SNL REFEREE, ANDY ALLSOPP.

After a recent game I spoke with Andy Allsopp, a regular referee here at Flyers games. Andy was frank and answered the following questions in detail.  Andy, age thirty something (35), was a pleasure to meet and here are his responses.

WHAT IS YOUR FIRST HOCKEY MEMORY?
I was at Aviemore and there was a summer league game. I was age 10 or 11 and watching with my Mum from the boards. At about age 14 I played at Kirkcaldy but realised that I wasn’t going to make it as a player. I wanted to stay in hockey and so I became a referee.

WHAT WAS YOUR POSITION WHEN YOU PLAYED AS A YOUNGSTER?
Defence, #3.

WHO ARE YOUR HOCKEY HEROES?
It has to be Al Sims, Ron Plumb and Milan Figala. Also Steve Slaughter at Ayr. (I looked up Steve’s stats and he played for Bruins in 84/85 and 85/86 with combined figures of Played 53 for 68+103 and 177 penalty minutes.

DO YOU HAVE AN NHL TEAM?
Has to be the Leafs.

WHAT IS YOUR BEST MOMENT IN HOCKEY?
I have 3.

1. I was a linesman when Fife won the British Championship in Hull in Overtime & penalty shots.
2. The Superleague semi-final at MEN when Newcastle beat Sheffield.
3. The IIHF Under 18’s. France v Poland in France.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE 2 REFEREE SYSTEM BEING USED IN THE NHL?
We don’t have enough bodies to do it here.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE SNL DEVELOPING?
Probably it will go to 2 tiers and that should help all teams.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON ZERO TOLERANCE?
I think that it’s a good thing. It will stop all the tying up and the dangerous hits like checking from behind and checking to the head. When players start to train for it and get out of bad (old) habits it will be much better. Skill should rule the game.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE 1 RULE WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A player who shoots the puck out of the rink in the neutral or attacking zone getting a 2 minute penalty. I would change it so that the face off would take place in his defensive zone instead.

ANY PRE-MATCH ROUTINE?
Left skate on first and try to relax. Before going to centre ice to start the game I always drop a puck at the timekeepers bench and don’t start until I land it flat!

MUSIC/FILM FAVOURITES?
Varied taste in music and any Bond film.

DO YOU FREQUENT HOCKEY INTERNET FORUMS?
Sometimes but not often.

OTHER SPORTS?
Mountain Biking and I occasionally go to the gym.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN A FEW WORDS.
Happy go lucky, perfectionist. Relaxed off the ice but intense on it.

Thanks again to Andy. The next time we give him a “welcome” let’s remember a wee bit about the man under the stripes.

Get behind the lads tonight. There may well be tougher games ahead but it’s important to keep playing well and at a good tempo. Oh and it’s still slippy out there.