NHL referees Francis Charron and Brandon Schrader had some celebrity backup in the stands during Thursday night’s game between the Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning in Los Angeles.
Actor and comedian Will Ferrell sat rinkside wearing a referee uniform and called penalties from his seat throughout the game.
The Anchorman star was spotted on the Crypto.com Arena’s videoboard several times, mimicking the calls his “students” were making during the game.
Ferrell was interviewed by FanDuel Network’s Carrlyn Bathe during a break in play, with the actor joking that he had trained the on-ice officials.
“I’ve always been in support of the NHL referees,” Ferrell said. “In fact, I trained two of the guys out here, two of my prized students, Brandon and Francis.”
“They’re calling a heck of a game.”
Bathe said that Charron had taken notice of the comedian and she asked Ferrell if he had been giving the ref any queues.
“I’m telling him, like, ‘Relax. It’s OK. You’re doing great. You’re doing great,’” Ferrell said.
Ferrell also quipped that all of the equipment was his own and he’s “ready to go at a moment’s notice” if anything should happen during the game.
“You never know, if one of these guys goes down, I may have to put on the skates and go out there,” he joked, noting that the last time he actually had put on his blades was 15 years ago.
“I’m very nimble, I’m still ready to go.”
Ferrell a big Kings fan
Ferrell has been a huge supporter of the L.A. hockey team, attending games in his seats along the glass and often showing off some unique attire as he cheers on the home team.
Earlier this season, Ferrell was spotted dressed up as one of his most iconic movie characters, Buddy the Elf from the holiday classic Elf.
As for the game, the Kings couldn’t hold off the Bolts, who made a late third-period rally. After Kevin Fiala gave the Kings a 3-2 lead early in the third, the Lightning fired back with three goals in the final five minutes to seal a 5-3 victory.