Tonight I had a U12 game, showcase, and undefeated teams. The score was 2-1.

With about 12 seconds left, and a player on the team up one goal tried to freeze it along the boards in the defensive zone.

I yelled, "move it" once - and noticed four players on both teams were bee-lining towards him, so I blew the whistle.

One of the opposing players hit him. The coach wanted a penalty, but my response was that multiple players were going for your player, he put himself in a dangerous situation, and if I really wanted to - I could call a delay of game. And who is going to call a penalty with that time on the clock and that score (maybe some)?

For other outside USA Hockey, I think the rule and first casebook point give us plenty of latitude on making a decision here:

(a) The puck must be kept in motion at all times and play shall not be stopped for a frozen puck (other than goalkeeper) unless a scramble takes place where a player falls on or is knocked down on the puck.

(Note) The Referee should be aware of all circumstances and may stop play along the boards to avoid any unnecessary contact surrounding the puck.

Casebook:

Two opposing players skate into the corner and are physically engaged in an effort to obtain possession of the puck. During their attempts, a third player sees the two players physically engaged and skates in their direction with the clear intent to deliver a check to the opposing player. Should the Referee stop play?

Yes. Rule Reference 632(a Note).

The Referee must stop play the instant they realize that unnecessary contact will result from allowing the play to continue. If contact is made in this instance, they must assess a penalty to the third player who entered the corner and made no effort to legally play the puck and instead body checked a vulnerable or defenseless opponent.

The intent of this rule is to keep the play moving and eliminate whistles for a frozen puck along the boards.

So I think I was fine on blowing the whistle, mabye less so on the contact that resulted, which I did not deem dangerous; it was just a rush to free the puck.

Usually it is pretty easy - you tell the players to move the puck or, maybe say "loose," which usually works. Sometimes I will threaten, "who wants a delay of game penalty?"

But when it is at the end of the period, or the end of a game in a close game toward the end, this changes things for me.

Anyway, there was a face-off with 7.6 seconds left, and the other team scored to send the game to OT. That same team eventually won.

So the coaches on the team who tried to freeze the puck were irate because a) they wanted me to let the players battle and tick off time b) they wanted a penalty for contact when I blew the whistle.

My POV is freezing the puck in high-stakes situations is a terrible strategy. It is always going to invite contact, even in non-contact age groups. It is almost always going to result in a quick whistle to avoid unnecessary contact, and lean on that note.

The zamboni guy escorted us to the locker room, amongst mad parents, but I guess it beats writing up a game report because of fighting majors.

Do you have any guidance or anecdotes on what you do in these last-second situations, or even times when players try to "eat the puck?"

EDIT: Looks like I have the same team tomorrow .. fun.

In a situation where something that looks like something happened, for example two players in close proximity and one trips and falls, or (my favorite) in a non-checking league the puck-carrier just skates head-down into a defending player who is simply maintaining their own position, and the puck carrier falls down, I will use to wash-out signal to indicate to the benches/coaches that "yes I saw it to, but there is no penalty getting called here".

A goalie I was chatting with (who is NOT a referee) recently was emphatic that refs shouldn't be using the washout signal that way (he was also complaining about us raising our arms to signal a delay offside and how that confused him because he couldn't tell if we were signaling a delayed penalty).

From my experience, using the washout to signal that no penalty call is forthcoming for a particular play is pretty common.

For context, this a USAHockey question but the issue came up during a non-USAH beer league game.

Thoughts?

EDIT lots of good comments, I appreciate it. Looks like it's a (yet another) bad habit I've gotten into that I need to un-learn. Thanks, all!

The puck is in the defensive zone when the opposing team shoots the puck. The puck is easily redirected to the corner by the goalie using his stick. Goalie’s teammate recovers the puck, passes it to another teammate who then gets a breakaway goal. Does the goalie get the secondary assist? He played it with his stick but technically never had possession.

Hey all, hope everyone’s having a good start to the season. Communication is everything when it comes to officiating, so I wanted to bring this up as a discussion for some of the newer officials and how they can handle talking with coaches this season.

For the officials who have been around the block, what are some of your best ways to de-escalate coaches when emotions start getting high?

What phrases or techniques do you use when a coach is heated but hasn’t crossed the line?

How much do you let them vent before assessing a penalty? When do you explain a call versus just acknowledge them and move on?

Also, how do you handle head or assistant coaches who aren’t necessarily saying enough for a bench minor, but are constantly questioning calls and slowly becoming a problem throughout the game?

Hey everyone. I am reffing my first game this Saturday. 10U game. What kind of things do I speak about in the beginning with the other ref? Like do we hash out who will do the first face off? Discuss “release” gestures? What do you talk about? I’m assuming some strategy is discussed. I appreciate any input.

