Referee Dan O’Rourke was strapped with a wire for the round-robin game between Sweden and Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
There’s a terrific exchange between the veteran official and Team Russia’s Sergei Bobrovsky about possible goaltender interference.
“He’s coming toward you, “O’Rourke says. “Your guy pushes him because he’s on the wrong side of him, okay? I know that he falls on top of a lot of guys because I used to do the exact same thing. I used to fall on you [*******] all the time… But that one is a loose puck that falls down between your legs. I see the puck there. I give you a whistle.”
O’Rourke resumes the discussion at center ice with the two captains, Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin, during the stoppage in play.
“They all the time goes to the net and tries to hit our goalie,” complains Ovechkin.
“Hornqvist?” asks O’Rourke.
“Yeah. Twice.”
“The last one here, that puck’s loose. [It] falls down between Bob’s legs. Hornqvist is on the good side. I think your guy matches him in there.”
Later, O’Rourke issues a warning to Hornqvist.
“Horny,” the ref yells. “You get the message? No more falling on him! Don’t fall on him okay?
The goaltender-related chatter continues at the Russian bench as O’Rourke cautions Nikita Kucherov.
“Don’t be whacking the [*******] goalie,” says O’Rourke. “Just make sure its only on the pads, alright? And you may not want to look right at me after you do it.”
Thanks to Dan O’Rourke and the NHL for giving us a chance to listen to the action — and the interactions — at ice level.
