Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Adele is big winner, Houston honored at Grammys

Idaho junior team punished for ‘strip hockey’

Boise forbids team from using rink after players shed uniforms at practice

BOISE, Idaho - An Idaho junior hockey team was banished temporarily from a city ice rink after players engaged in a game of “strip hockey” — shedding a piece of uniform every time a practice shot missed its mark.

As redress for last Wednesday’s incident, Boise forbid the Idaho Junior Steelheads team from using Idaho Ice World for four days; one 17-year-old player who shed his underwear briefly was suspended until next week. In addition, police are investigating, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Doug Holloway, Boise’s recreation superintendent, says rink employees told him the shootout drill went like this: “If they missed a shot, they had to take off a glove. If they missed another, they had to take off another glove. And so on, and so forth.”

An adult whose young daughter was on an adjacent rink saw the 17- to 20-year-old Steelheads skating in their skivvies and complained to a city hotline.

Rink employees who also noticed the scantily clad skaters urged them to cover up.

Police who were alerted on Thursday are now looking into whether Boise’s public decency laws were broken by the incident.

“The investigation is pending,” said Boise Police Department spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

The city forbids people from showing their buttocks in public, largely to curb erotic dance parlors. Exemptions include dance, ballet, music or dramatic performances, or artistic displays; nudity during hockey practice isn’t on the list.

John Oliver, the Idaho Junior Steelheads owner, wasn’t at the practice where the players held the “strip shootout.”

But an assistant told him the players were emulating a professional team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose members held a similar shootout last week where they discarded pieces of equipment after failing to score.

Internet videos show a Lightning right winger, Martin St. Louis, stripping to his long, dark shorts and shirt; the Junior Steelheads apparently went further, with some disrobing down to their sports briefs. At least one 17-year-old player doffed his underwear completely, to “moon” another player.

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

That teen was also punished by the team, Oliver said.

“His behavior didn’t live up to our player code of conduct,” said Oliver, whose squad plays in the Western States Hockey League against opponents from Arizona and California.

The Junior Steelheads’ suspension from Ice World ends Wednesday, when the team will be allowed to return.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
Image: Niklas Kronwall, Danny Briere
AP
Wings win 20th straight at home

  The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.

NBC Sports
Highlights: Flyers fall to Red Wings

    Detroit powers past Philadelphia with a 4-3 win

Slideshow
Image: Chicago Blackhawks Marian Hossa of Team Chara celebrates his goal with New York Rangers Marion Gaborik during the NHL All-Star hockey game in Ottawa
  NHL All-Stars
Take a look at the players who competed in Team Chara's 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson.

more photos

Slideshow
Image: Stanley Cup Finals - Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings - Game Seven
  Sid the Kid
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has gone from phenom to Stanley Cup champion.

more photos

Slideshow
Image: Washington Capitals Ovechkin celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens during Game 5 in Washington
  Alexander the Great
Take a look at Capitals star and two-time MVP Alexander Ovechkin

more photos

Slideshow
Pamela Anderson
  Celebrity fans
Some of Hollywood's hottest celebrities take in NHL games.
Slideshow
Colorado Avalanche v Anaheim Ducks
  Icy Hot
Check out the ice girls from around the National Hockey League.

more photos