Crease violation

[3rdPersonPlural]

This sort of ties in with the 'Is this my call?' thread, but it's a new topic nonetheless.

Last week I was the on ref on the goal line and there was a loose ball on my side of the crease. I'm watching the ball because there was a good chance that the ball might pop into the goal, and all of a sudden a defenseman is shouting 'he's in the crease.'

Sure enough, I looked up in time to see an attacker stepping back over the line.

I had no idea if he was pushed in or what, and the off ref had his view blocked by the goalie and the cage, so I made an executive decision that the attacker wasn't pushed and called play on then awarded the ball to the d.

The attacker objected politely that he was pushed, and a defender indeed looked like the cat who ate the canary, but my opinion remains that if an attacker get's close enough to the crease in a loose ball situation, he shouldn't count on a ref determining that there was an 'assist' when he hoofs it into the crease.

I always feel like I'm a day late and a dollar short on crease violations. Does anybody have any advice on a handy way to sort out crease violations? A rule of thumb, perhaps?

[michaeldwilson]

Yeah, you can only call what you see. In any game, we refs miss many many calls because we don't see them. We can't see everything. A good player knows that's just part of the game.

Play on!

Mike

[Snake~eyes]

This sort of ties in with the 'Is this my call?' thread, but it's a new topic nonetheless.

Last week I was the on ref on the goal line and there was a loose ball on my side of the crease. I'm watching the ball because there was a good chance that the ball might pop into the goal, and all of a sudden a defenseman is shouting 'he's in the crease.'

Sure enough, I looked up in time to see an attacker stepping back over the line.

I had no idea if he was pushed in or what, and the off ref had his view blocked by the goalie and the cage, so I made an executive decision that the attacker wasn't pushed and called play on then awarded the ball to the d.

The attacker objected politely that he was pushed, and a defender indeed looked like the cat who ate the canary, but my opinion remains that if an attacker get's close enough to the crease in a loose ball situation, he shouldn't count on a ref determining that there was an 'assist' when he hoofs it into the crease.

I always feel like I'm a day late and a dollar short on crease violations. Does anybody have any advice on a handy way to sort out crease violations? A rule of thumb, perhaps?
You called it how I would have. The defense can push im in the crease, assuming its a legal push(not in the back). This one of the hardest situatiosn to watch imo, I try to focus more on the crease and people around it but make sure to keep an eye open for a ball that may fly by. In this situation I am probably standing right on the crease if not then very close to it.

[laxfan25]

I think that many times attackmen are called for crease violations when they were assisted in with a discrete hip check from the back. I try to be cognizant of that when keeping a view of the goal area, but they do get missed.
Another common mistake I see is an attacker driving towards the goal and shooting, often with a defender trailing behind. We tend to follow the ball and not notice that the A man goes in because of a push after the shot by the D. "A's in the crease. We're going B!" Keep an eye out for these incidents and you'll be aware of them much more. If you see the contact from the rear it's the right and good call. Justice for all.