Greg Shepherd was in the booth with Frank and Doug during yesterday's Sunday matinee between Minnesota and Michigan Tech, in a move that was bound to end in disaster. One thing in particular caught my attention though. No, not that he repeated that ridiculous line about video being the officials worst enemy--because clearly, the biggest problem here was that someone filmed it. Not the terribly put assertion that the league didn't really care about fans when deciding to call 50 penalties a game--technically a good decision, but from a PR standpoint, he made it sound as terrible as possible, and Frank had to awkwardly try to clean up his mess. Not even the Freudian slip about how officials would stop calling games this way as soon as the calendar rolled over to December.
No, what stuck out to me the most was the assertion that the stricter rules enforcement wasn't that big of a deal because so far, it had only meant an extra two powerplays per team, per game. Much like the Pairwise rankings, this is the magical combination of math and poor logic.
First issue: Is that even true?
Last season, there was a total of 1229 powerplays over the course of 140 WCHA league games. That works out to an average of 8.77 powerplays per game, meaning each team is getting roughly 4.385 powerplays per game. After 39 league games this season, there have been a total of 543 powerplays. Again, going to the averages, that's 13.92 powerplays per game, or 6.96 powerplays per team, per game.
So 4.385 vs. 6.96, a difference of 2.575 powerplays per team, per game . Technically, his assertion is close to true, though stretched by about a powerplay per game.
Second, more important issue: Is that a big deal?
This is a little tougher to argue since it's a matter of opinion, but I'm pretty sure it is.
The number only looks small because it's been divided enough times until you get a small number. You may as well say, "Hey, it's only an extra .858 powerplays per period!" or "That's only an extra .032 powerplays per shift!"
The problem is that if you go in the other direction, the numbers tend to look worse. This is a little speculative on my part, since there are no concrete numbers on actual PP time, but let's assume that the average powerplay lasts 1:30 due to either powerplay goals or overlapping penalties. That means that last season there was approximately 12:23 of powerplay time per game, which is 21% of a hockey game. This year, there is approxmiately 20:53 of powerplay time per game, which is 35% of the game. I think most people would argue that 14% of a hockey game is a pretty big deal.
Third Issue: Does this mean the officials are in the wrong?
Not necessarily. In theory, I love the idea of cleaning up some of the obstruction in the game and making it faster and more exciting. The problem is putting faith in the practitioners of that theory, and frankly, there's never been much reason to put that faith in the WCHA's officials, and even less reason with a number of officials having been recently promoted from linesman out of necessity rather than performance.
The issues this causes are the same as what happened during the checking-from-behind craze of a few years ago. Game-changing decisions are being put in the hands of the officials and their calls are frustratingly inconsistent and frustratingly questionable. Some of that is just the nature of officiating. Two biased parties are going to see the same thing very differently. But I also think that more calls this group has to make, the greater the chance of them making very poor calls. And that's been the biggest complaint so far this season. It's not that a team is going shorthanded an extra five times per weekend. It's that they're going shorthanded on calls that never should have been made.
Fourth Issue: What's the Solution?
Sadly, it may just be waiting until December when officials stop calling--er, I mean, players "adjust" to the new rules. It seems to have worked for the NHL, so maybe it will work in college. In the meantime, it's up to the fans to adjust to watching a different game.
Showing posts with label wcha officials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wcha officials. Show all posts
Monday, November 17, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Hunt for Red October
Last winter, there was a fight in a game between North Dakota and Denver where North Dakota's Kyle Radke got Denver's Brandon Vossberg on the ice and was raining blows on him, which had George Gwozdecky questioning if referee Marco Hunt did enough to protect his player.
The Denver Post's Mike Chambers ended his blog post discussing the incident with this line:
Nope.
