VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  - Motorists in downtown Vancouver yesterday witnessed a bizarre incident today involving the SMJHL’s local team Zamboni, a jockstrap, and part of the team’s mascot.

At around two in the afternoon the street was full of the normal weekday traffic, both vehicle and pedestrian.  That all changed when the team’s Whaler themed ice resurfacer appeared on the scene, being driven by a muscular man in just a jockstrap and the head of the team mascot, Whalebur. As traffic slowed to take in the sight onlookers were greeted with a wave and what one person called “An actual pretty decent attempt at whale song.” This continued for about ten minutes, much to the amusement of the gathering crowd.

Eventually, Vancouver police arrived on the scene which resulted in even more hijinks from the driver.  Despite orders from the officers to pull over the exuberant joyrider led them on what is probably the lowest speed vehicle chase in the city's history since the 1957 Beaver Caper. Bystanders swear you could still hear his whale song over the sirens, even after multiple police cars arrived.  This lasted for almost a full five minutes with the following crowd cheering and honking every time he managed to evade them while he held up a single closed fist in victory.  At one point two police cars tried blocking the road but the rogue took a right into an open mechanic’s garage door and exited out a similar exit in the back. Flummoxed, police had to regroup but when they next found the vehicle it was stopped and empty.

A search of the area revealed the mascot head but no person attached to it. Further searching proved futile, as the police tried in vain to find the culprit but gave up, stating “He has probably blended in with the Vancouver crowds and will be impossible to find.”  Later, yellow tape surrounded the Zamboni as at least a quartet of criminal forensic experts crawled all over the vehicle searching for evidence. When asked if they would do DNA testing on the mascot head, a police spokesperson told us he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Speculation abounds as to whom the resurfacer operator might be, with most people assuming it is one of the Whaler’s training camp attendees, although the team has emphatically denied this.  “All of our players for that time are encountered for. We are cooperating with the authorities with investigating the incident and are hoping to find out the person or persons responsible for the theft and besmirching of the Whaler’s reputation as a world class organization.”

Dozens of videos of the incident are making waves through social media, it is currently one of the top videos on YouTube, and Tik Tok users are already trying to one up each other by recreating the incident in different ways. A GoFundMe set up for the eventual defense of the reckless rider has already raised over $20,000.

Further reporting to come with any new developments.

Lane Larue reporting for the Associated Press.