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Argentina had its famous Hand of God Goal by Diego Maradona off in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals against England. Now Latvia has its Hand of Sotnieks Save by Kristaps Sotnieks in the 2014 Olympic quarterfinals against Canada.
Both plays involved a player making an illegal play with his hand at a pivotal juncture of the game. In both cases, the official missed the infraction and the play stood at face value. Argentina's goal counted. Canada did not score and did not receive a penalty shot for Sotnieks desperately covering the puck with his hand and sweeping it to goaltender Edgars Gudlevskis.
Numerous people have asked me for my opinion of the play, how I would handle it and about the referee who made the call. So here goes.
No one can predict, actually, the end result on any play where ultimately the official has to make the call. Did he blink? Did he turn his head? Did he not see the black puck against the dark glove? Did he see it and have it not register? Let's look at what happened and see if we did all we could to cut down on the odds that he won't make the correct call and give him the best chance to make the right call!
1) The referee was in perfect position so that eliminates any negative thoughts about not giving himself the best shot at making the right call. The official was in the right spot, but missed the infraction. It happens.
2) Once the play went to video review, the only portion that was reviewable was whether the puck had completely crossed the goal line. A penalty shot ruling must be made by the on-ice official.
3) This referee is considered one of the best because he was selected to be here. We can debate the Olympic selection process. We can debate the personnel itself. In the end, however, these guys have all been good enough in whatever Leagues they work to give the assignor some degree of comfort in putting them on the game.
Assigning games is like putting on shoes or slippers, some feel more comfortable that others. When you give the officials the games, sometimes, you hit and hope. The latter-day Andy Van Hellemonds and Frank Udvaris can't work every night in every city. That's a fact, just as surely as Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky could not take every shift of the game for their teams. Not everyone is the best of the best.
As a coach of officials, you try to get them to their top level. You work at helping them see where they need to be to keep getting games. As the assignor, you try to cut down on odds by taking all of the people into account and then deciding who best fits the game.
Not knowing the political pressures that different countries and their officiating associations can bring into the mix in these Olympics, nor exactly knowing how they make the assignments, you trust that everyone in charge is doing the correct assigning for the ultimate good of the game.
Now comes the hard part, when a play gets missed, WHY is the last question you ask the ref. Walking into the room after the game, I would say to the crew, "Everything was perfect, positioning, protocol, but you didn't catch the glove covering the puck. Obviously, if you saw it, you would have called it. Tell me what you were seeing?"
You can't hang the guy nor shoot him on the village green. The guillotine has been outlawed.
So we are left with the fact that a human error happened. We live with it and go on.
As a boss who used to do this on the ice, I know the guys on the ice gave me their 100% and that's all we can ask or expect.
I would finish with the official by saying,"You did all you could. I know you feel awful about the one play, but Forrest Gump said it best: Shit happens. One thing more, it's better, sometimes, to be more lucky than good. The team that deserved to win -- the better team -- won. Tomorrow, they won't remember this play as they will shift their focus on the next game. Go have a beer and chalk that one up to experience."
Then I would give him a little fist bump on his arm, wink and walk out to go find a beer for myself.
That's how you be a boss of officials, whether it is in the Olympics or local youth hockey. Tomorrow, there will be another game and that official will come back better and stronger for the good of the game.
The better team won in the Canada-Latvia game. Shea Weber's goal made the Hand of Sotnieks Save irrelevant in the end. In popular culture, Rocky Balboa went the distance with Apollo Creed, controlled the final round and earned a split decision. In real life, Chuck Wepner got TKOed by Muhammad Ali shortly before the final bell.
Real life intruded on admirable underdog Team Latvia. There was no Miracle on Ice in Sochi but they should still be proud of themselves for the way they competed throughout the tournament. The way the Latvians played against a squad of elite players was a form of victory itself.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography.