2 Referee/1Linesman System

Hockey Canada

This resource is provided to illustrate and demonstrate the Two Referee 1 Linesman System policies and procedures of Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada would like to thank the SHA for their assistance; • KEYS TO SUCCESS OF THIS SYSTEM 1. Officials Ability to handle responsibility switch roles similar to two man system 2. Communication 3. Teamwork 4. Respect for Fellow Officials 5. Integrity of the Game

Rationale

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Rationale:

With the emphasis on standard of play and the calling of penalties implemented in the 2006-2007 season it was felt that this is difficult to accomplish with one official calling penalties. However due to the lack of availability of qualified officials and cost, the four official system was not an option. The goal was then to develop a system to provide better ice coverage for penalty selection as well as the other game situations that occurred.

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Contents

Face-Offs Start of the Game/Neutral Ice and End Zone

End Zone Positioning – Sight Lines

Procedural Responsibilities

Line Change/ Icing/ Gathering and Fight

Offside Responsibilities

Calling Penalties

Linesman Responsibilities

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Face-Offs Start of the Game and Neutral Ice

• • • FACE-OFFS AT THE START OF GAME AND PERIODS: FACE OFF NOTE: all face-offs will be handled by the lineman with regards to the dropping of the puck. Both referees will be responsible for the calling of encroachment at center ice and the trail referee in all other situations. Center ice- the referees will position themselves at the blue-lines and are responsible for the off side at their line until the linesman can position him/herself to take over.

Neutral Zone Face-off Spots- the lead referee will position himself in the end-zone as he would for any face-off. The trail referee will establish the position normally taken by the other linesman and be responsible to hold the line unless play goes up ice or the linesman is in a position to cover the line. Both referees will be on the same side of the ice at this time.

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End Zone Face-Off

• • • POSITIONING FOR END ZONE FACE-OFFS: End Zone Face-offs- the lead referee will take the position on the opposite side of the ice from the face-off. The trail referee will position himself on the same side of the ice as the lead referee and hold the line just outside the line until the linesman gets to the line. Rationale for both referees on the same side: When the trail referee was on the same side as the linesman it leads to a clutter and at times was difficult to get a good position to make the proper call at the line. Often the linesman got trapped and the trail referee was in traffic and if play broke quickly, the trail referee was caught holding the line or breaking with the play. This system, although requires a switch at a safe time, enabled the best coverage at the line and the ability to break without a lot of traffic if needed so the far blue-line can be covered.

Note 1

- during this time the trail referee will have the dual role of watching for picks off the draw and covering the line if the puck comes back. There may be a period of time when the focus must be that of watching the puck rather than for infractions.

Note 2

- either referee will switch sides when the play warrants. •

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End Zone Positioning – Sight Lines

• • REFEREES’ POSITIONING AS PLAY PROCEEDS UP THE ICE: The lead Referee will prepare to move into the end zone, skating backwards, ahead of the play and not obstructing the view of the Linesman. The trailing Referee will follow the flow of the play, staying behind, keeping the last attacking player in clear view.

NOTE: This positioning, going into the end zone may change, based on the movement of players when in pursuit of the puck. The Referee will use good judgment and anticipation with respect to movement of the puck to move to the opposite side of the ice. (In the OHA this is discouraged, but will be accepted only when no other recourse is available). The trailing Referee does not have to immediately adjust his position, but may do so, only when player position allows this and to ensure good sight lines into his partner’s end.

If the note above becomes applicable (flowing as needed and even behind the net) it is important that the Trailing/Back Referee to wait a moment to see if it is ‘ok’ to switch sides. If the play remains in the end zone it is ‘ok’ to have both Referees on the same side, until they are sure that they will not get ‘caught’ by switching sides.

Note: This is the expected sight lines however prior to an end zone face-off the sight lines will be altered with both referees on the same side until the play allows a switch for one referee switch sides to these sight lines

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Procedural Responsibilities

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Line-change

The referee closest to the bench will perform the line-change procedure. Line-change procedure after a penalty call- the referee not making the call will direct traffic at the benches. This official will also be responsible to watch the players for any possible infractions.