This is an incredibly dangerous situation where Minnesota's White obviously doesn't want to fight and get a suspension, while Grotting has no such qualms. Grotting gets at least four great swings at White while he's down on the ground before Hunt even thinks about intervening. White was lucky his helmet stayed on, and that Grotting didn't solidly connect on any of his punches, because there is a ton of potential for a very serious injury there.
I've been willing to give the WCHA officials my patience with respect to the stricter rules enforcement. In the games I've watched this year, there have been some bad calls, and I'm always leery of giving this group more discretion, but ultimately, it was a change that desperately needed to happen and should have long-term benefits. But first and foremost, their job should be to protect the players, and it's scary to watch when that doesn't happen.
The Denver Post's Mike Chambers ended his blog post discussing the incident with this line:
"Perhaps Hunt would have broken it up if a second referee was handling the penalty notebook."Let's go to the video!
Nope.
This is an incredibly dangerous situation where Minnesota's White obviously doesn't want to fight and get a suspension, while Grotting has no such qualms. Grotting gets at least four great swings at White while he's down on the ground before Hunt even thinks about intervening. White was lucky his helmet stayed on, and that Grotting didn't solidly connect on any of his punches, because there is a ton of potential for a very serious injury there.
I've been willing to give the WCHA officials my patience with respect to the stricter rules enforcement. In the games I've watched this year, there have been some bad calls, and I'm always leery of giving this group more discretion, but ultimately, it was a change that desperately needed to happen and should have long-term benefits. But first and foremost, their job should be to protect the players, and it's scary to watch when that doesn't happen.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Sometimes You Just Shake Your Head
Wisconsin and Minnesota were trying to get together to play an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium next season, followed by an outdoor game at TCF High School Stadium in Minneapolis the following year. But as Todd Milewski of The Capital Times reported today, those games are on hold thanks to the WCHA. The event was being put on by the Herb Brooks Foundation, and the WCHA didn't want control of a league game going to an outside entity.
Here's WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod on the reason for the veto:
Of course, the only problem with that logic is that the WCHA was in charge of those screw-ups. Basically what McLeod is saying is that if anybody is going to screw-up a WCHA game, Goddammit, it's going to be the WCHA. I'm not sure what the risk is here. Is McLeod afraid that if the Herb Brooks Foundation hires referees that completely blow a game-changing call, they won't issue a heartfelt apology letter like McLeod had to do multiple times last season?
In any case, it's a shame that it looks like Minnesota and Wisconsin won't be able to have a successful outdoor game like many NHL and college programs have had.
Here's WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod on the reason for the veto:
"If they want to take an exempted game or something like that, we'll cooperate and do what we can. But with a regular-season game and somebody else running it, and you know how those points go -- especially Wisconsin the last few years -- that can be critical. So we're quite concerned about the circumstances under which these games are played.Emphasis mine. That's an obvious reference to the blown video replay call that cost Wisconsin a game against Denver last season, and eventually ended up costing Wisconsin home ice in the WCHA playoffs.
Of course, the only problem with that logic is that the WCHA was in charge of those screw-ups. Basically what McLeod is saying is that if anybody is going to screw-up a WCHA game, Goddammit, it's going to be the WCHA. I'm not sure what the risk is here. Is McLeod afraid that if the Herb Brooks Foundation hires referees that completely blow a game-changing call, they won't issue a heartfelt apology letter like McLeod had to do multiple times last season?
In any case, it's a shame that it looks like Minnesota and Wisconsin won't be able to have a successful outdoor game like many NHL and college programs have had.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Pretty Darn Good Official Screws Up Again
Here's the latest WCHA officiating controversy, courtesy of Todd Milewski:
Referee Derek Shepherd blew his whistle just before Andy Bohmbach slid a rebound past Jase Weslosky in the third period, with the Badgers down 3-2. The puck popped up on Weslosky, who extended his glove in front to try to catch the puck. It was out of his reach, however, and fell to the ice.There's also YouTube evidence. I wonder if Shepherd will face any consequences for blowing such an important call in such a critical game?(No, I couldn't type that with a straight face.)
