Paul Stewart: Intent to Blow Whistle and Loose Pucks at the Net

Paul, when the goalie appears to have frozen the puck and the referee is in good position to see that the puck is loose, are the officials coached to verbally announce that? Basically like the linesmen shouting offsides when players are still in the zone.

I love referee communication. The more, the better. When you sit down low and a good ref is working, you can totally see the difference it makes as they communicate with the players before a call is made. I often hear, "Let him go, let him go!" Then the arm goes up. The crowd goes insane. But I'm thinking, "What was that guy thinking? Didn't he hear the ref?"

I wish the referees would get on top of the net like they used to to see a puck in a scrum in the crease, but do they not want them to do that anymore because of the camera angle from above and the referee obstructing the view? Am I misremembering that? Did I see it in a movie maybe? I could've sworn the referees would literally jump on the top of the net from behind to see the puck. Not all the time, but when they needed to see the puck they would.

It drives me nuts to see the referee standing in the corner blowing the play dead when the puck is in the crease.