Former Spartan Icer McCauley Makes Funny Penalty Call

Wes McCauley, who played hockey at Michigan State under legendary coach Ron Mason from 1989-1993, has been a referee in the National Hockey League full-time since 2005.

And during his career, he is well known in hockey circles for making emphatic announcements for penalty calls during games.

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But in Tuesday night's San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings game (which the Red Wings won 6-2), McCauley created an internet sensation with his announcement of the fighting majors accrued by Detroit Red Wings forward Givani Smith and San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton early in the first period.

Check out the whole video here, courtesy of SportsNet and Bally Sports Detroit:

McCauley, who will turn 50 years old next week (January 11th), was actually a Detroit Red Wings draft pick back in 1990, taken in the eighth round.  He played a total of four seasons of professional hockey, but none in the NHL.  He retired due to injuries in 1997.

Wanting to stay in hockey, he turned to officiating.  He started with youth hockey in Canada, before moving up to minor league hockey in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).  In 2001, the National Hockey League (NHL) hired him to become an official in the American Hockey League (AHL).  That's the highest of the minor leagues in pro hockey (like Triple-A is to baseball).

And in 2005, the NHL hired him to be a referee full-time.  He has refereed in seven Stanley Cup Final series' in his career, and has officiated over 1,000 NHL games.

Keep making entertaining calls like this, and he'll be around for another 1,000 games!