A referee’s main objective is to be seen as little as possible. Just do your job, and nobody will talk about you after the game. But with how close and tight the game is today, it’s a miracle that the referees don’t interfere with the play more often, or get in the way of the puck. They often push themselves up against the board and have incredible skills to not get in the way. But sometimes, even the best referees can’t escape the puck.
During last night’s game between the Colorado Avalanche and the New York Islanders, the Islanders passed the puck behind their goal crease.
The referee tried to stay away but accidentally stepped on the puck as he turned. He didn’t want the Islanders to lose pace, so he quickly kicked the puck in their direction. When a referee gets in the way, they usually blow the whistle for a face-off, but this time, the game just kept ongoing. And on social media, the referee gets a lot of praise for his quick, cute little kick.
” Im 1000% okay with this,” says one user on Reddit.
” I’m not even mad at this. Ref probably felt bad he got in the way and just had a reflex. Lots of refs are former players sometimes that muscle memory takes over. Didn’t affect the play at all,” says another one.
