College referee dies a week after falling to ice

The college hockey world is mourning the loss of a beloved referee. (USATSI)

Longtime NCAA hockey referee Oliver “Butch” Mousseau died Friday, succumbing to “critical head injuries” suffered in a fall to the ice during warmups before a Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament game last weekend, the conference confirmed through a press release. Mousseau was 48 years old.

The longtime official and native of Colorado had been working the WCHA’s Final Five tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last Friday. During warmups before the semifinal game between Ferris State and Michigan Tech, Mousseau fell to the ice. He was not wearing a helmet and reportedly had his hands in his pockets, leaving him unable to break his fall. The veteran referee suffered a severe head injury in the fall and was transported from the arena by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Mousseau was in a medically induced coma until Friday when he suffered a brain hemorrhage, according to the Denver Post.

Tributes have been pouring out from the officiating fraternity, but Mousseau was one of those officials that had deep respect and admiration from the players and coaches as well. A referee being so well liked by the people he’s in charge of keeping in line can be a difficult thing to do in a game like hockey where emotions can run high. However, it’s more difficult to find someone that has a bad word to say about the this particular man in stripes.

Mousseau’s career touched just about every level of hockey in the United States. According to the WCHA, he first began working in the conference in 2003-04. He has been a USA Hockey-registered official since 1998 and worked at various points in the American Hockey League, ECHL and now defunct Central Hockey League since 1999.

Mousseau made NHL history in 2001 when he became the first Native American to officiate a game in the league. His jersey and skates from his first game are in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto according to a WCHA release.

University of Denver hockey play-by-play man Jay Stickney, a longtime friend of Mousseau’s, had this to say about the late official to the Denver Post:

“It’s unbelievable how many people knew him loved the guy. I always joked that he wanted to be a referee because he needed somebody not to like him.

“He loved hockey. Loved being a referee. I don’t even think you can find a player who didn’t like him.”

“We are saddened beyond belief by the tragic passing of Oliver “Butch” Mousseau,” WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson said in a statement. “Words cannot express the depth of sorrow we feel, or the sympathy the WCHA, our member institutions and fellow officials extend to Butch’s wife, Macaire, their children, Sam (SJ), Abbie and Olivia, and the rest of the family. At the end of the day, hockey is just a game. It is a special game because the people involved and Butch was one of the all-time greats who left an indelibly positive impact upon everyone whom he came in contact with. The WCHA is, and always will be, a better league because of Butch’s involvement.”

The NCAA’s national tournament opened Friday at four regional sites. All of the officials working the games will be wearing No. 12 stickers on their helmets in honor of the number that adorned Mousseau’s official’s jersey.

Mousseau is survived by his wife, three children, his parents and four siblings.

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