There’s nothing like a Midwestern tournament to swamp the lines of communication to OS.

I’m talking participant and parental insanity.

So, it’s early Sunday morning, and rather than troll the local rinks, OS is out for a hike in the mountains near the Old Spanish Trail about 20 minutes outside of town.

The phone buzzes. T-Mobile coverage is everywhere.

It’s a guy from Wisconsin. He’s got a story. See, the officials robbed his kid’s team in the last seconds of a tournament semifinal game by calling an outrageous and “unwarranted” penalty. Apparently, the game was tied and the zebras didn’t want to see OT.

OK, that’s slander. I take it personally, even if I was 1,500 miles away.

“Send me the video,” I text back, eager to see this travesty of Bantam justice.

“Impossible to tell,” he responds.

Go figure.

Less than five minutes later, I get this email from a Chicago veteran Level 3: “Partner waves goal in OT due to batting the puck with hand. On the way out, some lady tells us we have a video that shows a good goal.”

Look, I get that parents spend a ton of cash to fly their BLTs (Beer League Trainees) to Chicago for the World’s Largest AAA Hockey Tournament. I’m cognizant that most East Coast teams fly back home on Monday mornings just in case they make the Sunday afternoon finals. And no one wants to sit around and pay excessive Chicago-area taxes and hotel fees if they lose in the Sunday morning semifinals.

But come on! So you have a video. What are you gonna do? Send it to Toronto? It’s not like Toronto doesn’t get its share of disputed video replays. You know, those NHL games with four professional, full-time, on-ice officials bringing in around $3,000 or more each, per game. Yeah, those refs that often miss a call.

So two guys earning about $40 per game aren’t allowed to make a mistake? 

Perspective.

Turns out there’s a happy ending to this matter. See, during the handshake line, the veteran Level 3 reports that the kid who batted the puck mouthed off to the official, stating that, “the puck deflected off a defending player before entering the net.”

“Read the rule, kid,” retorts the veteran referee, showing exceptional discipline and composure.

Is this the state of AAA? Lesson to parents: Demand that your BLT peruse the playing rules prior to each season. Not the entire rulebook. Just the playing rules. 

And may OS suggest becoming study partners with junior at the same time.

Questions and comments can be sent to editor@letsplayhockey.com, via Twitter @OSpeaking or through the Let’s Play Hockey Facebook page.