Blowing the whistle is an art form. Some situations just need an informative, unemotional quick toot. Others need an attention-grabbing, emphatic, louder blow. E-whistles lack that personalization, so we’re going to have to find different ways to tailor for the situation.

CT officials - ahead of a statewide mandate, some towns and private rinks are requiring facemasks for ALL participants. Know the policies of the rinks you work and abide by them to help keep hockey open in CT. E-whistles MUST be used upon receipt. DM me with questions.

Another e-whistle observation: When stopping play for the goaltender covering the puck, be careful where you aim the e-whistle. Pointing towards the goal cage may look like a goal signal. Consider pointing it more towards center ice or “bouncing” it off the end boards.

HECC approves spit/splash guards and face masks. Many parents will be happy and lives of CT officials will be easier since HECC certification is no longer invalidated by using these attached devices. Some rare and welcomed good news. hecc.org/certsplashguar…

CT officials - enjoy your games this weekend because after Sunday there won’t be any for a long time. Start watching at the 6:20 mark. m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Agr98…

CT officials - This being the last weekend of USA Hockey games in CT in 2020, players may get squirrelly thinking that game misconducts won’t count. Penalize appropriately. Judicious use of a misconduct late in a game can remove a problem player before they create big problems.

Proper positioning, hustle, rule knowledge, and great sight lines are all prerequisites to being able to sell a call with body language.

USA Hockey officials- this one hour session on empathy might add another tool to your toolbox for relating to coaches or players. communications.usahockey.com/site/MessageVi…

Ready for USA Hockey games in CT again? The CHC is gearing up for the restart. Practices start Jan 19 and games start Feb 1. Any remaining policy and procedural wrinkles are being ironed out. CHC on-ice officials, see this link for info specific to you. chchockey.org/Page.asp?n=129…

If you follow me for hockey and don't also follow CHC Referees, please do so. I will be migrating a lot of my hockey tweeting to that account. I'll retweet from here for a while as well.

Officials: Rules and guidelines that apply to next week’s USA Hockey restart are on the CHC web site. Be sure you are up to speed on facemask policies, period length adjustment policies, and the restriction of inactive players from the players bench. chchockey.org/Page.asp?n=129…

Catching some AM games on this #firstweekendback. Saw the 2-puck system in use. This is acceptable for USA Hockey games in CT as it saves time and eliminates handoffs. Details in later tweets. Possible downside is a warmer, bouncier pocket puck. Be aware of this at higher levels.

2-puck system: 1 puck in play and 1 puck in a ref’s pocket. At stoppage, if in-play puck is closest to FO location then it is fetched and dropped. If pocket puck is closest then it is the FO puck. May save time (think icings and dump-in offsides) depending on who has pocket puck.

The word on the street is accurate.

The only people who like quick whistles are goaltenders and their parents.

Someone please remember to submit this as a rule change for the 25-26 USA Hockey rule book - if delayed offsides is still part of the game.

You should expect someone to see you, whether in real time or after the fact, and whether they’re watching you or the players.

The CT USA Hockey officiating staff is being decimated by COVID quarantine requirements (not cases). If there are any MA, RI, or NY officials interested in helping out this weekend reach out to me and I can put you in contact with some schedulers. We have games 10U through 18U.