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Icing

the lead referee will be responsible to blow the play down for all icing situations. He will not raise his arm.

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Gatherings/Fight Procedure-

Gatherings/Fight Procedure- the linesman and trail referee will be responsible to get to the gatherings as quickly as possible along with the trail referee similar to a three man system. The lead referee would get involved as he would in a normal one referee, two linesman system. If a fight was to break out the back referee will come in as the second linesman. The lead referee will be responsible for infractions occurring while his partner is involved with altercation as well as getting players back to the benches and identifying if someone comes off the bench.

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Note 1

- Both referees may call penalties during this time but must communicate after the completion of the play.

Note 2

- If a gathering takes place in the neutral zone, the centre line will be the determining factor as to which referee gets involved. If the gathering is directly at center ice, the officials will decide before

the game as to who will be the referee to act as the linesman.

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Offside Responsibilities

• • • Off-side Situations The lead referee will be responsible for timing their skating to be at the blue-line when the play arrives. It is important to be at the line but be ready to move into the end zone as soon as possible. There may be times that working the line as a linesman would is the best way to make the right call at the line. If the play is on delay the lead referee will point his arm out parallel to the ice in the direction of the player who is off-side, until the play is complete. If that player clears the zone but his team mates have not cleared the zone, the referee will simply point at the zone. The linesman will not take over the call when he arrives. For this system to be effective this is a critical part of the lead referee’s responsibility. We understand that the focus must shift at this time but the trail referee will watch for penalty infractions as they would with a one referee system.

Note 1

- if the play stops the lead referee must also stop near enough to make a call at the line if the linesman has not yet arrived.

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Calling Penalties

• • • • Penalty procedure- the referee calling the penalty will do the penalty procedure and give the signal at the infraction as well as the penalty box.

Note 1

- It is perfectly acceptable to have both referees with their arms up and is encouraged if the infraction is in the sight lines of both referees. If this is the case communicate to the other official as to whom you are calling. If both have the same infraction, the official closest to the infraction will perform the procedure. If there are two different infractions, the lead official will make both penalty signals and report the penalties.

Note 2

- in most cases only one team is penalized, therefore the linesman

will be able to escort this player to the penalty box and the referee not calling will watch for any potential problems and then will get the puck

for the linesman when it is safe to do so. If there was an altercation between two players the trail referee involved in breaking up the

situation will be responsible for escorting one of the players.

Note 3

- If the trail official has a delayed penalty on and the play continues up the ice, at the stoppage a gathering occurs, this official

must then get to the gathering to become involved as his role as a

linesman. He will then communicate with the lead referee to see if any additional penalties are being called at the penalty box. For this situation, after the discussion the trail official will perform the penalty procedure. If only one penalty is being called, after everything is calmed, the trail official who had the delay on will perform the penalty procedure.

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Linesman Responsibilities

• • • • • • Face-offs the linesman will be responsible for dropping all pucks at each stoppage of play. This will include center ice face-offs.

Icing situations the linesman will be responsible for the initiation of all icing calls. Off-side situations once the play is in the end zone, the linesman will be required to get to the line and cover that line for all possible off-side situations. The linesman will get support from the referee closest to the line and be responsible to call off side situations until the linesman is able to take over. Note: if a referee initiates an off-side situation, he will complete the delay situation until it is complete. The linesman will not take over the delay.

Gatherings- the linesman will be responsible to get to the gatherings as quickly as possible and work with the trail referee in breaking up players. If a fight was to break out the trail referee would assume the responsibility of a linesman with the other linesman support. This would be the same as the two linesman system as both officials will be coming from a distance. The lead referee should still display presence and do what he can to diffuse situations.

Penalty procedure- the linesman will escort the player quickly to the penalty box and then proceed to the face-off location. Once the situation has calmed, the referee will pick up the puck for the linesman.

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