If you’re of the mindset that Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final was a pretty well-refereed game, then you’ll be pleased with the Game 7 refs.
With Game 7 of the Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues set to take place Wednesday at TD Garden, the NHL plans to use the same two referees, Gord Dwyer and Chris Rooney, that called Game 6, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon.
Of course, officiating has had a pretty big impact on the Final so far.
Following Game 3, Blues head coach Craig Berube lamented some of the calls and no-calls to that point. Then after Game 5, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy shredded the refs for an egregious no-call on a Tyler Bozak trip on Noel Acciari, in addition to missing two headshots. Kelly Sutherland and Steve Kozari were the referees for Game 5.
Rooney and Dwyer also were the referees for Games 2 and 4 of the series. The Sutherland-Kozari duo called Games 1, 3 and 5 together.
The last thing the NHL needs is for the deciding game of the season to be negatively impacted by the officiating. And the Rooney-Dwyer combo gives them the best shot at making sure there are no fires to put out.
