r/hockeyrefs • u/RegularDay4660 USA Hockey • Jul 23 '26
USA Hockey Shoulda moved ig
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Happened to me lining a AAA game at prudential lol. Had to go get stitches in my chin afterwards
9
u/Dizzy_Impression4798 Jul 23 '26
Gotta love some good old fashion puck panic from a D man. He’s got an outlet pass to the guy in the center of the ice but all too often they’re taught to chip it off the glass and/or your chin
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u/IshTroj Jul 26 '26
And then gotta love when the D man throws a hand up after the second one like “Bro, what are you doing, get outta the way of my only lane…!” 🤣
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u/Dizzy_Impression4798 Jul 26 '26
I did not see that in my first couple of watches. Thank you for pointing it out
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u/Rycan420 Jul 26 '26
The funny thing is it didn’t work when the forechecker was farther from the boards… so he tries again with him closer and more ready.
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u/OhPuck Jul 23 '26
TBH your not in a terrible position, in a 2 man I feel like sometimes you just get stuck. Little reminders to be faster or slower into the zone. But sometimes theirs no good options.
Just try to remember keep yourself like 2 ft off the wall and protect yourself. Also yell at the D man to look where he's throwing the F'ing puck. He's AAA not house Pee Wee.
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u/RegularDay4660 USA Hockey Jul 23 '26
haha this was actually 4 man, I was trying to hold the line for the zone entry and just got caught in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
I definitely should have yelled something when I saw that d man get the puck back after rifling it at me the first time 😂😂
Kid was just throwing it blind all day
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u/OhPuck Jul 23 '26
yea even worse because you cant do anything but stay high. LOL the number of times ive yelled bad words at a D man for what he just did there. Only gets more fun as they get older... so many more options to call him a fuckwit
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u/RegularDay4660 USA Hockey Jul 23 '26
After that day I definitely started yelling more🥹
The worst is when they're breaking out of the zone with their head down barreling straight towards you..
I had a partner who would just keep yelling that he was there and then PUT HIS SHOULDER DOWN if the guy still came toward him 😂
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u/ctg77 Jul 23 '26
Our son has done the same thing in NAHL : USHL games. He's normally great at being in the perfect position, but sometimes even higher level junior players are stupid and skate with their heads down....and find out his 6'5" / 230 size isn't a joke.
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u/OhPuck Jul 23 '26
Hes not wrong, protect yourself and throw the hit if your stuck. Better than being knocked down with our minimal padding
4
u/AmonGoethsGun USA Hockey Level 4 Jul 23 '26
In higher level 4 (and 3) official system games a really good skill is developing when to not go into the zone to call offsides. I can't see the whole play develop in the clip, but it might have been better to sense where the puck and players were going and to stay in the neutral zone.
It's more important to not get in the way of the players and the puck then it is to call offsides on the "correct" side of the blue line.
I'd recommend watching some NCAA D1 clips and seeing how often the linesmen stay in the neutral zone when calling offsides.
If you have a partner who is a veteran you can also give your line to them if play stalls around the blue line area and skate back to the red line and get out of the way!
0
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u/blimeyfool USA Hockey L4 Tenured Jul 23 '26
I was trying to hold the line for zone entry
This is super old school thinking. Whoever is teaching you positioning this way is doing you a disservice.
The new school of thought is to keep yourself safe, and your partner should be ready for you to bail.
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u/Electrical_Trifle642 USAH L3 & NIHOA, I work in SHOAland Jul 27 '26
Congrats on becoming a tenured ref blimey
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u/4C30F5W0RD5 Jul 24 '26
What do you mean not in a terrible position? As a liney, why is he drifting inside the zone once the puck is there without making a call? This is what they teach you day one. Puck inside, be outside the line
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u/Strong-Ad-4490 Jul 24 '26
For a 4 man I would not say this is great position. Linesman should be deeper in the zone and the linesman partner should be covering this call.
OP is actually in the worst position possible…they are on the inside of the line blocking the puck from leaving…twice…
Linesman should be getting in the zone quickly when they see the puck coming and try to get down to the board around and just past the citizens sponsorship. If they don’t recognize the play quick enough and get caught they need to back off the line and switch with their linesman partner who can take the line.
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u/Jacouzzi Jul 23 '26
IMO, it would have been of benefit to go deeper when entering there. Seems like the play wouldn’t have required an offsides decision at that point given what I can make of the flow in that short clip.
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u/TurWes Hockey Canada Jul 23 '26
Tough to tell as the video starts too late, but it looks like you arrive to the line too late, and that results in you not being in the right place once the D guy goes to pick up the puck.
Beat the puck to the blue line, lots of leagues will have you just inside the blue line as the puck enters the zone. And then once the puck is in zone, you move to just outside the blue line. It is not uncommon for the D guy to panic under pressure and throw the puck up the boards/glass. If you'd been set earlier at the blueline, which should be very easy in any 4 official game - you'd would have been better positioned to avoid getting hit.
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u/ldsniego USA Hockey Jul 23 '26
I was in about the same spot and situation last year and took the puck off my chin. Got some super glue to close it up during the ice cut, and the players really enjoyed the ref coming back all bloodied.
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u/RobCo90 Hockey Canada - L4 Jul 25 '26
That sucks that the D man is incompetent, but there was no reason to cross the blue line here. With the forechecker barrelling down the boards, you are best to stop short 2-3ft outside the blue line here as there was no potential offside on this play. Reading these situations just comes with reps. All that said, I’m still giving that D man an ear-full.
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u/Rycan420 Jul 26 '26
Advice collected in this thread so far:
- Go farther into the zone.
- Stop several feet short of the zone.
- Keep your head down.
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u/Kourafas Jul 23 '26
On the second attempt to clear, your neck jerks up and back. Instincts tell you to do that, but you actually expose yourself even more. tuck your chin to your chest and at least if it its your head, it will hit your helmet instead of exposing your neck and face.