It’s that time of year again, when two teams battle it out for North American hockey supremacy. And few people know the Stanley Cup Final better than retired NHL referee Bill McCreary. He has officiated more games in the championship series than anyone else.

Now, McCreary is sharing some of his insights in Stories from Ice Level: A Great NHL Referee Tells All – a new book co-written with Vancouver-based sportscaster and author Rob Simpson.

McCreary takes the reader behind the scenes at some of the greatest hockey games of the past four decades. But he also wants to set the record straight on the difference between officiating in the regular season and the post-season.

“Officials get accused of changing how they call a game in the playoffs,” he said. “And that is 100 per cent wrong because obviously people who say that don’t understand the game and or have never officiated.”

McCreary says one thing that gets lost is, referees, just like anyone else, are human. And humans make mistakes.

“You know, we all put on our pants one leg at a time,” he said. “The players are going to make hundreds of mistakes. The coaches will make mistakes. It’s how you mask your mistakes and don’t repeat them is what’s important.”

He says officiating depends as much on the players as it does on the officials.

“Let the players decide how they want to play. If they want to play like men, treat them like men.”

“So, it’s up to the players to discipline themselves. They do play differently in the playoffs.”

“The worst thing to do would be to ignore the players or coaches and act like the game is about you because it’s not about you. You’re out there to keep the game fair and safe. Fans buy tickets to see the players, not the officials.”

The Skate in the Crease Goal

McCreary officiated 15 Stanley Cup Finals, including 11 deciding games, over a 27-year career.

One of the games he is still asked about is Game Six of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final between the Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres. Brett Hull famously scored the game-winning goal for Dallas in triple-overtime even though his skate was in the goalie crease, which was against the rules at the time.

“When you see the replays, there’s not much of a skate in the crease, [and had] no bearing on the goal being scored. The video goal judge that night was Brian Lewis. He deemed it a good goal and it ended with, of course, much chaos on Buffalo’s side.”

“I’m 100 feet away from the actual play. You can’t tell depth perception from out there. I knew [Hull] was very close, but whether he was in or not, I couldn’t help [my partner] Terry Gregson. And so, it was unfortunate, but I guess…it’s an awful way to say it, but that’s hockey.”

Years later, McCreary asked former Sabres netminder Dominik Hasek about that goal.

“And he said, ‘Stop right there. It had nothing to do with you guys. If you look at my positioning, I was totally wrong. my ass was back on the goal line; I should have been out at the top of the crease. the goal would have never happened if I’d played my position properly.’”

“That doesn’t excuse what happened. The fact of the matter is I don’t know if anybody could ever measure it.”

The Golden Goal

McCreary also officiated three Olympic Gold Medal games, including the classic “Golden Goal” showdown between Team Canada and Team USA at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

It turns out he played an inadvertent role in that final scoring chance.

“When the puck was rimmed around the boards, it was coming very slowly, and it touched the toe of my skate. It would not have gone outside the blue line from where I was standing. However, [Sidney] Crosby regained possession of the puck…and we all know what happened next.”

McCreary remembers running into Team USA’s general manager the next morning.

“My wife and daughter and I were flying on Air Canada back home to Toronto. And Brian Burke was in the Air Canada lounge, and he walked right over to our table and said, ‘Hey Billy, that was a hell of a game, hell of a job.’”

“When the [general manager of the losing team] takes the time unsolicited to do something like that, first, it tells me what a man the gentleman is, and number two, what a professional he is.”

“So, that’s the story on that.”

Retirement and the PWHL

McCreary retired in 2011 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2024, he began working with the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Last year, he was named the PWHL’s Director of Officiating, Strategy & Performance. He thinks the NHL would do well to adopt of some of the rules from the women’s game.

For instance, as in international hockey, the PWHL awards three points for a regulation win, two points for a shootout or overtime win, and one point for a loss. Currently, the NHL awards two points for a win and one point for a shootout or overtime loss. McCreary says the PWHL’s point system could make the NHL game much more competitive and less predictable.

“I’ve had an opportunity now to be involved with the PWHL for two years. And when you watch the schedule unwind, both years it’s come right down to the last day [of the season] and it involved Ottawa both times.”

“And to me, when something like that can happen, what a great way to present an entertaining package that the fans can be glued in to right to the last minute as opposed to saying in December, that [their team is] never going to make the playoffs.”

Then there is the PWHL’s “jailbreak” rule. If a team scores a short-handed goal, the player serving the penalty is automatically set free.

“It’s exciting because it forces the team with the man advantage to be careful.”

“Obviously, you see the excitement in the team that scores shorthanded and it’s a reward.”

“And for the team with the power play, [it’s a punishment] for being careless and allowing that player to get loose to score the goal.”

“So, it’s really exciting for the game.”

Stories from Ice Level is a fascinating look at the game from a unique primary perspective. Co-author Rob Simpson uses a form of the as-told-to style that gives McCreary the freedom to share his stories in plain language. The result is a highly readable, conversational book that would be a welcome addition to any hockey fan’s library.

Stories from Ice Level: A Great NHL Referee Tells All by Rob Simpson with Bill McCreary is published by Douglas & McIntyre.