Entire section of refs steal show at Islanders game

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(Twitter/DanZwoda)

One of the common cliches that accompany a particularly bad officiating call in a sporting event is “nobody is paying to watch the referees” but one particular group of fans at Saturday’s Islanders-Canucks game prove that this isn’t always the case.

Yes, that’s an entire section of fans in stripes, hooting and hollering in support of every call the on-ice officials make. Icing, off-side, minor penalties, you name it, this particular part of the crowd at Barclay’s Center agreed with it. There were even homemade signs on hand to show support.

In a profession that is made up mostly of being booed in every building, sworn at, hit with errant pucks, having their work reviewed in slow motion, and a sixty minute shift of skating with none of the glory, it is sort of nice to know that for at least one game these zebras can finally get a moment in the sun.

For the game, the refereeing crew of Brandon Schrader, Justin St Pierre, Shandor Alphonso, and Steve Barton combined to hand out four penalties, call eight icings, four offsides, drop 50 face offs, and correctly identified seven goals while combining for an average of over 60 minutes refereed.

Oh, and the Canucks won 4-3 in overtime, if you care about that kind of thing.

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