More Orgins Of The Referee Apocalypse

Much apologies for the delay on this but it was decided that the "Wheel Of Justice" took precedence and also some necessary paperwork needed to be done before this column could be finished. Part one of the two part Origins explained some of the bad calls we have seen that were so abysmal that it would even make a hockey diehard throw up in his mouth. Sorry for the graphic nature but some of these "incidents" really make fans that sick so far after the fact and many years later.

Time to go back to our favorite ref Stephane Auger. Here is something from Wikipedia or the short version of the two major incidents in his referee career:

Auger has twice been caught up in on-ice controversy. In an NHL game on December 13, 2005 in Montreal, he assessed Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan a misconduct penalty after concluding he verbally abused an official and made culturally insensitive comments against the referees, who were French-Canadian. The NHL reviewed the allegations against Doan and concluded that they were baseless.^[3] After a game on January 11, 2010, Vancouver Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows accused Auger of having a personal vendetta resulting from an incident in a previous game. Burrows stated that Auger told him before the game that he was going to "get him back" for making the official look bad previously.^[4] Burrows received four penalties in the third period of the game, a Vancouver loss against the Nashville Predators.^[5] The league investigated Burrows' claims and concluded that they could not be substantiated, while stating that "Referee Auger’s intentions were beyond reproach."^[6]

Fans know that basically something happened here and the NHL blew it under the rug as fast as they could. Yes releasing the can of worms could have been worse but really we know how refs are and how corrupt some were and are. There is a level of mistrust that often elevates around or during playoff time that lasts for years, decades, or even forever. Auger does not ref in the playoffs or at least he has not for awhile. Be thankful NHL fans.

Kerry Fraser is well known for calls that seem to come from his hair and no his brain. Here are two of his more infamous calls.




Mario almost kills him.....




That missed high stick......


Literally people in Toronto still have nightmares over the latter. When you have an online petition, I guess you have really made it. If you think I am kidding. Then take a look at this one right HERE. Yes folks THN did vote him as the "most consistent referee in 2005. I still do not know who he paid off for that one. That being said, Fraser is another ref that creates controversy anywhere he goes.

The reason why I only focused on these two refs for this part of the expose is as follows. Fraser is retiring at the end of the year and Auger well is never going to be confused with being a top NHL ref. So there is kind of a contrast and baseline here to go by.

Think about this for just a second. Imagine a series of blunders by refs in a series that not only costs a team one game but several. It has happened via the Crease Rule a la 1997 (Rangers-Devils Round 1) but what if it had more to do with a ref's interpretations of a rule err misinterpretations). That is the burning question.

What is going to come up in Parts 2a and 2b you may ask? Well a sort of made up calm before the storm mixing in the factual with the fictional that eventually causes an apocalyptic event. What will that event be? Stay tuned...the party is just about to get started.........