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Refereeing

    On Wednesday, Jan. 29, my son Oliver and I went to a Brandon Wheat Kings game. The Wheaties won the game, and we were entertained. One of the things I was watching for was the way the officials handled the game. Wyatt Rapsky and Karlin Kreller were the referees. I was very impressed by these two gentlemen. They let the two teams play but called all the penalties that were in that game. They had control of the game from the outset of the contest. Congratulations on a job well done.

    I cannot always say that about officiating. Over the course of time, you see some great officials and some not so good. On any given night in the NHL I see some guys out there and wonder, how did they ever get there? Do they ever look in the mirror? NHL officials seem to call the cheap penalties but let shots to the head, cross checks and punches to the head go by as if you should have to take that. You can run someone through the boards or a hit from behind go, no penalty.

    The Winnipeg Jets are playing the Calgary Flames. Josh Morrissey gets cross checked from behind and it hurts him, he goes off the ice but does later return. He probably had a stinger. Same shift a Calgary forward steps on a stick and falls down. Winnipeg gets a tripping minor penalty. I can only shake my head and wonder what are these 2 guys doing out there. The one official is number 15, you can look him up. He used to do Wheat King games and he was awful there to. He is also the same referee who did not give Ryan Hartman a penalty for a headshot to Ehlers last season at centre ice. Ehlers missed 6 weeks with a concussion. The same official worked the NHL Stanley cup division championship series to see who goes and plays in the final. Hard to figure this one out.

    The worst game I ever saw was when the Canadian Olympic women’s team played the USA Olympic team. The penalties were 9 for Canada and 2 for the U.S. team. Somehow Canada won that game and received the gold medal.

    I still believe there is no accountability to some of these officials. The NHL says these officials who make bad calls or do not call flagrant fouls lose assignments. I doubt that!

    Fans deem it unfair when their team gets a penalty and focus on the official and take out their frustrations out on referees with verbal abuse, etc. One of the things I noticed in my years of officiating is that the great teams were so focused on the game and on their assignments they rarely said anything to you . They would re focus and keep on playing, just like the Ladies Olympic team did.

    The Elkhorn Canadians and the Cartwright Clippers who were the best 2 teams in the Southwest Hockey League for a number of years, were so focused on the game they hardly said anything to me, they just kept playing. Discipline! That is not to say there was not the occasional outburst from someone in the heat of the moment ,but they were right back playing the game at the next face-off.

    Officials today stand out in front of the penalty timekeepers’ bench to assess penalties and with that comes a lot of rabbit ears. The player is usually not happy with the call and says some colourful language. The solution, make your call and skate away. It is only the heat of the moment when the player says something.

    These days what frustrates me the most is the linesmen will not drop the puck. They have to throw out some player then drop it like it is nobody’s business. Linesmen just drop the puck. Nobody came to watch you, get the game going!

    Like officials, players should know the rule book. In fact the parents should know the rule book. Parents should also have the opportunity to officiate a game or two. On ice referees get different angles on infractions and sometimes you have players skate right in front of you and block the look you may get.

    In conclusion, focus! Focus on the game not the officials. There will always be controversy as long as there are games. Cheer loud for your team and enjoy life!

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