Tuesday was a spectacular day of hockey in the Olympic men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. Three of the four games went to overtime before being decided.
The hockey was unbelievable, with Canada, the United States, Slovakia and Finland advancing to play in the semifinals on Friday.
What was the mistake?
However, we also saw a historical refereeing blunder that will go into the history books. On a third-periodMORE goal between Czechia and Canada with seven minutes and 42 seconds left, the officials completely missed the fact that the Czech Republic had too many men on the ice.
The goal was scored by Ondrej Palat of the New York Islanders. At the time, the Czechs went up 3-2. The six Czech players on the ice could be seen celebrating the goal. Further footage actually had eight players on the ice!
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Canadians missed it too
Feb 1, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) reacts during the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn
Some can understand the officials missing the too many men on the ice call. What is even more mind-boggling is the fact the too many men on the ice call was missed by the Canadian players and coaching staff.
This was a serious lack of engagement from a Canadian perspective with the game itself. Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty had the following comments according to Frank Servalli of Victory+:
“Not a single player, coach knew until after the game. Nobody. Yeah, we talked about it. We’re like, ‘How did that get missed?’ But I mean, we all missed it. It makes sense that the refs could miss it too. S*** happens.”
Canada got well deserved victory
The International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee would have had a massive problem on their fans if Canada did not come back to win. Nick Suzuki scored the game-tying goal and Mitch Marner had the game-winning goal.
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Should the officials be disciplined?
May 25, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Referee Chris Rooney (5) gestures in the first period between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues in game five of the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The answer is yes. They should be fined an undisclosed sum and not be allowed to officiate another game for the rest of the tournament. The officials responsible for the missed call were referees Mikael Holm of Sweden, and Chris Rooney of the United States, and linesmen David Brisebois of Canada and Jonny Murphy of the United States.
The IIHF and IOC blamed “human error,” but this is one of the calls that should always be made, especially with eight Czech players on the ice!
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