Monday, December 10, 2012

Hockey Drama

Sunday night my son played in a hockey game with his high school varsity team.  Sure the games get a little rough when the crowd / fans / friends egg the players on.  Yes, it is the job of the referees to make sure the games do not get out of hand.

Last night the game DID get out of hand. Why?  I blame the referees. Once in awhile you do get a bad referee. It happens.  However, when a game gets out of hand: players start checking dangerously, kids are getting hurt, tempers are heightened and fists are flying.  This is when I have a problem!  During this game the referees didn't make calls that should have been made, and when they did call a penalty it seems as if they penalized our team and favored the opposing team.

Our team suffered injuries that caused two players to leave the game.  Brandon was checked into the boards and his head bounced off the wall.  He got up dazed and confused. You could tell he didn't even know where his own bench was.  (After the game he was walking around as if he was drunk).  The player who did the checking should have been called for interference because Brandon didn't have the puck.  Nothing was called.  It took everything I had not to jump over the glass and kill throttle yell at the ref.

After another period with putting up with this nonsense, our coach went off on the referee.  The referees kicked him out of the game.  The teens in the stand went nuts and were throwing out words that even I didn't know existed!

  • A woman in the stands made an offhand remark about our coach not being a good example to our players.  He had every right to do what he did!  He was protecting our kids!  A job that the referees should have been doing all along. 

Within the last few minutes of the game a fight broke out.  I mean a fight!  The referees just stood there and didn't make a move to try to break it up.  My son left the bench, jumped the wall, went on the ice and tried to pull back his teammate.

I wasn't too surprised when Brandon was ejected from the game.  Brandon had a different reaction.  He got into the refs face (not one of his finer moments) and screamed at told the referee that his skills as a referee were lacking. (This version has been edited towards a PG13 audience).


  • To top it off, this same woman was cheering when the fight broke out and encouraged her son to "kick his ass".  
  • I was about to loose my temper (which really isn't that hard to do).  I left the bleachers before I punched that big mouth woman to go stand by the glass.


Even though my son had the right intentions, by leaving the bench during a fight is a major no-no in the hockey world.  He was given a misconduct penalty and 3rd man in penalty.  (Third man in means he jumped into a fight between the two players).  Depending how the penalties are reported to USA Hockey, Brandon could be facing up to a 30 day suspension. This includes his travel team, not just his high school team.

This may even be a mute point. We are taking Brandon to the doctors for his concussion.  Mostly likely we will be headed to the ER for a MRI and Cat Scan.   I will keep everyone updated on Brandon's condition.
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26 pretty purplexing comments:

  1. As disappointing as the poor officiating was, I'm concerned about Brandon. Praying that it's just a minor one, that won't keep him from being able to play again soon. {{hug}}

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  2. Oh my goodness!!!! When you said drama - you werent joking!!! Hope your son is OK...

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  3. Those refs need to take control of the game early on so this kind of thing doesn't happen. And I don't like that you're now dealing with a head injury. Hope he gets better soon.

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  4. Thank you Kathy. We are at the doctors right now. I'll let you know what happens.

    ~Tami
    Sent from Tami's iPhone

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  5. Thank you!!

    ~Tami
    Sent from Tami's iPhone

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  6. Exactly! It was the reffed game I've ever seen. And I've seen hundreds of games!

    ~Tami
    Sent from Tami's iPhone

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  7. i am so so sorry to hear, tami!! you and your son will be in my prayers! so sorry his game had to end up that way. big big hugs!! <3<3<3
    maria

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  8. We went to the doctors tonight. He does have a mild concussion and won't be able to play again until he is headache free. Not we wait to find out about his suspension. :(

    ~Tami
    Sent from Tami's iPhone

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  9. You weren't kidding when you wrote "drama" I've seen less drama in a Real Housewives episode. I hope your son is going to be okay. There must be something that can be done about the refs. I'm sure the last thing the school would want is a lawsuit.

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  10. oh man... I don't understand people... how could a mother encourage her child like that? I hope your son is okay... and thanks so much for your generous offer... you are a sweetie...

