Empire-Advance

     There are lots of good guys in the towns we officiated in. I cannot begin to name them all. Here are a few of those guys we meet.

     Gerry Williams was the coach of the Souris Elks of the Southwest Hockey League. Gerry was also a referee. Gerry let us start doing linesman duties. I was already officiating in Southwest League so many nights Blair, Smitty and I were together. Scott Clark of Oak Lake also did some games with us as well.

     Gerry Williams was a straight shooter and we all appreciated his direct approach because it helped us develop as officials. He was truthful, direct and did not sugar coat anything. Gerry was not afraid to give you a kick in the butt then, invite us for a brew after the game. He would come in to our dressing room and we would talk about the game. Gerry was also quick to praise us so there was always a balance, even keel.

     After 5 years of going to Souris, they were developing some young officials. We worked with them and soon it was time to move on. They still invited us down to the tournament of champions weekends which was a lot of fun. Souris produced some really good officials under the watchful eye of Gerry Williams.

     Gerry, I do not know if we could say thank you enough. Going to Souris was always a blast and you were so fun to talk hockey.

As an official there are certain guys you work well with and liked to work with in big games, especially playoff games. Blair, Smitty and I worked a ton of games together so there was always a level of comfort. Morley Butler, Terry Haney, Donny Jago, Cory Flecknor, Randy Kalynuk, Warren Hale, Glendon Short, Lawrence Ruddick to name a few.

     Later near the end of my career I worked games with Grant H Man, could these guys skate. Both of these gentlemen worked in Western Hockey League. They were that good! Blair went into business and left Virden to go to Moosomin. Grant decided I think to get on with life and so did more local hockey. I always thought Grant was the best linesman I ever saw. Could he have worked professionally? I think so, but that was just my opinion, he was good!

     Some guys from Minnedosa that I liked working with were Ron Shewchuk, Barry Brooking, Billy McVie, Bruce McNabb, Charlie McNabb and Frank Taylor.

     I will talk more about Frank in a later edition. Frank was one of my favourite officials. Absolutely one of the best!

A little story here. One night I am in Minnedosa as head referee and they were playing Ste Rose. There was a really close call at the blue line so Billy blows his whistle for offside. Brian Hopfner did not like the call so he was questioning me and Billy about the call. Here comes Billy toward us and he could hear Brian ranting about the call. As Billy is skating toward us, maybe 10 to 15 feet away Billy said I had my eyes on it all the way, it was close but still offside. The funny thing about it as Billy is saying I got my eyes on it, he crossed his eyes, while explaining the call. I started to laugh looking at Billy as it was humourous. Hopfner just skated away shaking his head. I guess he figured these guys are not changing the call. These moments where we could have a chuckle were always good for the soul.

     There are tons of other stories but I thought I would share this one as it really showed me we should have some fun on the ice as well. Thanks Billy!

     There were also a number of players who were quite the characters. Another little story. One night in Elkhorn I am working lines and was over by the boards in front of the Elkhorn player bench waiting as there was a face-off on the other side of the ice. The puck is dropped and as I start to skate toward centre ice, Kevin McLean grabbed the back of my referee pants and when i went to skate away he gave a little tug. I almost fell flat on my face! We had some laughs about that.

I could go on and on but, last little story. The Kenton Junior Cougars had an opportunity to go play in the old Winnipeg Arena against a team from Glenboro. They were to face off against each other before the Jets versus Leafs game. Each town was to bring an official with them. What a thrill for me that the Junior Cougars would ask me to go. Well we hopped on a bus that Sioux Valley had and the driver Terry Pratt got us to Winnipeg and back safely.

     When we arrived at the Arena we were ushered into this small room across from the Jets dressing room. They told us we were not to speak to the Jet players. What a bummer, that close yet so far. All of a sudden the dressing room door opens and in walks Tie Domi! He spoke to the players, had a handshake with some of the guys and wished us best of luck in the game. I have been a fan of Tie Domi since that moment! Good on you Tie, you made our day.

     The ice surface was like I never skated on, you could just glide forever on it. The corners were so curved, much more than the rinks around here.

     We stayed and watched the Jets versus the Leafs game which the Leafs won. The guy besides Tie who impressed me was Glenn Anderson of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I never had seen anyone skate that fast, he had wicked speed.

     I just want to thank the Cougars for giving me a thrill of a lifetime. Thanks to Johnny Finnie and Mike Boyle for taking me along for the game. You gave this old guy one of the best memories ever. Imagine me skating on a National Hockey League ice surface! I am going to stop here and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We are going to be away over the holidays but will catch up to you in NewYear and share some more hockey stories with you. One last thought, the man that got me started to officiate Mr. Ted Little of Decker called me to thank me for mention his name in my column. We had such a great visit, I was really touched that he would reach out to me. That is a great Holiday Blessing for me!