Callahan Rangers jersey, Auricchio stands surrounded by Flyers fans. He puts his hands out, as if trying to play peacemaker.

A man who looks to have about a one-foot height advantage on Auricchio removes his dark coat with white fur trim, uncovering his No. 28 Claude Giroux Flyers jersey.

He shoves Auricchio, who still has his hands out, and then throws a punch.

Auricchio throws back, punching up, but is quickly overwhelmed when a man in a No. 68 Jaromir Jagr jersey begins punching him, too. The two hit Auricchio about a dozen times as he lies on the ground.

When a Flyers fan tries to pull them off Auricchio, the man with No. 28 and two other men begin to beat another Rangers fan.

When Auricchio stumbles to that man's aid, No. 28 blindsides him with a punch, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

Some people yell, "Enough! Enough!" and, "Easy!" Someone else yells, "Go to sleep!"

No. 68 then kicks Auricchio. No. 28 steps over him and picks up his fur-trimmed coat.

Auricchio was treated at a New Jersey hospital for a concussion, said Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, a longtime family friend. Auricchio has a stitched-up cut under one eye, and the other eye is still swollen nearly shut.

"He's still in a lot of pain," McCormac said. "He's starting to see out of the one eye, but we're waiting for the results of the CAT scan, hoping there's no damage we don't know about it."

Auricchio is married and welcomed his first child, Vincenzo, the week before Christmas.

He was shot by a sniper in Fallujah during his first tour in Iraq. He went back in 2007, the day after graduating from the Woodbridge Police Academy.

"This shouldn't happen to anyone," McCormac said. "But to a new father, a police officer, and an Iraqi war hero, it's pathetic."

McCormac said he visited Auricchio on Wednesday night at home.

"He's in good spirits," McCormac said. "He's an amazingly positive-minded young man."

The Rangers organization has contacted the family, McCormac said, and invited Auricchio to a practice and game when he feels better.

"We certainly don't condone fans' taking the rivalry into their own hands," said Ike Richman, a spokesman for Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the Flyers. "We hope the young man makes a full recovery, and we hope the actions of a few individuals do not put a scar on an otherwise terrific day for hockey in the city of Philadelphia."

Police spent Thursday tracking down potential leads posted on Flyers fan-page websites.

A fan posting under the name Edward Neary identified himself on the Broad Street Hockey Facebook page as one of the attackers.

"It was me and my friends do something about it," he wrote.

When someone remarked on the wisdom of bragging about his actions on a public forum, the fan posting as Neary wrote, "how dumb do I look knocking someone out pretty sure they look dumb eatin' concrete."

According to his Facebook profile, Edward Neary is a graduate of Father Judge High School and attends Community College of Philadelphia. His interests are listed as "Money" and "An More Money." Under favorite athlete, he listed, "Seriously I will punch you in the . . . face."

In later posts, Neary switched gears, saying he didn't do it but his friends did - naming names - and said the Rangers fans instigated the brawl.

Nodiff said investigators had been tracking down and interviewing the people named on the website. He would not say whether Neary had been interviewed and would not call him a suspect. Neary could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

"We are actively investigating all of those leads and have not eliminated anyone yet," Nodiff said.

Nodiff requested tipsters or anyone with additional footage of the attack - still photos or video - to contact South Detectives at 215-686-3013.