There has been that on going debate on whether playing in a mens league is a good idea or not. Unfortunately there are those bad apples that put an ugly tag on these leagues and it effects officials as well as players. Being an official and an ex player in these leagues, I have seen just about everything and what disturbs me is that there are guys that play this game like it’s the Stanley Cup Finals and there are scouts in the stands. We all have to get up in the morning for work, let it go already you missed the boat. I am not saying to avoid playing in these leagues, what I will do is give you some advice on getting on the right team makes all the difference in the world. Continue reading »
Nov 192009
There has been a lot of buzzing in the hockey world about this rule in the NHL rule book. The first incident this season happened in the King/Rangers game on October 14th. The Referee apparently blew the whistle after the puck had crossed the goal line and waved the goal off. The play went to video review and the call was over turned. Naturally Kings fans were pretty pissed as the call went against them. The most recent occurrence happened Wednesday night when Brad May appeared to have tied the game for the Red Wings late in the third period when Dennis LaRue waived the goal off even though he had blown the whistle after the puck had crossed the goal line. In this situation, the play was reviewed but the Referee over ruled the replay. Okay your probably saying, what is the point of replay then. Two different outcomes on similar situations. Here is the NHL rule right out of the book. Continue reading »
Nov 162009
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 »
As most of you know, I am a hockey referee and from time to time we come across an unusual type of situation and I decided that when this comes up, I will give my readers the opportunity be the ref and make the call. So with that being said, I will start out with one that I thought was a no brainier but apparently it is not. Today we will use the NCAA rule book.
Picture this if you will, team “A” is being called for a delayed penalty for slashing…team “B” pulls the goalie and while attacking the net in team A’s zone, the play is blown dead for a hand pass by team B. Where should the face off be once play is resumed?
A. at the center ice face off dot
B. in one of team A’s end zone dot
C. one of the face circles outside of team A’s blue line
D. the last placed played before the whistle
I want to hear your answers so don’t be shy, questions like this will educate all hockey personnel. Don’t guess, explain the reason for your answer. Next week’s is a good one, comeback and try again. Good Luck!