Shepherd, who was trailing the play, must have thought that Weslosky grabbed the puck out of the air. Eaves' issue with the call was Shepherd's positioning.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
More WCHA Ref Problems
It was WCHA referee Todd Anderson's turn to receive reprimand from the WCHA this week after he grabbed Michael Gergen by the jersey in last Friday's game against Minnesota.
It's more bad press for the WCHA and their officials, but a fairly minor one. I'd still rather see Anderson on the ice for a game I'm watching than a large majority of the other officials in the WCHA.
It's more bad press for the WCHA and their officials, but a fairly minor one. I'd still rather see Anderson on the ice for a game I'm watching than a large majority of the other officials in the WCHA.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wisconsin's Appeal Denied
Bill Hudson, head of the WCHA Faculty Athletic Representatives ruled that Wisconsin's appeal to have the outcome of last Friday's game changed, has been denied, much like the goal they scored that should have counted.
They cited a rule from the NCAA rulebook stating that their can be no appeal to a referee's decision. I'm pretty sure there's also a rule in there about pucks going into the net during play counting as a goal, but it's a thick book, and I can't say I've read all of it.
Overall, it's probably the right decision though. Sadly, if we started handing out points and replaying games any time a video review was messed up in the WCHA, it would be chaos. Not only would it open up a can of worms for the future, but also for the past, since St. Cloud State had also received an apology from the WCHA for a blown video replay in a one-goal loss.
They cited a rule from the NCAA rulebook stating that their can be no appeal to a referee's decision. I'm pretty sure there's also a rule in there about pucks going into the net during play counting as a goal, but it's a thick book, and I can't say I've read all of it.
Overall, it's probably the right decision though. Sadly, if we started handing out points and replaying games any time a video review was messed up in the WCHA, it would be chaos. Not only would it open up a can of worms for the future, but also for the past, since St. Cloud State had also received an apology from the WCHA for a blown video replay in a one-goal loss.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
To Whom It May Concern
By now, I'm sure everybody has seen the WCHA's most recent apology for an egregious video replay error after Friday's game between Denver and Wisconsin. Since I'm sure this won't be the last time that happens, I've taken the time to create a little form letter that the WCHA can hand out to teams after such events.
Dear (insert team name),
On the date of (insert date), referee Randy Schmidt decided to either allow or disallow a goal in your game against (insert opponent) after reviewing the video replay. It has come to our attention that Schmidt is the only human being on the planet to feel this way. Oops. Our bad. Video replay has never been his strong suit. He can't program his Tivo either.
Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do at this time to correct said error. We can, however, offer you this coupon for 15% off all Red Baron Pizzas(offer void in North Dakota).
But really, you've been a member of this league for at least 8 years. You can't be that surprised by this. And it's not like it was that big of a deal anyway. If it had been something really important, like say, a baseball game with 10-year-olds, then sure, you could be mad. We find that your team, like every other league, is too focused on making this league the most competitive, highest quality non-professional hockey league in the world. Our official policy, however, is much more "A good time among friends, and then back in bed by a reasonable hour."
So again, sorry about the whole video replay snafu. It sucks, but it's not like wecan will do anything about it. SUX2BU.
Sincerely,
The WCHA
Dear (insert team name),
On the date of (insert date), referee Randy Schmidt decided to either allow or disallow a goal in your game against (insert opponent) after reviewing the video replay. It has come to our attention that Schmidt is the only human being on the planet to feel this way. Oops. Our bad. Video replay has never been his strong suit. He can't program his Tivo either.
Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do at this time to correct said error. We can, however, offer you this coupon for 15% off all Red Baron Pizzas(offer void in North Dakota).
