Missing the call

e all have trouble accepting that we didn't see an obvious infraction. But that, too, has happened to most of us.

Let's say the game is going along smoothly. You turn up ice to follow the play, ignoring the players behind you since there has been no chippy play, and the puck is nowhere near them.

Suddenly, the fans start to roar, and the benches erupt. You know something's happened, but you have no idea what. You look around and discover that behind you, one of the players is laid out flat on the ice. There's a good chance the opposing player did something to him, but what? And what do you do about it since everyone in the rink knows you didn't see it? Everybody — except you — also knows what happened.

NHL can't come to the rescue

Here's a spot where the National Hockey League has hurt lower levels of hockey. Every game in the NHL has two referees, so the odds are slim that both referees will miss an obvious, flagrant infraction.

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