One January night in 1983, when the New Jersey Devils were going to play a game in Hartford, a snowstorm struck. One ref and one linesman — both men named Ron — got stuck in the snow and never made it to the rink. That left the game with just two officials, one of whom was also a man named Ron, which meant they were two officials short. Rather than call the game off on account of weather, they took an option that NHL rules allowed them. They let the teams ref themselves.
Yes, Mickey Volcan from the Hartford Whalers and Garry Howatt from the Devils both stepped up to officiate the game. The guys weren’t exactly going into this as impartial observers. Complicating matters further, Howatt had played for the Whalers the very previous year, so he had allegiances to both teams. Still, they appear to have done a fine job. At one point, Volcan even kicked one of his own teammates off the ice. It was a man named Ron.