But really, you've been a member of this league for at least 8 years. You can't be that surprised by this. And it's not like it was that big of a deal anyway. If it had been something really important, like say, a baseball game with 10-year-olds, then sure, you could be mad. We find that your team, like every other league, is too focused on making this league the most competitive, highest quality non-professional hockey league in the world. Our official policy, however, is much more "A good time among friends, and then back in bed by a reasonable hour."
So again, sorry about the whole video replay snafu. It sucks, but it's not like we
Sincerely,
The WCHA
Saturday, January 12, 2008
More on Latest WCHA Ref Fiasco
There's a higher-quality picture of the final tenths of a second in the Wisconsin/Denver last night. I guess you don't actually see the puck in the net, but I have a tough time believing that every Wisconsin player, two refs, and a goal judge all acknowledged the puck was in the net before it was.
There's also the issue that the red light shouldn't be able to be turned on once the green light goes on. So really, the only possible way Randy Schmidt isn't at fault here is if there was some sort of colossal failure on the part of the people running DU's rink, but from the looks of it, I doubt that is the case.
There's also the issue that the red light shouldn't be able to be turned on once the green light goes on. So really, the only possible way Randy Schmidt isn't at fault here is if there was some sort of colossal failure on the part of the people running DU's rink, but from the looks of it, I doubt that is the case.
Oy Vey
Denver beat Wisconsin 3-2 tonight...sort of.
The Badgers appeared to tie the game with under a second left in the game, but the referee decided the goal was scored after time had expired, and thus disallowed the goal.
There is video, albeit fairly Zapruder-esque: Controversy! at Magness
The quality isn't outstanding, but you can see the Wisconsin players with their arms raised, and two officials signaling that it is goal prior to time expiring. I've heard the argument that Fox Sport's game clock may not be 100% accurate, but if you look closely, you'll notice that as soon as the clock on the screen hits 0.0, the green light behind the goal clicks on signaling the end of the period, which leads me to believe that it is pretty much accurate. It'd say it's pretty hard to argue that the puck didn't go in before the end of the period.
And who was the referee for this game? None other than Randy Schmidt, who made headlines earlier this year for when he blew this call. The WCHA later apologized to St. Cloud for Schmidt's decision to allow that goal. Perhaps another apology is in order here.
The Badgers appeared to tie the game with under a second left in the game, but the referee decided the goal was scored after time had expired, and thus disallowed the goal.
There is video, albeit fairly Zapruder-esque: Controversy! at Magness
The quality isn't outstanding, but you can see the Wisconsin players with their arms raised, and two officials signaling that it is goal prior to time expiring. I've heard the argument that Fox Sport's game clock may not be 100% accurate, but if you look closely, you'll notice that as soon as the clock on the screen hits 0.0, the green light behind the goal clicks on signaling the end of the period, which leads me to believe that it is pretty much accurate. It'd say it's pretty hard to argue that the puck didn't go in before the end of the period.
And who was the referee for this game? None other than Randy Schmidt, who made headlines earlier this year for when he blew this call. The WCHA later apologized to St. Cloud for Schmidt's decision to allow that goal. Perhaps another apology is in order here.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
"That Shouldn't Be A Goal"
Well, I learned my lesson about saying nice things about WCHA officiating.
Here's a YouTube video of DU's first goal last night:
Crash and Burn
I guess you've got to give credit to the FSRM crew for not being biased, but really, I think they just couldn't come up with a way to try and justify that as a goal. I'd love to hear referee Randy Schmidt's explanation of why that was a goal, because I'm pretty sure he's the only person in the world who felt that way.
Here's a YouTube video of DU's first goal last night:
Crash and Burn
I guess you've got to give credit to the FSRM crew for not being biased, but really, I think they just couldn't come up with a way to try and justify that as a goal. I'd love to hear referee Randy Schmidt's explanation of why that was a goal, because I'm pretty sure he's the only person in the world who felt that way.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Linkorama
I'm sure this will go over well. I point out that the top four scorers in the NCAA all come from the same state.
You can read Scott Parse's Tuesdays at the Rink chat here.
