If you happened to wander into the Harbor Center ice complex in downtown Buffalo on a recent August weekend, you might have paused to watch the action on the ice.



Fast. Skilled. Definitely eye-catching. If you didn’t know better, you might have wondered if they were Division I men and women preparing for training camp. Maybe some NHL, AHL or other minor pro players gearing up for camp.



But if all you watched was the game action, then you were missing the whole point of the exercise. And if you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed how every 10 minutes in the 30-minute run-time games a new officiating crew would enter the proceedings from the official time box across from the players’ benches.



While some were veteran officials, others were pulling on the familiar black and white striped jerseys for the first time after playing in the NHL, AHL or other minor pro or top college leagues.



“Coaches” and men with...