Although Shepard is one of the better WCHA refs, I can honestly
say, I wished most of the WCHA refs would leave for the NHL. Then
maybe we can train a new group to understand that referees are not
the reason hockey fans attend college games.
 
Yes, calls do need to be made for serious fouls including roughing;
but calls for interference, slashing or tripping at the first incidental
possible contact of two players is not the point of the rule book. (On the
other hand if the contact that caused the penalty was deliberate or if
accidental but grievous and sustained, it is a different matter.) I have
seen too many calls this year for a hooking when the other player grabbed
the person's stick and then took a dive. The WCHA refs need to learn what
is a penalizable foul and what isn't.
 
I am not suggesting throwing out the rulebook, but throwing out the bad refs.
 
Walt Olson