Hockey referees have extensive list of duties to follow, keep order on ice

BY KATHY GIERER --

You may not notice to look at them, but Joe Sullivan, Joe Pocztowski and Justin Prusak all have very thick skin.

Sullivan says it's a must for a hockey referee who counts few in the arena as friends.

Earlier this season, referee Sullvan and linesmen Pocztowsi and Prusak worked a Columbus Cottonmouths game together. All are members of USA Hockey's Junior Officiating Development Program.

Sullivan, 23, began with the program on a part-time basis while still in college at Lindenwood University in St. Louis. Because of the travel, an estimated 48,000 miles a year, he could only attend college part-time. Sullivan made the leap to full-time officiating and benefited from having his foot in the door of the program.

Pocztowsi, 23, spent his playing years in the penalty box. He is in his fourth season as a full-time official. He reached as high as the United States Hockey League as a referee, but entered the USA program as a linesman.

"I have a better opportunity to get to the NHL as a linesman because of the talent pool out there," said Pocztowsi. "It's a crapshoot anyway."

Pocztowsi said he logged 40,000 miles of travel this season.

Prusak, 23, got a later start than most officials. He was in college full-time when he met Scott Brand, director of the program. Brand wanted him to drop out of school and move to Chicago. Prusak was committed to getting his degree. He finished classes, is currently student teaching and officiating when he can.

Sullivan put skating ability as the number one criteria for a successful referee. A close second is knowledge of the game.

"Either you see a play or you miss it," Sullivan said. "You have to put yourself in the best position to see the play. Staying 10 feet behind it puts you in that position. People can't argue with your judgment. Consistency is also important. It helps the players know what they can expect."

Pocztowsi and Prusak list qualifications a little different for linesmen as their game responsibilities differ from the referee.

"We need a good rapport with the players," Pocztowski said. "We take guys to the box and calm them down. We know it's not personal. We need to get them to take their mind off things."

"People skills are very important to a linesman," Prusak said. "Everyone on the ice might be furious with the referee. We get to be the mediators."

The referee is often the target of wrath from fans, coaches and players.

"You've got to do a lot to cross the line," Sullivan said. "If they start screaming at me, I just skate away. The biggest thing is that coaches and players think you hold grudges. It gets in their mentality and they take it personally.

"Nobody likes to get yelled at. You have to have a pretty thick skin."

Several specific behaviors on the ice get Sullivan's attention.

"If you're a coach, don't put your foot up on the dasher," Sullivan said. "That makes my ears go up. If a player slams a stick or when attacks get personal, that gets my attention."

The linesmen serve as a team on the ice, though they are likely to be working together for the first time. They have a pre-game meeting to discuss their responsibilities to be as well-prepared as possible. Communication is so important.

"There were two guys who worked together so often that they don't even have to look at each other," Prusak said.

"We haven't worked together in a while," Pocztowsi said of himself and Prusak. "We worked together Thursday night, then Friday was better and tonight we should have worked out all the kinks."

Brand heads up a staff of nine supervisors. He sees about 300 games a year, including 20-30 games in the SPHL. During the game, Brand speaks into a recorder, giving suggestions, criticisms and reminders to his officials. After the game, he sits down with the officials, his recordings and a video of the game to discuss his concerns.

Brand was in Columbus Feb. 29 and March 1 to observe referee Michael McCreary and linesmen Jon Shaw and Craig Kneale. Brand records both compliments and concerns and notes the time of each incident.

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