Are we the only league that has only one Referee? (with reply from the ECHL office)

From: Scott

Comments: Are we the only league that has only one Referee? I see the other leagues on TV all have two referee and two linesmen. If the colleges can have two referees one would think we could have two too. Beside cost is there a reason we don’t have two?

Reply: No, we are not the only league with a one-ref system. But for a little help in answering, we sent your question to ECHL headquarters! – The Mailbag Guy

Just for background, the AHL does not use the 2-referee system full-time during the regular season. They just completed the second season of a five-year agreement to phase in the system. Approximately 25-30 percent of regular season games have two referees, as well as all playoff games.

The two-referee system in the ECHL would need to be approved by the Board of Governors. This will be on the agenda for discussion at the Annual Meeting next week. However, finding enough quality officials to double our current number of referees is a challenge, as is the cost involved of adding an extra referee.

-Joe Babik
Director of Communications, ECHL