On the high school front, St. Cloud Cathedral's Nate Schmidt is injured. Here's an article on Edina's version of the Fab Five. There's definitely some names to remember in there.
Virg Foss of the Grand Forks Herald wrote an article about former North Dakota coach Dean Blais possibly returning to college hockey(I don't have a link, since you need to register, but if you go to the GFH website and search for "Dean Blais," you can find it pretty easily.) Given Blais' track record in college hockey, it's probably only a matter of time before he gets another head coaching. It's just a matter of him finding the right situation.
It's up for debate how much validity there is in what Foss writes, but when he does write, people listen. He certainly ruffled some feathers with the WCHA after his piece slamming WCHA officiating this week.
Speaking of officiating, this article really bothered me. WCHA Commish Bruce McLeod said the NCAA isn't in any rush to adopt rules like the NHL. Said McLeod:
Here's some discussion about hockey bloggers getting press credentials. I'm happy to say that all of my experiences in regards to trying to be a "real press guy" have been 100% positive, which I think speaks very well of the people that are involved in this sport.
LSSU gets a commitment from an Ontario kid.
Some results from The USHL Skills Competition.
USHL Central Scouting features two more '91 birthdates in John Ramage and Jordan Mayer.
A profile on Northern Michigan University.
You can read Scott Parse's Tuesdays at the Rink chat here.
On the high school front, St. Cloud Cathedral's Nate Schmidt is injured. Here's an article on Edina's version of the Fab Five. There's definitely some names to remember in there.
Virg Foss of the Grand Forks Herald wrote an article about former North Dakota coach Dean Blais possibly returning to college hockey(I don't have a link, since you need to register, but if you go to the GFH website and search for "Dean Blais," you can find it pretty easily.) Given Blais' track record in college hockey, it's probably only a matter of time before he gets another head coaching. It's just a matter of him finding the right situation.
It's up for debate how much validity there is in what Foss writes, but when he does write, people listen. He certainly ruffled some feathers with the WCHA after his piece slamming WCHA officiating this week.
Speaking of officiating, this article really bothered me. WCHA Commish Bruce McLeod said the NCAA isn't in any rush to adopt rules like the NHL. Said McLeod:
"We tightened up the obstruction penalties before the NHL, and certainly the NHL has gone beyond that - and way past us. We haven't done it in a quantum jump like the NHL, and I think we'll probably continue with that. Some people think the NHL has gone too far, and others love the way it is. We'll just have to wait and see."Who goes to a hockey game to see the subtle beauty of a fourth-liner partially hooking a faster player to keep up with him? The NHL may be struggling right now, but don't you think it helps them that scoring has gone way up due to the new rules enforcement? Phoenix drew a sellout the other night when Pittsburgh came to town. I have a feeling those people showed up to see Sidney Crosby score goals, not see Jarkko Ruutu hook somebody.
Here's some discussion about hockey bloggers getting press credentials. I'm happy to say that all of my experiences in regards to trying to be a "real press guy" have been 100% positive, which I think speaks very well of the people that are involved in this sport.
LSSU gets a commitment from an Ontario kid.
Some results from The USHL Skills Competition.
USHL Central Scouting features two more '91 birthdates in John Ramage and Jordan Mayer.
A profile on Northern Michigan University.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Means Avoids Further Punishment
The WCHA announced this week that they were satisfied with the punishment Minnesota State handed down to assistant coach Eric Means and will not take further action. The school declined to comment on what Means punishment was, but he was not behind the bench for Minnesota State's three most recent games.
It looks like what I predicted two weeks ago happened. Means was "suspended" for a couple games where he probably would have been out recruiting anyway. Jon Campion worked the following weekend, but didn't work last weekend, though with four league teams off, they didn't need every official. Some may say that punishment seems light for both, but I kind of get the feeling that this is an incident that the WCHA doesn't want to make too big a deal of, since full disclosure probably hurts more than it helps.
