WCHA retires Butch Mousseau’s No. 12 officials’ jersey, announces referee sticker in remembrance

By @MichaelCaples –

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that the college hockey conference is retiring Oliver “Butch” Mousseau’s No. 12 officials’ jersey.

The WCHA also announced that on-ice officials will wear a specially-designed “12” sticker on their helmets throughout the 2016-17 season to remember Mousseau. While they are not making it mandatory, the conference also stated that some WCHA schools will be memorializing Mousseau by placing the No. 12 in the referees’ circle on their home ice.

The referee affectionately known as “Butch” passed away on March 25 after suffering critical head injuries that came from a fall on the ice during warm-ups of the WCHA Final Five semifinals in Grand Rapids.

Mousseau, a Grosse Pointe native, was 48.

“Butch Mousseau will forever be in our hearts and minds,” said WCHA Supervisor of Officials Greg Shepherd in a release. “Nobody wore the officials’ jersey with more pride and love for the game than Butch. It is only fitting that the number 12 be forever retired in his honor.”

“The WCHA is, and always will be, a better league because of Butch’s involvement,” said WCHA President and Men’s League Commissioner Bill Robertson. “His legacy is one of the utmost professionalism, a truly infectious positivity and an ever-present smile that we would all do well to replicate. It is our hope that these small gestures are a reminder to us all of how lucky we are to have had Butch in our lives.”