The Weekly Wraparound: Pure Rink Madness
This Week in Youth Hockey Chaos
Another week, another round of “you can’t make this up” in junior and youth hockey - parents acting like it’s Game 7, an 8-year-old coaching like a pro, and a 43–0 game no scoreboard deserved. Here’s your weekly Wraparound: the chaos and comedy only hockey families understand.
The 43–0 Game That Should Have Come With Therapy
Let’s start with the one that broke the internet: the 14U game that ended 43–0.
Forty-three goals. Zero mercy. Somewhere out there, a scoreboard operator is still muttering “please make it stop.”
Hockey parents everywhere had thoughts - mostly sympathy for the goalie and questions about whether the mercy rule was on vacation.
The 8-Year-Old Who Bench-Bossed Like He Owned the Team
In Canada, a junior team handed the bench over to an 8-year-old “honorary head coach.” Suit jacket, clipboard, game face - he did not play.
Honestly, some actual coaches could take notes.
Link:
Parents Forgetting They’re Parents (Again)
And then the rink-side entertainment: parents going full WWE in the stands.
Warwick, Pennsylvania gave us this week’s viral parent brawl - and, shocker, the kids handled it better than the adults.
Link:
https://6abc.com/post/youth-hockey-game-parents-fight-at-caught-on-video-warwick-pa/14454165/
(And here’s the Seattle version where a dad walked onto the ice and shoved two teen refs:)
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/youth-referees-assaulted-by-parent-during-hockey-match-kraken-community-iceplex/OK6J2YRN2JHQHFG2XR6CTPUXEM/
When a Puck Decides to Leave the Ice
A puck jumped the boards during a youth game and scared the life out of a cameraman/media staffer. Nobody was seriously hurt -which makes it safe to laugh and say: “keep your head up, buddy.”
Here’s a comparable minor-league version of this happening on camera:
https://people.com/mom-thanks-man-who-stopped-flying-puck-from-hitting-her-4-year-old-child-8631492
The 12-Year-Old Who Mistook the Ref for a Heavy Bag
One of the wildest youth moments of the week: a 12-year-old player attacking a referee after a post-game scrap. Slashes, punches - the kid went full crazy.
Three officials had to restrain him. Three.
Closing Thoughts
So that’s this week’s whirlwind: blowouts, mini-coaches, flying pucks, and parents who need deep breathing exercises more than their kids do. Youth hockey is unpredictable, chaotic, and occasionally absolutely hilarious -and honestly, that’s why we love it. Same time next week for more rink-side madness? Because there will be more. There always is.