Penalty after whistle
 

Scenario:

Gm 2 of the Blues/Kings qtr final in St Louis.

LAK player skates into the StL offensive zone off side. Whistle is blown. Blues player pushes Kings player to the ice. Official sends Blues player to the sin bin for 2 mins - cross check or tripping (can't remember which).

I've watched hockey all my life and am really into watching the officiating/rules side of the game moreso now than ever since I've been officiating hoops and football for so almost a decade.

Question I have is, why wouldn't the contact either be ignored or called for "roughing" since it occurred after the whistle, instead of the aformentioned "cross check" or "tripping" violation?

I would say he just called it wrong, it shouldn't be tripping or cross-checking after the whistle because the play has stopped, so like you said, roughing.

1. Penalties can (and most argue should) be called after whistles to discourage the post whistle garbage. At the amateur level, referees are encouraged to keep the post whistle stuff to a minimum.

2. Officials should call the infraction what it is. Nowhere in the book does it say you can only crosscheck or trip while play is on. If I crosscheck a guy in the back after a whistle, I should expect to get a crosschecking penalty.

I would agree, a crosscheck is a crosscheck no matter when it occours, however just 'shoving someone down' does not necessarily mean that you crosschecked or tripped them, if you just shove them with your hands roughing is the right call.