Easier for us to see...

[NoFussRef]

I was trail on this play. The incident occurred early in the 1st period. Nothing had gone on between these two players prior the punch being thrown. Everyone on both teams was shocked (as you can hear from the video) and it was so out-of-the-blue that most people didn't even see it happen. I should know, I missed it myself! I was looking in my PCA and had nothing on it.

This is one of those instances where we must trust our partners and back them up 100% no matter what the circumstance. What the video doesn't show is the reaction from my partner after he makes the call. He actually lost control a bit and allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Having never worked with him before, and because he arrived late we hadn't had the opportunity to pre-game, to calm him down I went and asked him to go administer the T-Free throws and told him I would take care of the coach and score table for him. He went so far as to tell the player being ejected that "his season was over!!!" (Not our call of course, handled by the league.)

He later apologized for losing his cool, and for the "Season's over!" comment. Also said that he couldn't see if the contact was open or closed handed but judged it to be flagrant. I told him I had nothing on it but that if he was sure of what he saw it I would back him up.

The rest of the game went great though. Went into 4 Overtime Periods!!!!
No further incidents, excellent sportsmanship from all other participants.

In case anyone is wondering... Yes, the kid was ejected from our league.