Referee Review – Example 1

20:00 – Watson drops puck
18:53 – Watson as back ref calls 20 (?) cross check on A10 – Versus was sucktackular at showing replays this period, and I only got a look at this one midway through – if it’s basically what was shown, it was very weak. If there was more, I can’t tell. Could also be an early control call, as they at least try to call this game tight away from the boards and slot – Watson takes PP zone
16:23 – Peel calls D5 80 slash – knocks stick out of A player’s hands and may have broken it – Peel takes PP zone
15:21 – Peel ignore mutual jousting, cross checking in front of D net on PK
15:15 – Peel ignore 75 trip on D23 on pk – stick between leg and can openers A9
14:16 – Peel ignore 50 slash D40
12:28 – Watson ignores 60 interference A, leads to 2 on 2 break in for Detroit
11:47 – Refs ignoring a lot of 40-50 hooks, mostly on Detroit’s part – lots of hooks on hands in this game, particularly from D13 and D40
10:57 – Peel calls D93 for ? interference, off-screen, no replay, Watson takes PP zone
7:11 – A8 breakaway goal – Peel a little behind the play but stretch fast to a very fast player. Peel makes no signal that he’s going to call the 65 slash/hooks from D24 who is trying to stay with A8, but it has no bearing on the play (1-0 Anaheim)
5:38 – Watson seen warning A10 after PWS
3:51 – Watson gets A13, D22 for 90 roughs on a PWS – they were the original lockup, and he’d just warned both teams. Well deserved. Game to 4 v. 4
3:51 – Really weird face off. A10 complains a lot – he doesn’t seem to be aware puck was dropped – in fact, only two of the wingers (one A, one D) seem aware of it.
3:16 – Both miss 30 hold A25 on D40 at neutral
1:55 – Watson calls A25 40 trip – incidental skate-to-skate contact after a good hit that did not change possession, but I get where they’re coming from. Peel takes PP zone
1:38 – Peel ignores A34 50 slash at top of crease on the pk
1:10 – Peel ignores D93 50 hook at top of crease on pp

Period Recap:

Fairly quiet and clean period – refs are trying to call it tight except in the slot but are not applying call level consistently. Lots of legal, hard hits. Refs in relatively good position, not in the way as of yet. Lots of uncalled hooks, especially in transition. D13 is a little yappy this game, especially at A25. This will be a theme.

Second Period

20:00 – Peel drops puck
20:00 – Wrong guy in the box to start the period? A15 appears to the be in the box, though A25 will not appear on the ice until two minutes into the period. Really, really weird.
19:43 – ? (I have 2, then a 3 and a 0 written over each other) fails to recognize the net is off for about five seconds, allowed a D chance to go through that would not have counted. Good position, just bad awareness
16:53 – Still a lot of 40-50 hook/slashing allowed
15:21 – Peel ignore 60 interference/cross check by D52 on boards (repetition upgrade – a 20, 40, 50 then 60)
12:24 – Watson (back ref) calls 20 interference on D23, but this was a 75 boarding, so I agree with the call, just not the name. He shouldn’t be calling interference from up high because he can’t clearly see who is touching the puck, but he is right to call a board here – pretty dangerous hit 4-5 feet from the boards.
12:24 – why is the face off at neutral?
11:44 – A27 pp goal – Watson good position. D is arguing for goalie interference, but D5 is the guy who originally forces Osgood back into his own net, and then A27 is spun into Osgood after contact from D player. Good goal and good non-call.
9:05 – Tie up on wall in A zone, good no call by Watson
7:30 – nice spin out of play by Peel
6:31 – Watson ignores 60 cross check A23 top of crease
6:12 – Watson calls A27 30 hooking – nothing compared to what was let go earlier, especially since this is at the top of the crease. Stick was parallel but not impeding significantly or even really that on D96. – Peel takes PP zone.
6:12 – Watson whiff 99 (I really want to call this 100, but it’s obviously not) elbow from D96 – looks pretty accidental, but he catches A34 right in the mouth and draws blood. This would be a 5+game according to the rules because it injured A34’s mouth. A34 taken off on cart because of injury to ribs incurred earlier in shift. A27 is pissed at his call and at miss.
5:41 – D40 pp goal
2:37 – ? calls D55 80 hooking at neutral – can opener after he ties up with A13 behind the play. Could have got him for 55 hold in original tie up behind the net
1:10 – Peel circles into players, picks off an A player, then gets puck in the skates and runs into more players, causes turnover and a scoring chance for D on the pk. Bad job anticipating, worse job extracting self from play
:25 – Watson ignores 50 hook D? at same places as A27 hook earlier

