TAMPA - The water bottle thrown in disgust still had plenty of zip behind it when it ricocheted off the glass and into Gary Reilly's lap. It was an accident, of course, but Reilly didn't expect an apology.
And didn't get one.
Such are the risks for a man who ushers irate NHL players in and out of the penalty box at the St. Pete Times Forum. To Reilly, the rewards are worth it.
"To be that close to the NHL players, especially this far into the playoffs, there's nothing like it," said Reilly, 47, who drives two hours from his Orlando home to work Lightning home games. "I make the trip every game and I love it."
Reilly is among 15 off-ice officials hired by the league to supplement the referees and linesmen. Comprised of locals with some hockey experience, such crews exist in every NHL city. Reilly, a former college goalie and minor-league official in his native New York, has been with the Tampa Bay crew for nine seasons.
Members rotate among several duties, including goal judge, clock operator and statistician. During Game 2 of the East Conference final Monday night, Reilly was in the Tampa Bay penalty box and more than a little busy.
"It's not a good time to meet hockey players," Reilly said.
In the box, Reilly makes sure the right players check in and out at the right times.
"That might seem really simple, but when you get three or four players at a time in there, you have to go with the NHL rule book to determine who comes out at what time," Reilly said.
Depending on the nature of the penalty, some of Reilly's guests can be replaced on the ice by another player, some cannot. Some leave the box after a goal, some don't. But one thing is consistent: Reilly never knows what to expect when a disgruntled player enters the box.
"The guys had a good laugh at my expense once when Enrico Ciccone was playing for the Lightning," said Reilly, recalling the physical enforcer who logged 604 penalty minutes in 135 games with the Lightning over five seasons from 1993-99.
"I had the Tampa Bay penalty box and I let him in and he was so upset he slammed the door of the box, except I was still holding the handle. The guys who saw it from the press box said it lifted me right up. I went for a ride with the penalty box door."
Not every encounter is gruff.
"I've had players when you tell them there's a half minute left, they say, "Thank you, sir,' " Reilly said. "They're the most humble of the pro athletes. ... I get them at the wrong moment, but they're still the most humble athletes there are."
In addition to flying water bottles, Reilly must keep an eye out for pucks sailing over the glass and into his lap. When one does, he has a replacement handy.
His second responsibility as penalty box attendant is to keep track of the pucks used during a game, making sure no puck stays in play for longer than five minutes.
"Those pucks are in the deep-freeze all day," said Reilly, who keeps a written log of what time each puck goes into play. "A hard, frozen puck has a more predictable bounce to it. They want to take that variable out of the game. So I've got a freezer chest right there. They go through about 30 a game."
No, there's nothing else in the cooler.
Normally, game pucks have the home team logo on one side, but the league is using pucks with special conference final logos for this round of the playoffs. Reilly must collect six used pucks from each period, plus those used to score goals. The pucks are sent to the league to be used in a charity auction as collectors' items.
Reilly collects memories.
"The speed of the game is amazing; it's never captured on TV. You've got to see it," he said. "If you're upstairs on one of the computers in the press box, you can see plays develop and passing lanes open up, but when you're down on the ice, you hear the skates on the ice."
