Doyle: Welcome to the OHL Mr. Referee

For the second year in a row the CHL referee exchange program has seen a referee come in from another league to work an OHL game, and ended up in the middle of trouble.

Friday night, QMJHL official Mathieu Bergeron worked with second-year OHL referee Dave Lewis in Oshawa for the Petes/Generals game. Talk about being a gracious host, throwing Bergeron in the middle of the best rivalry in OHL history (in my opinion). The reader's digest version of the game, a 10-0 score, a few fights, a goalie being run, and an assistant coach being tossed. I can just imagine the dressing room conversation after the game, "Is this what your league is like every night?"

Last season, WHL referee Pat Smith made the trek into the OHL and was thrown into another rivalry, Windsor vs. London. During the second period, Knights forward Jordan Foreman put his stick into Spitfires goalie Andrew Engelage. Veteran OHL referee Scott Hutchinson stepped between the two of them to break it up, and all three ended up going down to the ice. A bit of a line brawl ensued with the two linesmen breaking everybody else up while the pile of three remained on the ice. As this was happening, Smith had the notepad out to write it all down. He finally jumped into the mix when Keaton Turkiewicz, then of the Spitfires, continue to pummel the Knights player he had down on the ice.

Oh, and both of these happened on a Friday night in December. So next season, in December if you see a WHL or QMJHL referee show up in an OHL rink on a Friday night - expect the unexpected.

tdoyle@loosepucks.com