Garrett Rank decided he was going to have a little fun while working on Thursday night.
St. Louis Blues fans may not have loved it, but the Canadian referee had social media buzzing with his call.
With the Blues leading the New York Islanders 4-0 midway through the third period, Matthew Kessel’s wrist shot was tipped in by Alexey Toropchenko. But the goal was called off when it was ruled Toropchenko directed it in with a high stick.
After a further review, Rank explained the ruling to the crowd.
“You’re going to like it, but the call on the ice was correct — no goal,” Rank said, drawing plenty of boos from the partisan crowd.
The native of Elmira, Ont. hasn’t been shy about using creative calls.
Earlier this season, an Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers game got a bit chaotic with skirmishes all over the ice.
After announcing several penalties, Rank added: “And then every player on the ice has a 10-minute misconduct.”
Rank, an NHL referee since 2015, is also well-known to Canadian golf fans as one of the country’s top amateur golfers.
He narrowly missed the Masters when he was runner-up at the 2012 U.S. mid-amateur championship and made the cut at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.
Here’s some reaction from the golf and hockey worlds to his call.