Certainly we know most of the details about what Means did, but there are still some holes in the story. Means started yelling at Campion, and about midway through, apparently challenged him to a fight. I doubt Means went from just yelling to threatening to fight him without some sort of provocation from Campion, and it's probably best for the league if that was kept quiet.
There's also the issue of how the UofM police treated Means and head coach Troy Jutting. I don't know any of the details, but judging from the footage I've seen, Minnesota's campus police force could use a John Spartan(the Sylvester Stallone character, not the dumbass that paints himself green). It's probably best if their reaction was kept quiet as well.
So that's that. It seems that the WCHA is willing to say "No harm, no foul" and try to put that unpleasant event behind them.
It looks like what I predicted two weeks ago happened. Means was "suspended" for a couple games where he probably would have been out recruiting anyway. Jon Campion worked the following weekend, but didn't work last weekend, though with four league teams off, they didn't need every official. Some may say that punishment seems light for both, but I kind of get the feeling that this is an incident that the WCHA doesn't want to make too big a deal of, since full disclosure probably hurts more than it helps.
Certainly we know most of the details about what Means did, but there are still some holes in the story. Means started yelling at Campion, and about midway through, apparently challenged him to a fight. I doubt Means went from just yelling to threatening to fight him without some sort of provocation from Campion, and it's probably best for the league if that was kept quiet.
There's also the issue of how the UofM police treated Means and head coach Troy Jutting. I don't know any of the details, but judging from the footage I've seen, Minnesota's campus police force could use a John Spartan(the Sylvester Stallone character, not the dumbass that paints himself green). It's probably best if their reaction was kept quiet as well.
So that's that. It seems that the WCHA is willing to say "No harm, no foul" and try to put that unpleasant event behind them.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Another Incident with WCHA Officials
The WCHA is investigating an altercation that took place on Sunday night after the game between Minnesota and Minnesota State. Minnesota State assistant coach Eric Means got into an argument with official Jon Campion moments after the game on Sunday. University of Minnesota police seperated the two in a manner that apparently upset Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting, who had an animated argument with the police about their handling of the incident.
Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press has the few details that are known.
Means was apparently upset that Mankato only received a meager 2 powerplays on Sunday night to Minnesota's 7 powerplays. Or that Mankato only received 2 powerplays on Friday night to Minnesota's 6. Or that Minnesota apparently played 80 consecutive minutes of hockey without committing a single infraction between Friday and Sunday.
There is, of course, the argument that Minnesota is the faster, more skilled team and probably should have earned more powerplays. But the numbers don't seem to reflect that. The Mavericks outshout the Gophers 28-24 on Sunday, and if you take out the powerplay shots on goal, the Mavericks hold a 25-15 advantage. Friday night wasn't as stark, but the Mavericks did outshoot Minnesota 34-32, and 30-26 not counting powerplay shots. It seems to be a case of the officials calling the game based on reputation rather than reality.
That said, Means probably should be disciplined for his reaction. I've got no problem with him sticking up for his team, but there are still consequences for doing something like that. A one game suspension seems fair, and since MSU's next game is on the road, he probably wouldn't have been on the bench anyway.
Jon Campion should also be disciplined, but I'm not holding my breath. We're supposed to believe that the league's officials are completely impartial. Coaches aren't even allowed to mention officiating without suffering some sort of reprimand because to do so would imply that officials play some factor in the outcome of the game. It's the Great Lie that we'd all like to believe, but see proven false every weekend. And now we're supposed to believe that Jon Campion was completely impartial this past weekend when less than 10 minutes after the game, he was engaged in a heated argument with one of the coaches? It's one thing for Means to yell at him, but for Campion to respond to it, which it sounds like he did, that's completely unprofessional and unacceptable.