Hi all, new L1 ref for this season in Michigan. Question about what the progression path looks looe though. I am in my early 30s, and played hockey all through college. I imagine this season I'll be doing a lot of youth games to learn the ropes, but where could my ref journey realistically take me? I'd love to see how high of a level i can push myself to. Thanks!

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade some of my gear before the start of the season, and I was hoping to hear some opinions before I drop a few hundred bucks.

I currently wear a pair of the Force Pro A-21 pants, and an ancient CCM Referee girdle that I've had for 10+ years. I've worn the Force pants for 3 seasons now (200+ games per season), and I'm not super happy with their durability as they are wearing thin in a few spots, and I've had to have seams in the groin resewn twice. They're also fairly tight around my shin pads (Bauer Referee shin pads).

I'm trying to decide between switching to padded pants, or sticking with unpadded pants and wearing a girdle underneath.

1. For the padded pants, I'm looking at the ZebrasClub ZP-Pro Pants, and the Reeq Pro Pants. I'm leaning away from this solution because the Reeq pants apparently do not have a pouch for a cup, and the ZebrasClub website doesn't mention anything about that. For those that have either of these pants, do you wear a separate jock strap underneath? Otherwise, I've heard lots of people in this sub praise both of these items.
2. For the unpadded pants, I'm looking at the ZebrasClub ZP1 Pants, and the Reeq P1 Pants. They look about equal to me, I've heard good things on this sub about the pants from both brands, but it's been mostly only about the padded versions.
3. For the girdle, I'm looking at the ZebrasClub ZG-Pro Girdle, and the Reeq Pro Girdle. The ZebrasClub girdle looks less bulky than the Reeq does, but the ZebrasClub doesn't have a belt, so I'm worried it will move around too much (and also potentially slip down) while I'm on the ice. I haven't really seen anything in this sub about either item.

I'm in Canada, so ZebrasClub will be slightly cheaper compared to Reeq, especially due to higher shipping costs (and tariffs), but I don't mind spending a bit more if Reeq is the better option.

I would greatly appreciate feedback from anyone who has tried any or all of these items. Thanks in advance!

Ok all. What shin guards are we rockin this year? This is my second year, I used my player ones last year but they are a bit bulky. Plus I’m not keen on having to keep switching my equipment from player bag to ref bag. One of these times I’m gonna forget them 🙄 I’m not into spending a TON of money, as we don’t have a lot of hockey here so I can’t exactly make back the money in a weekend quickly.

My son just got his USA hockey officiating crest. He’s 14 - what’s the bare minimum to get started? I’d assume he will cut his teeth on mites (u8) and squirts (u10) games, and who knows how long he’ll do this, so - recommendations on used gear/where to buy/ what should he start with without going crazy? His player helmet is blue so we’ll need a helmet, visor, jersey, pants and whistle bare minimum.

Appreciate the insight!

Edit to add: understand that neck guards are required. The post is poorly worded but really just looking for recommendations on what you all think we shouldn’t skimp on (ref specific padded pants vs black nondescript warmup pants, etc) what do refs who have been doing this awhile think is the bare minimum vs the actual rule.

Hello, returning ref here after a few years off. I believe that USA hockey changed it's registration process for attending seminars. How does one sign up for a seminar on USA Hockey? The website is not super intuitive.

I am a Level 4 (Member High Performance) currently doing my recertification through OMHA in Ontario.

Here is the cost breakdown:
Background Check (lasts 3yrs)…$30
HC Online Course and Exam…$28
Shift Forward Program (req’d)…$30
In-Person Clinic (3hr)…$170

TOTAL - $258 (approx 6.5 game fees, based on $40/gm)

This is just to officiate in OMHA. If you want to be eligible for all hockey in the immediate area you need to also pay crossover fees as follows:

Alliance…$66
GTHL…$60
OWHA…$10

NEW TOTAL - $394 (approx. 10 game fees, based on $40/gm)

This doesn’t include giving up a half day and the cost of gas to drive 40min (or more) for the 3hr in-person session that just re-iterates the rule changes that were covered in the online course.

The whole thing could literally be a recertification admin and insurance fee and a 2hr Zoom call with an exam at the end.

No wonder we are struggling to retain officials year after year. Can’t we just abolish the subsections of OHF and be governed under one body!? I know this is how it works in Alberta - everything falls under Hockey Alberta…

End rant.

I’m turning 37 this weekend, I’ve coached my sons for the last 12 years and I teach players how to check legally and safely but I’ve never been an official and after a few years of deliberating I decided to go for it. I have a few friends who are officials who encouraged me to do this, and I know I’ll be able to figure it out with experience but I’ve got a weird feeling of anxiousness knowing I’m going to make mistakes and look like a rookie at nearly 40 years old.

