Gallatin
Hockey
Officials
Association
Knowledge is a Critical Tool
One of the keys to being a consistent, respected and succesful official is to continually improve your knowledge and application of the rules. The GHOA is dedicated to provide any and all possible resources to help you improve as an official. Take a look at the resources on this page to help further your development as an official. And keep checking back for additional videos, links and resources.
What NOT to do as a linesman
Here we have a good example of why linesmen must work as a team to break up fights and get players off the ice. Keep calm and remember your training in these types of intense moments. The proper procedure is to work as a two official team, break up the most severe and injury potential fight, escort the players to the penalty box, close the door, return to the carnage and repeat the process. You need to remove players from the ice that could potentially start scrapping with a different opponent. Eliminating the fights one at a time will make it easier on the Referee who, has been scribbling like crazy on his riot pad the whole time.
ALWAYS Escort Players Off the Ice
This is another great example of why you ALWAYS escort a player to the box or off the ice entirely during altercations. The injury that resulted in this clip could have been avoided IF the linesman had escorted the player in the dark jersey off the ice. Please notice that the same player was involved earlier with the initial altercation with a different opponent and the linesman had a hold of him then.
Procedure: Break up the altercation (1 at a time if multiple), escort players to the penalty box, close the door, return to the next altercation (if multiple) and repeat the process as a team.
Also note that team officials ARE NOT ALLOWED ONTO THE ICE DURING ALTERCATIONS. Notice that there are 2 team officials on the ice, one in a yellow sweater and the other in a grey sweater, trying to break things up. The problem with this is that they pose a greater risk of getting hurt themselves, as you will see the one in the yellow sweater taking a hard fall along the boards.
Keep calm, work as a team to break players up, verbally communicate with team officials to stay on their benches and use verbal communication with the players as well.
NO Parents Allowed On the Ice!
If a parent comes out onto the ice, the officials MUST escort them off regardless of what may be going on. The players all have the appropriate safety equipment and the parent being out there poses a danger to themselves as well as others. Escort them off the ice as calmly and quickly as possible and then return to the players.
What you need to understand as an official is that most parents may not fully understand the rules of the game, procedures that the officiating crew is using or the pontetial risk they are taking by getting involved on the ice.
DO NOT use Force on Players
Never, under any circumstances should you use an overt amount of force on a player during a scrum or fight. Officials should only use physical methods of tying players up, verbal communication and physical positioning. You absolutely must avoid any actions of using too much force that could result in an injury to the player. The officials in this clip seem to be tossing and dragging players away from the scrum, in what could be preceived as a violent method.
Referee Communication at AHL
This video was shot using a GoPro camera on the helmet of an AHL referee. Pay attention to the great use of verbal communication with the players throughout. Also, this referee has a calm but assertive demeanor which can help keep control of games that are going sideways.
Referee Communication at NHL
This video also shows the level of verbal communication that occurs on the ice during a game at the NHL level. Once again, the official is calm and assertive and handles his duties quickly and efficiently.