A day in a Ref's skates

Obviously, when you think of ice hockey, I'm sure the first thought that pops into your heads is fights and hits into the boards. And if you're a fan of the sport the mechanics and intensity of the game may also come up. But one aspect of the game that is almost always overlooked is the officials.

Of course, it's a rarity that a ref gets mauled in the middle of action or slammed into the boards, but it does happen. And although anybody can lace up some skates and throw on some stripes, the agility and precision it takes to be a good ref is something that is extremely hard to come by.

It may seem intense for a player to be on and off the ice every two to three minutes, but a referee is on the ice the entire game and must follow the puck wherever it goes. On average, a referee skates about six to 10 miles every game. Only stopping during time-outs or after a whistle. It takes someone who is in fairly good shape to be able to skate well enough to follow the puck and make appropriate calls.

Another thing that is vital for a good referee is experience of the game. In this area, knowledge and EXPERIENCE are two different things. Obviously, even though I know all of the signals, I know what to call and why, and I know how long a player should be in the box for what penalties, someone who has actually played the game will be a lot quicker in making calls, because it's something they've seen their whole lives. They have keener eyes.

I have met, probably the worst hockey ref in history, literally. In fact, he works at Ice Town. But the he is so bad is because he has never played a day in his life. He tried starting a roller hockey team when he was younger, but playing roller is almost detrimental to someone who wants to play ice. And one day I'm sure he told himself, "Hey, I like hockey, and I own some skates. I should try reffing to make some extra cash!" Bad decision.

Another thing that makes referees so respectable to me is the crap that they have to deal with. There is nothing on this earth worse than a hockey parent, there just isn't. Because of the fact that they spend so much money to get their kid to play, it's an abomination for them to get a penalty. No matter how obvious the infraction was.

Although I do admit, there are some pretty horrible hockey officials out there, such as said Ice Town kid...it's not an easy things to do. So before someone tries to argue a call or just jumps on the band wagon and hates referees of any sport, try throwing on skates and stripes, beware that it's more difficult than it looks, and there's no crying in hockey.

Age-old Rivalries should stick to turf

On Friday Jan. 21, 2011 the age-old rivalry between the University of California Bruins and the University of Southern California Trojans met on the ice, to battle for the crosstown cup. Unfortunately, this is a rivalry that should stay on the football field.

During the first period, the first whistles seemed to be pretty bad calls. Either head ref Matt Robinson either really dislikes the Trojans, or he just likes calling tripping when there was nobody tripped. The first two calls were against USC for tripping. However, throughout the game it became obvious that most of the UCLA players were not very sturdy on the ice.

In the words of a spectator, "Stop sliding this is hockey, not baseball!"

The first goal of the goal of the game was scored by the Bruin's No. 13 Michael Madatovian at 2:47 in the first period. But USC tied it up a few minutes later at 4:57.

Just another few minutes later at 6:23 the last goal of the period was scored by UCLA, taking back the lead.

After the 15 minute intermission to zamboni the ice between the periods, the rivals came out to fight once again. However, the 2nd period came out to be all about hits. But remember the horrible skills on the skates mentioned earlier? Apparently USC wasn't any better.

The fans all loved the aggression and of course, college guys are almost always obnoxious at school functions, whether they know the sport or not. They were banging on the glass and yelling as loud as they could. But I'm sorry boys, I'd be more impressed with your checks if you could stay on your feet after hitting someone.

The Trojans tied the game at 18:55.

The 3rd period proved to be slightly more eventful. Robinson once again showed that he more than likely doesn't like the Trojans, although they were good calls, he seemed to turn away when UCLA made obvious penalties.

On two separate occasions in the 3rd period UCLA was on a power play of 5 on 3. They nearly took back the lead during one of the power plays but it was waved off by Robinson because the Bruin's forward was in the goalies crease.

USC ended up winning the game three minutes into overtime and took the crosstown cup back from UCLA. Although the fact that almost all of the calls were made in UCLA's favor, the coach was very upset about the waved goal and threw a stick at Robinson.

Other than the sticking-throwing, it was an uneventful end to a relatively uneventful game, this age-old rivalry is on that should stay away from a hockey rink.