On Thu, 29 Feb 1996, Luiz F. Valente wrote:
 
> In my opinion Frank Cole and Rob Hearn are the two best referees in the
> ECAC.
>
> Who are the strongest candidates for the Pierre Belanger Memorial
> Award*, given every season to the worst referee in the ECAC? Merrs.
> Ammian, DiFusco and Noeth seem to have the inside track in 1996.
>
> Luiz F. Valente
>
> * This apocryphal award, established a few seasons ago by a group of ECAC
> hockey watchers, is named after Peerless Pierre, who can still be sighted
> in ECAC rinks, mainly in New York State.
 
I would have to nominate my perennial favorite, John Gallagher.  When I
see the refs skate onto the ice, I always have this sick feeling in my
stomach.  "Oh God, I hope that it's not Gallagher."  Suprisingly, enough,
Pierre, whom I never thought I would say this about, reffed a pretty good
game when we (Cornell) played Vermont.
 
I saw Gallagher and Pierre skate on to the ice and said, "Oh God, how can
it be worse?"  Gallagher instantly made some extremely poor calls, and,
suprisingly enough, Pierre made up for them.  All of the times that I've
ever seen Pierre ref, I've watched him screw Cornell over and over (unless
we were playing Clarkson :).  For some reason - maybe it was a temporary
lobotomy - Pierre made up for Gallagher's inhuman calls.  I couldn't
believe it.
 
Besides all of that, you really can't beat Pierre for intensity.  Whenever
he's on the ice he has this psycho look about him, almost as if at any
time he could crack, go over the plexiglass (or into the players bench),
and start cracking some heads.  Eyes of black coal - no spark, only psychosis.
 
The award is aptly named, though.  It's one thing to be a bad ref, but
it's another to be a bad ref with style.  :)
 
Scott Southard
[log in to unmask]
 
GO RED!!!
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.