Goaltending guru Des Christopher made an interesting point on the radio a few weeks ago. He said he was at a tournament at Shattuck-St. Mary's and was talking hockey with a bunch of people from around the hockey world. They were comparing different leagues throughout hockey, and they decided that after the NHL and AHL, the WCHA was probably the third best league in North America, if not the world. Which leads to my question: is the WCHA the third best officiated league in the world? Is it even the third best officiated league in the NCAA? It's probably a question that the league needs to ask it itself and seriously examine.
Hopefully everyone can move on from this incident and put it behind them. It's most important for whichever official gets assigned to this weekend's series featuring Minnesota State to put this incident out of his head and not let it affect the way that he calls the game. Ask anyone at the WCHA league office and they will tell you that that is what their official will do. But if I were St. Cloud State, I'd be practicing my powerplay this week.
Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press has the few details that are known.
Means was apparently upset that Mankato only received a meager 2 powerplays on Sunday night to Minnesota's 7 powerplays. Or that Mankato only received 2 powerplays on Friday night to Minnesota's 6. Or that Minnesota apparently played 80 consecutive minutes of hockey without committing a single infraction between Friday and Sunday.
There is, of course, the argument that Minnesota is the faster, more skilled team and probably should have earned more powerplays. But the numbers don't seem to reflect that. The Mavericks outshout the Gophers 28-24 on Sunday, and if you take out the powerplay shots on goal, the Mavericks hold a 25-15 advantage. Friday night wasn't as stark, but the Mavericks did outshoot Minnesota 34-32, and 30-26 not counting powerplay shots. It seems to be a case of the officials calling the game based on reputation rather than reality.
That said, Means probably should be disciplined for his reaction. I've got no problem with him sticking up for his team, but there are still consequences for doing something like that. A one game suspension seems fair, and since MSU's next game is on the road, he probably wouldn't have been on the bench anyway.
Jon Campion should also be disciplined, but I'm not holding my breath. We're supposed to believe that the league's officials are completely impartial. Coaches aren't even allowed to mention officiating without suffering some sort of reprimand because to do so would imply that officials play some factor in the outcome of the game. It's the Great Lie that we'd all like to believe, but see proven false every weekend. And now we're supposed to believe that Jon Campion was completely impartial this past weekend when less than 10 minutes after the game, he was engaged in a heated argument with one of the coaches? It's one thing for Means to yell at him, but for Campion to respond to it, which it sounds like he did, that's completely unprofessional and unacceptable.
Goaltending guru Des Christopher made an interesting point on the radio a few weeks ago. He said he was at a tournament at Shattuck-St. Mary's and was talking hockey with a bunch of people from around the hockey world. They were comparing different leagues throughout hockey, and they decided that after the NHL and AHL, the WCHA was probably the third best league in North America, if not the world. Which leads to my question: is the WCHA the third best officiated league in the world? Is it even the third best officiated league in the NCAA? It's probably a question that the league needs to ask it itself and seriously examine.
Hopefully everyone can move on from this incident and put it behind them. It's most important for whichever official gets assigned to this weekend's series featuring Minnesota State to put this incident out of his head and not let it affect the way that he calls the game. Ask anyone at the WCHA league office and they will tell you that that is what their official will do. But if I were St. Cloud State, I'd be practicing my powerplay this week.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
More Embarassment from WCHA Refs
There was a little bit of controversy in last night's game between Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. I didn't get an opportunity to see the game, so I can't comment on most of the shenanigans of head official Don Adam and crew. But there was one particular play that nobody seemed to see very well, so I'm on even footing there.
The play in question happened in the first period. Duluth was killing off a 5-on-3 penalty when Drew Akins came out of the box and skated to the bench. Teammate Bryan McGregor jumped on for Akins and took the puck on the breakaway and scored a goal. After lengthy discussions with both coaches and changing his mind a couple times, Adam ruled that it was no goal and Duluth had committed a too many men on the ice penalty.
