he women's league in my city was in its infancy when I started to work it a few years back.

There were seven teams, but only two of them had a reasonable skill level. Most of the players in the league were bare novices at the game — and it showed. I remember a game in which one of the two strong teams was playing. Their goalie didn't show up so they played the entire game with six skaters and still won 11-0.

Refereeing in the league was usually pretty easy. Most of the players didn't know the rules, and they were so passive that it was unusual to call any penalties.

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