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  11. I believe we can report the refs to USA Hockey. I have to find more info on that. As far as suing the school, Ice Hockey is technically a "school" sport. It is considered a club that only uses the school name. Stupid, I know. It's all about the school not wanting to pay for the sport. If it's a club, the parents are responsible for all costs.

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  12. The wrong encouragement happens more than one would think. It always makes me mad that a parent could be such an idiot!

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  13. First and foremost, I hope Brandon is okay! A concussion?? Seriously? And a mom setting that example?


    I know the breakdown in NHL talks is frustrating, but these folks need another way to take out their frustrations ;-)

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  14. Refs definitely decide how dirty a game will be played. This is the first year Kaden has be allowed to check and for the most part the refs are pretty good about keeping it safe. However, this past Saturday, there were some really bad hits and nothing was called. Nothing. There were some icing calls, but nothing else. It was starting to get really rough but thankfully nothing too serious happened. But that might be because they are only 11... I hope your son is ok.

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  15. So sorry about his injury and I hope he will be okay! First of all I would have bitch slapped that lady! Second isn't there somewhere you can file a complaint about the ref? My blood pressure rose reading this post....this is why I'm glad Katelyn was not athletic one soccer game when she was in 3rd grade I was one of those parents (not proud of it) and after that I had a bloody tongue from holding my words! Yikes!

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  16. Oh no! I hope Brandon's concussion isn't serious.

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  17. A concussion??!!! Goodness gracious (PG13 version), that should not be happening at this level. And you know I know that hockey can be a rough sport, but it IS up to the refs to keep all the checking at a respectable, not to mention safe, level. What the heck with the refs? They created the situation and then when it completely boiled over, still did nothing.
    But Brandon might get a suspension?! Sounds like he was the only one trying to do something right!
    I hope he checks out okay an no serious injury has resulted. As for his penalty, there really should be a process so that such bad refs can be reported and the entire game reviewed.

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  18. Wow, interesting. I guess it's smart for them that they have no liability for what happens. At least you can report the refs.

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  19. A concussion!!!! This is terrible! I don't know anything about hockey but a concussion!!!!! I can't believe it!!!! I am so sorry! Please let us knowI how he is. AND then that woman??? What????? What's wrong with some people today/ I don't get it!!!!!! I'm so glad you didn't hit her. LOL!!! That would have been terrible! I worry I might go over a punching someone in the face like that one day. That would not be good at all!

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  20. He is okay. The doctor said his concussion is a mild one. He didn't go to school Monday and Tuesday. We will see how he does today. I sent an email to all of his teachers letting them know what happened, so they can send him to the nurse if he gets a headache.
    You'd be surprised at the number of parents who act that way at their child's game. At the beginning of each season the parents sign a Cod of Conduct. Some do not adhere to it.

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  21. Brandon is at the Midget level. Our experience with the younger age is pretty much the same. When they get to the 16-17 year old level, it gets a bit rough. Travel teams are much more controlled than the high school games. I am thinking it is because the refs are better trained for the Travel Teams.

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  22. Trust me, the thought occurred to me! If Todd wasn't standing next to me I am sure I would have been expressing my opinion. :-D
    The coach informed me that he IS reporting the refs. He is hoping to get them suspended for ALL games in the future. At the least, high school games.

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  23. He is doing okay. As long as he takes a pain killer, his headaches are manageable.

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  24. I'm not exaggerating when I said the refs were B A D! I know a lot of parents blame the ref's for everything…I'm not one of them. So when I say it was out of control… It was out of control!!!
    I am very proud of Brandon (even if it violated hockey rules). At the time, I didn't realize he had already suffered his concussion and he still went out to help a fellow team mate.

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  25. It would be terrible to hit the someone… but it may have been very satisfying to hit THAT woman. LOL

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  26. I've read these comments, so i have some idea what the outcome was, but I'm wondering if there's been any follow-up that I missed? It stinks that Brandon even found himself in that position. I hope he didn't suffer consequences beyond the concussion.

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