Hey Ref

Hey Ref – How many refs are needed?

Details

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 May 2012 23:31

By Duncan Ryhorchuk

In hockey there are multiple officiating systems that could be used – two referees, one ref with two linesmen, two refs with one linesmen, and two refs with two linesmen. I have also seen some Mite and Squirt leagues use just one referee. So that leads to the question, “What or who determines which system is used?” This topic was brought forward by a question posed to “Hey Ref.”

I would like to know more about hockey officiating. Why is there only one referee on the ice at most youth hockey games?

I recently learned that the two officials who stay near the blue lines are there to call the offsides but do not call penalties. As a lacrosse official, I struggle to understand the reasoning behind the use of the hockey officials because so much happens on the ice that one official cannot see. In addition, so much happens around the net and the goal line that most, if not all of the officials miss because they are trying to skate from one end to the other and cannot do it continuously throughout the game.

Our son is an A Bantam and in many of the games, the one referee cannot keep up with the speed of the game and most of us fans get extremely frustrated when an obvious infraction occurs in front of a linesman but no call is ever made. In addition, much of the chaos in front of the goal goes unnoticed because the lone referee is not in position to make an accurate call.  As always, there is a great deal of action around the puck but as in any sport, there is also a great deal of action away from the puck that is often overlooked because there is only one referee to patrol the entire sheet of ice.

I would welcome and appreciate additional conversation around this topic as I know many of the fans are asking the same questions I am.

Great question and interesting observations from the bleachers.

Why is there only one referee at most youth games? In youth hockey, they either use the two referee system or the one referee with two linemen system.

With the two referee system, both officials have equal control over the game. This allows either official to call rule infractions at any time.

With the one-two system, duties are split between the referee and the two linesmen. Basically the linesmen have the following situations to monitor: offsides, icing, hand passes, high sticking the puck and puck out of play. The referees, with help from his or her linesmen, have these situations plus all other aspects of the game. The final decision ultimately is the referees.

From the USA Hockey rulebook, this may clear up the question on a linesman calling penalties.

Rule 503 (d) covers what the linesman can do in regards to penalty situations. There are only two penalties a linesman can “whistle down”, too many skaters on the ice (rule 205 a and c) and articles being thrown on the ice from the vicinity of the players or penalty bench (601 c2 and h3).

In the final two paragraphs of the rule (503 d), it explains what a linesman can and is expected to do if he/she observes something happening in violation of the rulebook, i.e. an infraction that requires the application of a major penalty. The linesmen can’t stop play but can report their interpretation of the incident to the referee at the next stoppage of play.

Regarding the speed of the game and the referee being out of position, with the improvements of training and coaching of kids in hockey over the last 10 years, the game has become faster. An article I wrote on Sept. 10, touched on this topic, “Are we getting any better?” Officials need to train as hard as the players that they expect to officiate.

Scheduling should also address this concern; schedulers need to make sure top officials are scheduled as referees for these games. However, inexperienced officials do need opportunities to work these faster games to gain experience. For this reason, schedulers will sometimes give these officials the opportunity to be the referee but only with two highly qualified officials as the linesmen.

In the NHL, one rule change that has influenced the ability to make the game faster was to eliminate the centerline offside pass (two-line pass). This reason, plus the safety of the players behind the play, made the NHL and NCAA men’s officials determine that the one referee with two linesmen system was no longer adequate for this level of hockey.

Looking at NCAA women’s hockey, their game has improved at such a rapid rate that they now require the two referee with one linesmen system in Division III and the same two ref, two linesmen system for Division I hockey.

In another Hey Ref article titled “Referee in Chief,” published on Nov. 4, I asked Steve Tatro, MN Referee-in-Chief, “What changes do you foresee in the future?” Steve said, “I feel the next change we will see is the approval of the four-man officiating system by USA Hockey.”

I hope I this clears up your concerns. Thank you for your question.

If you have any comments, questions or an officiating subject that you would like expanded on, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .