By Eric Dresden

Staff Reporter

Shaun Holtgrieve may sit in his office today, but 30 years ago, he was officiating National Hockey League games.

Holtgrieve, associate director of Residence Life, said his time as part-time referee was an experience he will never forget.

“I started refereeing when I was 12,” he said. “I played hockey through high school, refereed through high school and I was lucky, a couple of guys that I worked with had an ice rink. One was in the (International Hockey League) and one of them was a referee in the NHL. That’s how I got introduced to the process.”

Being a referee was much more difficult those days compared to today, Holtgrieve said.

“It was much smaller. (The referees) had other jobs in the summers both to stay in shape but also to make extra money,” he said.

Holtgrieve joined the ranks of NHL referees as a call-in in 1974 and continued until 1981, when he injured his knee. Soon after, the equipment and keepsakes he had from his times as a referee were stolen.

“I was what they call ‘a replacement official,’ which is a bad name they use now, but basically I only worked when guys were on vacation, got hurt or were sick and so I would just fly based on where they needed me,” he said.

Because of his status as a replacement, Holtgrieve said he did not officiate any big games or playoff games.

“I didn’t do any playoff games because the guys who worked the regular cycles did those. They had their own territories and assigned to playoff games,” he said.

Holtgrieve said there were many differences between today’s game and the game of hockey back then.

“It was back in an era when fighting was more prevalent than it is today. Back when a bench would empty for a brawl, now between the suspensions and fines you couldn’t afford to do that. It was so long ago that people weren’t required to wear helmets,” he said.

Holtgrieve said he loved being a part of the entire organization more than anything.

“Just being out there and participating in something because it was critical in those days,” Holtgrieve said.

Being an NHL referee was something that had to be done with much finesse, he said.

“They wanted you to manage a game, they didn’t want you to control a game, they didn’t want you to be a part of the game,” he said. “At the end of the night if someone said ‘gee, who refereed that game’ that was perfect.”

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