Nobody seemed to know for sure if McGregor had indeed jumped too early and it was a penalty, but that wasn't really the issue here, since linesman Tony Lancette, never made the call before the goal was scored. Incidentally, Tony Lancette is easily the most visible linesman in the WCHA, which is a really bad thing if you're a linesman.
Two examples really stick out in my mind when it comes to a situation like this:
1. Last night, I watched Minnesota State's Jon Kalinski trying to bring the puck out of his zone in the third period of the game. He was clearly hooked down from behind, and Bemidji took the puck and got a quality scoring chance. If Bemidji had scored there, would it have been ok for the officials to congregate and decide that Bemidji's scoring chance came as a direct result of an infraction and disallow the goal? Probably not.
2. This was a couple years ago, but I just saw someone reference it earlier this week. Northern Michigan player Chris Gobert was awarded a penalty shot late in a game against Nebraska-Omaha. Gobert scored on the penalty shot, but after the play, Omaha coach Mike Kemp asked the officials to check Gobert's stick. The stick was found to have an illegal curve. Again, Gobert had clearly committed an infraction, but because the call wasn't made before the goal, Gobert's penalty shot goal stood, though Gobert did have to serve a two-minute penalty.
Anyway, the point is that you can't go back and start retroactively calling penalties because that would be chaos.
There's also another problem, which is more of an indictment on WCHA refs in general. The NCAA rulebook makes it very clear that officials aren't supposed to let the game situation affect the way that they call the game, but it seems that most calls in the WCHA end up happening because of the situation. Now you have to ask, would that too many men penalty have been called if Duluth hadn't scored? Probably not since Tony Lancette didn't call the penalty while the play happened. So if he decided it wasn't blatant enough to call the penalty as the play happened, he shouldn't go back and change the call just because Duluth scored a goal.
The play in question happened in the first period. Duluth was killing off a 5-on-3 penalty when Drew Akins came out of the box and skated to the bench. Teammate Bryan McGregor jumped on for Akins and took the puck on the breakaway and scored a goal. After lengthy discussions with both coaches and changing his mind a couple times, Adam ruled that it was no goal and Duluth had committed a too many men on the ice penalty.
Nobody seemed to know for sure if McGregor had indeed jumped too early and it was a penalty, but that wasn't really the issue here, since linesman Tony Lancette, never made the call before the goal was scored. Incidentally, Tony Lancette is easily the most visible linesman in the WCHA, which is a really bad thing if you're a linesman.
Two examples really stick out in my mind when it comes to a situation like this:
1. Last night, I watched Minnesota State's Jon Kalinski trying to bring the puck out of his zone in the third period of the game. He was clearly hooked down from behind, and Bemidji took the puck and got a quality scoring chance. If Bemidji had scored there, would it have been ok for the officials to congregate and decide that Bemidji's scoring chance came as a direct result of an infraction and disallow the goal? Probably not.
2. This was a couple years ago, but I just saw someone reference it earlier this week. Northern Michigan player Chris Gobert was awarded a penalty shot late in a game against Nebraska-Omaha. Gobert scored on the penalty shot, but after the play, Omaha coach Mike Kemp asked the officials to check Gobert's stick. The stick was found to have an illegal curve. Again, Gobert had clearly committed an infraction, but because the call wasn't made before the goal, Gobert's penalty shot goal stood, though Gobert did have to serve a two-minute penalty.
Anyway, the point is that you can't go back and start retroactively calling penalties because that would be chaos.
There's also another problem, which is more of an indictment on WCHA refs in general. The NCAA rulebook makes it very clear that officials aren't supposed to let the game situation affect the way that they call the game, but it seems that most calls in the WCHA end up happening because of the situation. Now you have to ask, would that too many men penalty have been called if Duluth hadn't scored? Probably not since Tony Lancette didn't call the penalty while the play happened. So if he decided it wasn't blatant enough to call the penalty as the play happened, he shouldn't go back and change the call just because Duluth scored a goal.
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