After The Whistle: Rule 60, Situation 10

Rule 60, Situation 10: Team "A" shoots the puck at the goal of Team "B". The puck enters the net but immediately bounces out again without the Referee seeing the goal. The Referee suspects there may have been a goal scored but allows play to continue. At the first stoppage of play the Referee checks with his linesmen and Goal Judge (if appropriate). At least one of them saw the puck enter the net and the Referee awards a goal to Team "A".

Question #1: Should the Linesman who saw the puck enter the net have blown the play immediately?

No, the Linesman must wait for the first stoppage of play and report what he saw to the Referee who may then award the goal.

Question #2: Should the clock be reset to the time the goal was scored (or as near as can be estimated by the officials)?

The clock should be reset if at all possible. Especially if the next stoppage of play happens to be the end of the period.

Question #3: If Team "B" scored before the play was stopped, would the Team "B" goal count?

No, the Team "B" goal would not count as the play should have been stopped when Team "A" scored.

Hello After the Whistle group;

First of all, I enjoy the work you are doing on your site, and thank you for making it available to everyone. As a older official and one that has spent many years officiating and playing hockey, It is so very important that we do keep younger people becoming officials to take over for us old-timers. There has been a lot of changes through the years making it much better for officials, but we still have our difficult days or nights that make you wonder if being an official is something you really want to keep doing. I have to say to everyone, it is very important that we remain on the ice being a part of the game. Ask any coach or player that plays hockey how important an official is and they will tell you how important we really are. I had played commercial games where the referee didn’t show or one wasn’t available, and it isn’t very much fun for anyone except maybe the one goon that shouldn’t even be on the ice. We had games we had cancelled due to fights and other stupid incidents. Some teams will not play other teams without having officials on ice, and I don’t blame them in the least. Yes we are very important to the game, so even with the crap we sometimes have to put up with, it is worth it for everyone’s sake. There! I said my peace!

Just a quick note on Rule 60, Situation 10, Question #1

My understanding is as follows;

The linesman can follow the play into the zone if the referee is trapped down ice, and if a goal is scored he or she can point at the puck in the net to signal a goal has been scored. He or she does not blow a stoppage in play, but by pointing assists the referee by indicating the he or she has seen the puck enter the net.

EDITOR'S REPLY:

Thanks for your comments, Norm.

As for your interpretation of Rule 60, you are right on.

Since the situation was one in which the referee may have over ruled the linesman if in the opinion of the referee the puck did not cross the line. Since the referee did not call a goal, the linesman must assume that the referee saw the play. Any linesman who would blow the play dead to call a goal would place the referee in a very difficult position. I doubt if the linesman would ever do another game in that league if he did something like that.

Take care.

Robert Kirwan
Publisher
After The Whistle