Leafs fans outraged after Boston native picked to ref against Bruins

Leafs fans and NHL fans in general are outraged today after it was revealed that Boston native Chris Rooney will be officiating tonight's game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The announcement was made this afternoon, well ahead of the 8PM EST start time for game six in Toronto. Rooney will be joined by Dan O'Rourke as the other referee and linesmen Ryan Daisy, also a Massachusetts native, and Devin Berg.





Needless to say, Leafs fans are not too thrilled about this decision. Tonight's game between the Leafs and Bruins is the only one in the entire playoffs so theoretically, every official should eb available to work this game. And yet, they still chose a Boston native. One fan blamed Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs for trying to fix the match.




Other fans simply lamented the fact that they believe the Leafs will have the officials working against them tonight. To be fair, Chris Rooney does have a questionable reputation as a referee, even if an explicit bias for the Bruins is not something that is associated with him.



All of that being said, this does feel like a preemptive excuse for Leafs fans. Perhaps they feel like the Bruins are the favorites to win tonight anyways and they are just looking for excuses to save the Leafs. Regardless, we will just have to see how the game plays out.

Source: MarkerZone
Maple Leafs fans up in arms due to shocking referee selection