Frustrations We All Feel.

RE-Posted because it needs to be.

We've all heard it.

Whether it be in the dressing room, after a game, coaches talking to one another or in the infrequent debriefing sessions we have during the season.

That referee was horrible.

I remember speaking to a gentleman who became an inspiration for me to get into coaching, who once told me, "You can go through life whining about how the deck is stacked against you, or you can dive in - feet first - and try and make a difference."

The talk about officials is inevitable in all sports, not just hockey. Every season that passes we lose more and more because of the pressure and strain on them. It's not always an easy thing but, I try and put myself in their situation. I'm not going to lie, I am not always successful in this exercise but, again coaching - like life - is a journey of discovery and new ways of looking at things - I can honestly say I try.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not completely on the side of the officials, that would be a fabrication of the highest order. I too get angry and upset, it is inherent in a game that is based on competition and passion.

The common concensus between the fraternity of coaches is that it's not as cut and dried as the referees just being bad - there are those aplenty - it is more the frustration that builds through an official's lack of consistency. We were told as coaches, when the new tougher rules came down that we would suffer growing pains. Why is it that the feedback I am getting is that the coaches and especially all the players are the ones feeling the pain?

We were told a penalty in the first period would be a penalty in the third period. That has slipped to the wayside very quickly. We live in fear of certain referees calling the game a certain way and then putting one team at a disadvantage which usually influences the outcome of the game. The whistle seems to disappear with some refs between the drop of the puck in the second and until less than five minutes left in the third. Then we hold our breath that they do not call something they have let go for the balance of the game.

We as coaches ask simply - why?

Why not be more consistent? Why is a game so different in the third, second or first periods? The evidence backs me up on this point. The games are usually top heavy in penalties in the first and third periods. We have grown accustomed to this phenomena but, it doesn't make it any easier to take, or even worse, easier to explain to the player who gets whistled down for something they have done or had done to them throughout the entire game?

Perhaps the refs should be going into the rooms after and trying to explain their thought process to the players.

If any official reads this, all the screaming, incoherent person behind the bench wants is to have the officials capable of officiating the level they are assigned but even more, just be consistent.

We'll all sleep better at night.