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The NHL referees for tonight’s Game 4 Stanley Cup Finals are #40 Steve Kozari and #4 Wes McCauley.
Both referees in tonight’s game aren’t the most popular with NHL fans. It’s quite the opposite as both Kozari and McCauley have been involved in controversial calls in the past.
Recently in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Finals, referees Steve Kozari and Chris Rooney handed multiple 10-minute fouls of conduct to both the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights much to the anger of the fans.
After the NHL released the umpires and linemen for tonight’s game, fans took to Twitter to express their concern about the pair.
One fan expects the Golden Knights to win Game 4 with this two-on-ice referee.
Another fan expressed his dislike for both officials and said:
“Two of the worst officials in the great final.”
Recalling Matthew Tkachuk’s misconduct for 10 minutes of Game 2, one fan said,
Steve Kozari was recently caught swearing on a microphone
Steve Kozari found himself in a hot spot after inadvertently letting some expletives slide onto a heated microphone during Game 7 of the first round playoff between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins.
The incident occurred with eight minutes left in the opener when Kozari and his team of officials called for matching two-minute minor penalties on Sam Bennett and Brandon Carlow.
“Don’t test me. Don’t do it * after the whistle.”
Those were the words Kozari used when Brandon Carlow was skating into the box. The microphone didn’t pick up what Carlo said in response, but the Bruins forward was furious.
Steve Kozari’s comments were picked up by the arena’s sound system, and the crowd immediately erupted into boos, with many fans believing Bennett was much more of an abuser than Carlo.
The official history of Steve Kozary in the NHL
Steve Kozari joined the NHL Officials Association during the 2003-04 season and has since established himself as a respected official in the league.
His career as umpire began at a young age in Penticton, British Columbia, where he officiated minor hockey games before advancing to the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Several years later, he moved to the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he spent a decade honing his skills.
He earned a promotion to a full-time NHL center in the summer of 2007. Since then, he has achieved many important accomplishments in his career. His first NHL game took place on October 15, 2005, officiating a game between the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. He made his playoff debut on April 14, 2010, officiating a game between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins.
On October 22, 2021, Kozari reached the milestone of officiating his 1,000th major league game, a game between the Edmonton Oilers and Las Vegas Golden Knights.
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