Longtime NHL referee Wes McCauley filled in as a linesman during Game 2 of the second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
McCauley, 53, entered the action in the third period of Wednesday evening’s game. He replaced linesman Shandor Alphonso, who did not return. No details are reported about why Alphonso left the game.
McCauley was the standby official in this game. He officiated Game 1 of the series between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night. That game went to overtime before the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin scored the game-winning goal.
Instead of wearing his regular No. 4, McCauley sported the No. 85 on a linesman uniform without the orange band on the sleeves.
Wes is in as linesman, replacing Shandor Alphonso 🫡 pic.twitter.com/HakBzrkq2Q
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 8, 2025
McCauley made his NHL officiating debut on Jan. 20, 2003, and became a full-time official in 2005. Since then, he’s officiated 1,439 regular-season games and 211 playoff contests.
The Georgetown, Ont., native played four seasons for Michigan State University’s men’s hockey squad in the NCAA between 1989-90 and 1992-93. In 1990, the Detroit Red Wings selected him 150th overall in the NHL draft. While he never played an NHL game, he did play in the ECHL, the now-defunct IHL and Colonial Hockey League and in Italy.
Alphonso, meanwhile, officiated his first NHL game on Oct. 17, 2014, and his first playoff game on Aug. 2, 2020. He’s officiated 735 regular-season games and 42 playoff games. Before his professional career as a linesperson, he played left wing for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves from 2001 to 2004. The 40-year-old from Orangeville, Ont., had 73 points in 183 OHL games before playing Jr. A hockey in 2004-05, then U Sports hockey at Lakehead University for five years.
Get the
latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by
subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below
the article on THN.com.
Read the full article here
