The Cuppa Joe Grinders

BURNABY (Gony Tallagher) — The world governing body of beer league hockey is going to hold an inquiry into the reffing of the Division 10 Grinders vs. Ghosts event after Troy Houghton and Rob Mitchellson seemingly skated the performance of their lives Monday night but only one of them was awarded a bottle of Tequila.

The International Hockey Union said Tuesday it had called for an internal inquiry because of the reaction of the crowd and the public reaction following the game.

The Grinders Message board has been no exception to the disgust and outrage expressed by Canadians and others around the world. Mike Meyers of Toronto, Ontario writes “Its crap! Absolute crap!”

So sure was Troy Houghton that he had aced the 60 minute program — he skated while humming music from the Love Story movie — that Houghton fell to his knees afterwards to kiss the ice. So overwhelmed with emotion was he, that he needed assistance to leave the ice surface.

The group of players required to carry Troy to the dressing room left the Grinders short on the bench, luckily it was two top performers: Glen Trainor and Reg Gabriel. The capacity crowd of 6 gave the team the only standing ovation of the night, showered flowers onto the ice, and began chanting “Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!”

“Houghton and Mitchellson stopped time with their performance. They are everything that epitomizes ice hockey,” wrote Karen in Victoria. “I feel very sorry for the SCI Ghosts, as they went home with a win they didn’t earn.”When the goal was announced, the fans began to boo as it became clear that Grinders would once again fail to win. It was clear that both posts were off. Grinders had not won since 1960, in Squaw Valley, when Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul took MVP.

“How could it be possible to have so many blind Refs in one league?” wrote Betty Darville of St. Bruno, Quebec.

Thinh Thang, a student in Calgrary wrote: “I am truly disappointed in the rudges.”

Reaction to the game even came as far away as Salt Lake City. David Pelletier, Canadian Olympic Figure Skater told NBC’s Today show this morning that he felt like he’d been punched in the stomach after hearing the score of the Grinders game.. But one thing is for sure, no matter where the Grinders placed in the league, Canadians see it differently.

“They may have had a silver place finish, but in the hearts of all Canadians they are gold Cuervo,” wrote Toni LeBlanc in Sarnia.