Never fear, faithful readers and foes, OS hasn’t forgotten your letters and comments.

Dear OS: OK, I’m not going to let you bait me. All I’m saying is that your analysis of the intentional offsides rule for a shot on goal is seriously flawed. As a schoolteacher in the U.P., I wish you would get your facts straight before publishing inaccurate information. 

OS: You surprise me. I mean, I’d assume a U.P. guy knows more about hockey than a desert retiree whose claim to fame is a beer league doubleheader at the Veteran’s Coliseum in Phoenix. But as a public service, it’s time to take you to school. So teach yourself page 297 of the USA Hockey rulebook. Look at Situation 42.  “Puck shot on goal by attacking player in the attacking zone (non-intentional situation).” Got that? If Colorado Springs states that an offsides shot on goal is not an automatic intentional offsides, then what side of the lake are you on to claim the opposite? Or maybe USA Hockey rules don’t apply in the U.P.

Dear OS: I saw you last February in Chicago doing my kid’s high school game at Vernon Hills. Now, I don’t know how they teach reffing in the desert, but up here, a guy’s allowed to finish his check. So how do you come off assessing a two-and-10 boarding on our defenseman who cleanly checks an opponent after the player dishes off the puck?

OS: This must be a joke, right? Like Coach’s Candid Camera. But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Look here, I remember that play and your linebacker … err … defenseman, smoked the opponent into the boards at least three seconds after the opponent passed the puck up ice. You say you’re from Chicago? OK, at Chicago intersections, they used to give a three-second yellow before the automatic camera assessed a ticket for failing to stop on a red. Now, in the game you are referring to, the offender creamed the opponent three seconds after the player released the puck. What, I’m supposed to give your kid more time than Mayor Emanuel?

Dear OS: Some of us adult league players question whether you are really a registered official, let alone a 27-year registered guy. Prove it.

OS: Check the past 27 years of my bank statements. That’s basically three months’ rent to USA Hockey.

Dear OS: Why do you keep on harping about centers keeping their sticks in the white? I think there are more important rules to concentrate on. Thoughts?

OS: You obviously are not a referee, and definitely not a parent. See, the stick-in-the-white thing is a barometer for a child’s success in society. I’ve explained this dozens of times before, and as a public service, I’m going to review this, again. As a referee, I conduct an average of 15-20 faceoffs per kids’ game. This means my first perception of a team is the center’s knowledge of the rules. Specifically, Face-off Rule 613(a). So, when I see a center place his stick perfectly in the white part of the faceoff dot, I know that player has been well-coached. And being a human being, I automatically give that player additional credibility for conducting his or herself with dignity and professionalism, which could only help that player over the course of the game, and definitely will not hurt that player. So in a close contest, just like in the real world of business, any edge is the key to success. Got that? I didn’t think so.

Dear OS: I’m pretty sure I’m the neighbor down the street you referred to a couple of weeks ago. I’m still here in the North Shore, and the way I see it, reffing in the Chicago suburbs is much better since you left. I don’t care how you spin this, I just want the public to know it and I dare you to print this.

OS: I can’t help it if all the good refs followed me out of town. 

Dear OS: Thank you for this column. I’m a veteran official and my fellow referees and I think exactly the same way about the issues that you write about. Obviously, we can’t beef because we will be blackballed, so thank you for your courage and your interest in the welfare of your fellow referees.

OS: You guys are exactly what this column is for. OS is here to expose the gritty truth about amateur hockey officiating. But don’t thank me. I encourage you to thank the publisher and editor of Let’s Play Hockey for allowing me the privilege to air these concerns to the national hockey community. I get letters like yours from all over the country, and it’s this kind of correspondence that keeps the column fresh. Have a great summer.

Questions and comments can be sent to editor@letsplayhockey.com, via Twitter @OSpeaking or through the Let’s Play Hockey Facebook page.