The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 7, 1986 -Page 7
I
Keeping
things
cool on
the ice
Linesman Dave Kronenberg must keep players,
and in this case countries, from fighting, as
Canada's Paul Cavalini and Michigan's Frank
Downing look to go at it.
Referee Dave Fisher stretches out before Michigan's After a schuffle with a Lake Superior player, Myles O'Connor is ushered into the penalty box by Linesman
Refere Dihae FshersretEd Sneddon.
game with Lake Superior.
Kronenberg clears out of the way while keeping an
eye on the action.
officials enter each game ready to do battle
Short on padding but long on stamina, hockey's
with the players or, rather, ready to keep the
players from doing battle with each other. One
referee and two linesmen stay on the ice for
the entire game, whereas the players are never on the
ice for more than two minutes at a time.
The head referee has the burden of calling
penalties. It is up to him to determine when a little
clutching and shoving becomes holding and roughing.
This power enables him to control the tempo of the
game. If he does not call any penalties, the game
could turn into a brawl. When this happens, the of-
ficials have their hands full. Too often, they have
found out that two-hundred pound men with sticks and
gloves are not easy to separate when they have their
hearts set on a fight.
By the ean of each game the officials are physically
spent. Although the locker room provides no positive
reinforcement for a job well done, it does provide
shelter from screaming coaches, players and fans.
Because of the control the officials must exert on the
game, they are often the scapegoat. But in the end,
they have only themselves with whom to discuss their
performance.
I.