Period Recap:

Not well reffed period at all. Very bad safety miss by Watson on the elbow, and a whiff/bad call on the same play. They continue to want to call it tighter but continue to apply the standard inconsistently. Peel has been the better skater but it was a very bad sequence where he let himself get quite up in the play on the late A pp. Watson is an okay skater and decent positionally.

Third Period

20:00 – Watson drops puck
19:30 – Peel ignores 40 hold A
16:07 – Linesman slow on the offsides whistle, leads to PWS
14:30 – Peel ignores mutual tie up behind the net
14:00 – Watson good position, but a little close to the play – no impact
12:09 – D24 initiates PWS by going at A9, no calls
9:35 – Peel calls ? high sticking on A48, who got D24 – Bunch of sticks come up on the wall, and since there was no replay, I could never tell who’s stick got D24 (there was a D stick along with A48 and A27). Could easily have been a good call. D24 drops like he’s been shot, then magically recovers to play puck when it comes near him. – Watson takes PP zone.
7:53 – Peel wipes out on the backskate, slow to get up off his butt.
6:15 – Peel nearly falls down
5:33 – Peel calls 50 hold A18, misses 60 embellishment on D24, who wipes out spectacularly yet again. A18 took free hand off stick at neutral and puts on D24’s shoulder, Russian judge gives D24 an 8 on the wipeout. – Peel takes PP zone.
2:38 – Peel ignores 3x 50 hooks by A as D40 cuts across slot, also ignores some serious jousting by D11, A21 in front of net
1:04 – Watson blows whistle quickly, nullifying apparent D goal. Watson is in good position for the play initially, moving himself to the corner to stay out of the way of the players moving down instead of cutting behind the net to be at the opposite side and screening himself behind Osgood or taking himself away from what would be the likely angle for a puck to be frozen from (short side stuff attempt). As play moves more towards net, a Wing ends up on the ice behind the net and in the path of where Watson would skate to – I think this influences him not to skate as hard as he can straight to the back of the net and instead try to come around in a bigger arc, which is slower and he has to pick his way more carefully. He is screened from the puck by Hiller’s body. I can’t fault him on his positioning other than I wish he was a touch faster to the back of the net, but the Wing on the ice cut off his most direct path. Both refs had had relatively quick whistles at the net all game, so the quick whistles is not out of character for the game. Unfortunate, but hard to fault Watson.
0:29 – D13 continues to be very yappy and has been a part of many PWS in this game.
0.0 – D93 turns to engage A players going to the net, starts a PWS at end of game. D13 comes into one gathering late, is pulled off and face washed by A25, both get roughing minors, only penalties.

Period Recap:

Peel continues to struggle skating, but it’s Watson with the major positional question mark in this period on the waived off goal. Like I wrote, I find it difficult to fault him on it – you always wish he could be in absolutely perfect position, but I understood his decision-making process to get to where he ended up each step of the way. D24 is a flopper, D13 continues to yap, A25 gets tired of D13 yapping, nothing really out of character with the rest of th game.

Grades:

#20 Tim Peel – Skating: D, Safety: C, Fairness: B, Call Quality: C
Was great at skating most of the time, but when he wasn’t it really impacted the play, so I had to ding him hard there. He gets some of the brunt of the elbow. Call quality suffers because of inability to apply the standard the entire game, but the vacillating standard was applied evenly to both teams.

#23 Brad Watson – Skating: C, Safety: F, Fairness:B, Call Quality: C
Average skater, and I have to fail him for missing the major elbow. Call quality suffers because of inability to apply the standard the entire game, but the vacillating standard was applied evenly to both teams.

Penalty Summary:
Minors: 9 (plus 2 sets matching minors for 13 total)
Majors: 0
Match Majors: 2 sets
Match Minors: 0
Phantoms: 0 – some were weak, but I saw at least what they thought they were seeing
Home PPs: 4
Road PPs: 5
Difference: 1