Nowhere to go but up!

The Ducks won a hard fought game Monday night, but story of the night is definitely the quality of the referee situation in the 10pm game. Referee conduct and player interactions with referees have been topics of great concern as of late, and one team did a terrific job of communicating with the refs. When Troy Otto decided that Shuga shouldn’t be allowed to skate upright, the refs failed to make a call. However, calm heads on the Ducks bench discussed how dangerous a play like that could be, and Bin took this respect into consideration with a good no-call after Shuga reminded Otto who the real Star on the ice is.

The same could not be said of the North Stars, who seemed to take every opportunity to challenge the officials’ decisions. The General was called for a hook early after he de-gloved Leroy with his stick. The Stars were irate, however, when a similar play may have happened to them and no call was made. A penalty was called later on Adam “Why did you draft me” Suokas, who was charged with interference after incidental contact with League Leading Point Scorer Shawn Shuga Hardy. Did I mention he’s a member of the 2nd place Ducks? Anyway, neither Suokas nor Otto appreciated this call, and after some screaming, pleading, throwing gloves, and a few tears, Adam slinked his way to the penalty box.

Bin reminding Suokas who owns the Olympic Ice

Otto knew he needed to start a Ref Clinic to get the boys on his side. So Troy behaved like a whiny baby (lesson #2) calmly explained to each ref what mistakes they were making. He also employed some physical strategies to improve each official’s positioning.

“Peso, in this situation you should be hugging the boards. No, you need to stay standing!”

The North Stars may have lost the game, but GM Troy Otto believes this was a turning point for his team.

“Now that the refs have been properly educated, we can expect them to make better calls in our favor. Therefore, I don’t see the North Stars losing another game. Road to the cup, baby! No weaknesses!” -Troy “What Rhymes With Denial” Otto

From the desk of the 2nd place Mighty Ducks, this is Junior Señor Reporter Carlos Antonio Machismo. See you in the playoffs, everyone! (Not the Diques)