Shoulder-Gate Rocks Rink

ANN ARBOR– Oberon lost 2-7 to Ice-o-topes C Tuesday night, but not without a controversy surrounding it when Tope Jeff “Shrug-it-in” Menk scored a goal by redirecting a shot with his shoulder for the Ice-o-topes’ second goal.

“A player can score a goal if the puck hits any part of his body,” explained referee Jeff Upshaw. Upshaw later admitted that he did not see Menk swing through the puck.

The no-call left Oberon rattled, particularly star goalie Anthony Ciatti, who apologized several times to teammates for “losing focus.” However, he was quickly encouraged by teammates. “You’ll rebound next game,” insisted defenseman Ricky Winowiecki.

Play became intense, boarding on violent, as the Topes racked up 31 penalty minutes. “Something about being rightly accused of scoring an illegal goal must have set them off,” noted sports analyst Don Atella-Nowan. “It was bad enough that the league director [Abe Colwell] had to come to the rink.”

Lost in the din was the fact that Topes winger Kenneth Brown scored 4 goals, three in the third period, making him a “most excellent candidate for the B-league.”