Following in father's footsteps

In the wonderful world of sports, there are those who watch and those who play the game. Squeezed in a fine line between the two comes those who officiate the games.

In hockey, as well as most other sports, officials attempt to accomplish their task of keeping order and fair play while remaining a seamless part of the game.

In the Valley, hockey officials are a small group ranging in ages from youth to adult. For one area family, hockey officiating has become a father and son affair.

Carl Brent and his son Carl Jr., both of Wasilla, regularly officiate hockey games together and separately at Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

The elder Brent played high school hockey and adult hockey in Wisconsin before moving to Anchorage in 1977.

Brent taught Learn-to-Skate programs at Ben Boeke Ice Arena after arriving in Anchorage and was encouraged by the Anchorage Hockey Association to become an official.

"I was single and spending a lot of time around the arena anyway," said Brent. "There was a shortage of officials so they asked me to do it."

He spent two years officiating games for the University of Alaska Anchorage, at one time serving as the head referee.

Brent officiated in the Anchorage area until transferring 1982 as an Alaska State Trooper to the Valley, where he began officiating at the Brett.

During his tenure as a Valley hockey referee, Brent officiated many heated rivalry games between Palmer and Wasilla in the 1980s and officiated games when three current high school coaches played hockey during their high school years.

Brent encourages young hockey players to become referees in the Valley, saying that the experience will make them better hockey players and will also increase the number of youth officials coming through the system.

The younger Brent, age 13, is in his second year of officiating.

Carl gained an interest in officiating from playing hockey for several years in the area.

In addition to officiating, he currently plays on the Matanuska Amateur Hockey Association Bantam B team.

"It helps me to understand the rules better," said Carl. "I get a different view of the game and see what it is like being the one making the calls."

New officials attend clinics and must pass a written examination before stepping onto the ice in stripes.

First-year officials start out as level-one officials and must work with experienced referees until they advance.

Youth officials have the additional constraint that they can only officiate games of a younger age than themselves.

Juggling a busy schedule of school, hockey, officiating and other volunteer work has not detracted the 13-year-old Carl from continuing his officiating career.

"Its just about as much fun as playing, so I want to keep doing it," said Carl.