We are coming down the home stretch of the High School season and I just wanted to clarify a rule that seems to get a lot of grumbling from the stands. Although I took the rule out of the Federation book, this basically applies to every rule book in hockey. So lets get to it.
Rule 6-40 article 3 states that a penalty shall be assessed to a player who intentionally or recklessly contacts a player to the head, including with the stick or by an illegal body check. Penalty-minor or major if flagrant. Continue reading »
We are not even half way through this young season and I have already tossed two coaches and a parent out of different youth hockey games. I know that coaches and refs don’t always see eye to eye and this time I am siding with the coaches on how the behavior of parents effects everyone in the building. Naturally I have a few things to say on coaching but we will focus on some of the parents today.
I know this will come to a surprise to you but there issues I have with parents and how they conduct themselves during a game. First off; you are not at a NHL game with a beer in each hand(questionable), so why do you act like the drunk in the balcony screaming at the refs about the dumbest things possible? If you really want to be a referee then go to a seminar, pass the test, do a few hundred 6am mite games and then we will talk.Continue reading »
It is no secret that coaches and referee’s do not see eye to eye all the time, I know that is hard to believe but it is true. So why do I bring this up you ask? I recently had an encounter while officiating a squirt game (yes I said squirt) with an assistant coach on the bench. To me it is part of hockey where as there will be disagreements in the heat of the moment but if a coach and/or assistant wants the respect they deserve from an official, the same is expected out of them and that was not the case today.Continue reading »
We see it time and time again on the ice, poor sportsmanship after giving up a goal. This time it proved to be costly for Florida Panther’s goaltender Thomas Vokoun. Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard pulled the dumbest stunt yet this season while attempting break his stick over the crossbar after Atlanta’s goal midway into the first period, struck his own goaltender in the head.
Vokoun suffered an ear laceration and was alert when taken off the ice on a stretcher. Although there is not a rule of high sticking your own player in the NHL, the Florida Panthers management needs to address this with either a fine or a suspension with out pay to Keith Ballard. This type of behavior should not be tolerated at any level of hockey period. Ballard is lucky that all Vokoun suffered was an ear laceration, this could of been a hell of a lot worse. GROW UP.
Florida GM Randy Sexton said. ”There was no internal ear damage, just a laceration. They stitched him up, took a CAT scan and there’s no additional injuries.”Continue reading »
There has been a lot of talk about hits from behind, high hits and head contact this season in all levels of hockey and today I want to talk about the youth level. From a referee’s prospective on a hit from behind, it is cut and dry. You either did it or you didn’t and the only variable should be the severity of the hit and whether it takes place around the board or the open ice.
For those of you that don’t know, the penalty for a hit from behind can be a minor with a misconduct for the less severe hits like at open ice or a major plus a game misconduct and possibly a disqualification or match(USA Rules). Referee’s have to look at intent, injury and whether the offending player was trying to back off of the hit as well as the area of the ice on where the hit took place.Continue reading »
USA Hockey, with guidance from its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Stuart, has issued the following information regarding the H1N1 infection, including some basic recommendations to reduce the likelihood of spreading the infection.
1. Provide individual water bottles. Do not share water bottles.
2. Regularly wash hands.
3. Clean workout gear for each practice/competition.
4. Keep gloves on during the traditional handshake with opponents.Continue reading »
We are coming down the home stretch of the High School season and I just wanted to clarify a rule that seems to get a lot of grumbling from the stands. Although I took the rule out of the Federation book, this basically applies to every rule book in hockey. So lets get to it.
We are not even half way through this young season and I have already tossed two coaches and a parent out of different youth hockey games. I know that coaches and refs don’t always see eye to eye and this time I am siding with the coaches on how the behavior of parents effects everyone in the building. Naturally I have a few things to say on coaching but we will focus on 
It is no secret that coaches and referee’s do not see eye to eye all the time, I know that is hard to believe but it is true. So why do I bring this up you ask? I recently had an encounter while officiating a squirt game (yes I said squirt) with an assistant coach on the bench. To me it is part of hockey where as there will be disagreements in the heat of the moment but if a coach and/or assistant wants the respect they deserve from an official, the same is expected out of them and that was not the case today.
There has been a lot of talk about hits from behind, high hits and head contact this season in all levels of hockey and today I want to talk about the youth level. From a referee’s prospective on a hit from behind, it is cut and dry. You either did it or you didn’t and the only variable should be the severity of the hit and whether it takes place around the board or the open ice.
USA Hockey, with guidance from its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Stuart, has issued the following information regarding the H1N1 infection, including some basic recommendations to reduce the likelihood of spreading the infection.
