His last game...

While I'm essentially a rookie high-school hockey parent, the face above may be familiar to many of you veteran parents and players. His name is Mike Rublein. Last night, he officiated his last hockey game (the Hudsonville-Rockford regional matchup), ending a 30-year career that included more than 600 contests at the high school level and hundreds more at the collegiate level, mostly in the CCHA.

When I heard his story last night from another ref, I was kind of amazed that I didn't know who he was. After all, the WMHSH Blogger has attended more than 100 high school games this year, primarily in West Michigan and I've gotten to know who a lot of the officials are. "I'm surprised I don't recognize him," I told one hockey dad after the game.

"You don't recognize him because he doesn't stand out," he said. "The good refs never stand out."