[News] Longtime NHL referee Bruce Hood dies at 81 of cancer

[Dion]

GUELPH, Ontario -- Bruce Hood, the former NHL referee who worked 1,100 games over 21 seasons, died Friday of prostate cancer. He was 81.

Kevin Hood said his father died at a hospice surrounded by family in Guelph.

Bruce Hood was on the ice for some of the NHL's most iconic moments, including Bobby Orr's overtime goal in Game 4 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final that gave the Boston Bruins their first title in nearly 30 years.

"He wanted to be the best at everything he did in his life, and refereeing was no exception," Kevin Hood told The Canadian Press. "He would always say, 'You're only half-right most of the time.' Half the crowd's with you and half the crowd's against you. The games when you weren't noticed, those were the best."

Hood officiated 1,033 regular-season games, 157 playoff games, three All-Star games and three Canada Cups. He was instrumental in the formation of the NHL Officials Association in 1969.

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/2...e-hood-dies-81