Minor Hockey Moments

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Broken door policy

Always something new when the minor hockey kids get bigger and arenas get older.
Miffed by the referee's call, an opposing 18 (or 19) -year-old player took out his frustrations on the rink door at his home arena while playing my son's juvenile team Friday.
The slam was only something a motivated teen could do and when the door bounced back, one hockey dad tried to latch it, followed by one referee, followed by another hockey dad who, despite being an engineer by training, decided to revisit earlier attempts to kick the door into submission so the game could continue.
Last season we wouldn't have cared so much, because in competitive midget hockey a game is a game, no matter how long it takes to play. In house league juvenile, at least in London, a game is 50 minutes of rented ice time. Six games in and we still haven't gotten a complete game in without the curfew buzzer.
The referee saw the broken door as a chance to knock off for the night early, but enterprising hockey dads soon realized arena staff might have a tool and a technique. He did, and fixed it so the door couldn't open.
But the game could continue, perhaps to the chagrin of the ref.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Scream at the ref by leaving your comments here. But remember, the kids are listening and learning.