The refs job besides calling the game is to monitor stuff like the antics that led up to that fight after the game. As soon as the teams started getting chippy with one another, the refs should have warned both benches in advance of game misconducts if it gets out of control.
As you said, you don't watch and haven't played. While not easy, a good ref team can control a game and keep it from getting out of control.
As for the ignorant comment about "dumb kids in pads", I know that a majority of my high school team went on to Ivy League schools, some playing hockey and some just for the education. You might want to realize that the vast majority of hockey players are fairly intelligent as hockey players who are generally excel in the game.
I side with that reasoning, but think they also get all the responcibility dumped on them after the finger pointing moves on from the players. They should be fully aware of the atmophere on the ice, the refs are on the ice constantly from start to finish compared to the players who bounce on and off the bench or who get timeouts on the bench or in the box. However, that's also why the coaches and other players on the team and bench should step up - I'm not saying they're not busy or preoccupied, but of all the people in that arena wearing skates or holding a clipboard, the refs are the only ones usually NOT with a minute to spare, sitting on their haunches or shooting the sh!@.
