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WCHA Ref Says 'Bomb' in Airport. It Goes About As Well As You'd Expect.

WCHA official Pete Friesema is being held in Alaska after joking about a bomb while at the airport.

Apparently tired of just showing the standard poor judgement WCHA officials exhibit weekly on the ice, WCHA official Pete Friesema decided to up the ante by talking about the possibility of his suitcase containing a bomb, while at the airport.

On Saturday, Friesema officiated a 3-1 victory by Canisius over Alaska at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska. Later that evening, Friesema attempted to fly back home to Colorado out of Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport. Instead, he ended up yellow jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, because he apparently hasn't been to an airport, or, like, read any sort of news, in the past 11 years.

While checking in for his flight, Friesema took issue with the ticket agent putting his baggage sticker on his traveling companion's suitcase, even though they were flying to the same airport. The exact phrasing used by Friesema differs in the story told by the ticket agent and Friesema, but in both, Friesema mentions the possibility of his suitcase containing a bomb. Assistant DA Adam Alexander described Friesema's statement as "perhaps an effort to be funny or flirtatious," without even needing to add that it was clearly neither.

Any way, if you're reading this, you're probably not Pete Friesema, because he's in jail, so you probably understand that telling someone at the airport that you might have a bomb is not a great idea. The airport had to be evacuated and shut down for a few hours while they determined that this guy was just the world's dumbest person.

Friesema was charged with a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct, while authorities are considering other charges, including a felony for making terroristic threats that force the evacuation of a building. Regardless of the outcome for Friesema, it would seem to be safe to say that his career as a WCHA official is done after this incident.