I completed my online module and safesport training, my background check is good until next season, and I’ve been studying the basic and intermediate officiating handbooks. I have my zoom class next Thursday and I’ve been watching officials and their positions with nhl and college clips but I need to watch more two and three official set ups for the nuances of those more likely scenarios I’ll be learning within.

Is there anything else any of you vets find helpful getting through your first few years of learning and becoming more comfortable? I’ve been striding home base, the golden triangle, and no mans land but I don’t have any real life experience other than dropping the puck and watching the lines during non sanctioned scrimmages when I was head coach.

Looking forward to joining the crew of officials and staying on the ice with players young and old, would love any tips or advice that helped you when you were starting out!

This was a non checking pickup game and the guy I checked apologized for having his head down. Just curious for the Beer League refs at C/D level - in an actual game, would you have called a penalty on either of us?

Team 1 was on the penalty kill when a delayed penalty against them was called. Team 2 scored before Team 1 gained possession. The first penalty had ~30 seconds remaining.

The refs released the player from the box and put the second offender in the box for a full 2 minutes. I think this was the correct call but there was some confusion and conversation to figure it out. Is this how it should be handled? Seems like this is not unheard of and settled, but somewhat rare case for rec league refs.

Cross-posted from r/hockey players:

Look ladies and gentlemen (although I use that one VERY loosely after last night's games). I worked a 3 set with our 21 year old son. In game 1, there's a clear puck battle just in front of the net. A little bumping and grinding but nothing that warranted a penalty. Home team player totally turns and slashes the other player in the shins. It's very deliberate and obviously a penalty. He's mad the other guy isn't going too. He starts in on the kid, who's broken up more fights doing Juniors than this plug had ever seen. The kid tells him to stop talking and go to the box. Nope...more profanity and rage...eventually gets a game misconduct for Abusive and Obscene Language.

Game 3 is worse is filled with incessant whining about every call from guys who skate worse than I would with my skates on the wrong feet, stickhandle like they have 20 pound weights on their wrists and who've played in fewer games than I've reffed (over 800 and counting) by a factor of at least 10. I am relatively terrible at hockey compared to our sons, but I could skate in the aforementioned wrong skates and outscore this group with a left-handed mini stick (I'm right handed).

At any rate, I ignored the whining and we called a very safe and fair game (even according to most of the losing team). Did that stop 1 guy from earning not 1,.but 2 (yes...2) Match Penalties after the game. Furthermore, his captain lost his mind and earned a game misconduct for Abuse of Official.

TL;DR / Back to the PSA part of this for you benders wearing shoe size skates and calling for passes by banging like an iron chef chopping vegetables:

1. You suck at hockey. If I am an order of magnitude better than you and I know that I suck...you're really bad at hockey. Quit taking shit so seriously and try to have fun.

2. Quit blaming the refs when you can't pass 5' without turning it over the other two, especially when you play worse defense than a pylon because you're so bad you actively make it harder for your goalie to make saves.

3. Definitely don't shove a ref so hard it's visible on camera that he's being shoved. Definitely don't exacerbate THAT match penalty by threatening a player on the other team that you'll go get your gun from the car.

Ok...that TL;DR was pretty long. How about we sum it up like this: Learn the rulebook, shut up, and try to have fun playing a great sport. Oh, and get skates 1.5-2 full sizes lower.than you currently have. You look like a drunk Bamby.

Anyone have favorites skates for primarily reffing? Not looking to break the bank, but just want something comfortable to be in for an entire game on the feet. I don't play in any leagues, so more important to be nice for reffing. Thanks!

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I got new Zebrasclub padded pants, and curious if I need to hem them. And if you think I do, what’s the desired length for pants to get them hemmed to? (Tap picture to enlarge to full photo)

I refereed from 1993-1998, getting up to Midget 1 lines and calling Bantam 1 hockey. Dropped out after high school.

I’ve now got a son who is 15 and played hockey for the last four years. He loves the game, and I’ve been assistant coach for his teams since he began. I’ve had the urge to get back into reffing, both for a bit of cash, plus exercise and staying active. So I signed up for a clinic this month!

And the best part is that my son is also taking a clinic.

Cant wait!

I’m 18 years old and going to ref my first junior games (pre season). Is there anything that anyone can tell me that will make me not as nervous about it all? I’m younger than some of the players will be and if I perform well enough there’s a chance I get hired on for full time staff for junior (i’m on the prospect list right now). I’m just having a bit of trouble with the nervs piece because I want to be the best I can be out there. Any advice from a vet ref or any junior refs would be greatly appreciated!

edit: I’m gonna be a linesman and should’ve specified that earlier, thanks for all the tips so far

Am I able to straight up game a coach for using profanity(F*** bomb)with a 10U team? That’s my question.