It sounds like the plot of a British comedy, or perhaps an episode of The Office: Hockey Edition. A National League game between the Peterborough Phantoms and Telford Tigers in Britain was delayed Sunday after one of the officials forgot to bring his pants to the arena. The puck was eventually dropped 15 minutes late after the referee went home to get his bottoms.
"We all saw the lighter side of it," Phantoms defenceman Tom Norton told BBC Sport. "The funny thing is we were a bit late for our warm-up and had been threatened with a penalty from the officials if we weren't off the ice in time. As annoying as it was for us, having done our warm-up and been ready to go, these things happen and it's a bit of comedy really."
Referee Richard Belfitt did take some gentle ribbing from the crowd and on social media but the game went off without a hitch. Telford eventually won the match 8-6. The National Ice Hockey League is the second tier of British ice hockey, one level below the Elite Ice Hockey League.
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Source: BBC Sport
