Well, I feel like I have to add my two cents regarding the officiating
at Lynah this weekend. My apologies if this thread has died. I
get the digest version of the list so I see these things some time
after the fact.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I generally believe that
the refs usually do a good job and the calls tend to go both ways.
Many previous posts on this subject have noted this fact already.
However, even though the calls can (and do) go both ways, the refs
do set the tempo for the game and this is what I'd like to
criticize. BTW, I'll try to note my strong bias to Cornell along
the way. Anyway here goes:
I guess I'll begin with the end of the Clarkson game on Friday night.
The sticks and elbows were getting up on all the hits in the third
period. This was because the ref, John Murphy, had done the usual
"swallow the whistle in the third period". Needless to say, the
players started hitting harder and dirtier once they figured this out.
At the 13:00 minute mark of the third period, the puck was against the
boards to right of Jason Elliot in the Cornell zone (and right in front of
me :-)). Sacchetti had a Clarkson player against the boards battling
for the puck. ___ Kuntz for Clarkson came into the "scrum" and was
immediately leveled on a NASTY check from behind by David(?) Powell
of Cornell. The play was blown dead and no official had
his arm raised for a penalty. As Kuntz was attended to by the
Clarkson trainer, the officials gathered for a conference and THEN
Murphy skated to scorers table and gave Sacchetti a 5 minute major
for "hitting from behind" and a game misconduct. Well, at this point
someone on the Cornell bench smashed something (I didn't see) and
Coach Schafer went ballistic. There is no doubt in my mind that
a penalty was well deserved.....BUT....PENALTIES SHOULD NOT BE CALLED
AFTER A 5 MINUTE CONFERENCE. ONE of the refs SHOULD HAVE HAD HIS
HAND UP IMMEDIATELY. Then to top it off, they got the wrong guy.
In addition, I feel that if Murphy had called some (any) penalties
in the third period, this incident would never have happened.
On to Satuday night's game with St. Lawrence. I've posted a part of
the box score, with permission, from Keith Kannenberg's web page:
(http://fluids.mae.cornell.edu/kannenb/hockey/) below to make my point. My
comments are added with stars.
First Period -- Scoring:
COR Moynihan (8) (Rutter) 8:28 PPG 0-1
SLU Windle (Gellard, Clarke) 17:06 1-1
Penalties:
COR Hovey (holding stick) 2:06
SLU Harney (interference) 5:12
SLU MCLaughlin (slashing) 7:59
COR Powell (cross-checking) 10:31
***** 2 obstruction type calls ********
Second Period -- Scoring:
SLU Allard (Clarke, Poapst) 5:53 PPG 2-1
COR Dailey ( ) (Pierce) 12:47 4x4 2-2
SLU McGrath (DiFrancesco, Harney) 15:10 3-2
Penalties:
COR Dailey (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:23
SLU Gordon (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:23
COR Rutter (high-sticking) 4 :00
SLU Ward (roughing) 8:46
COR Kovac (roughing) 8:46
SLU Veneruzzo (slashing) 12:42
COR Peach (slashing) 12:42
******* No obstruction calls. Almost all matching penalties. ******
******* If I had to guess, all but Rutter's were after play ******
******* had stopped. ******
Third Period -- Scoring:
SLU Allard 5:44 GWG 4-2
COR Kovac (1) (McNiven, Oates) 10:45 4-3
Penalties:
SLU Harney (high-sticking) 0:54
SLU Ward (double roughing) 4:59
COR Stienstra (double roughing) 4:59
Cornell awarded a penalty shot for skater covering the puck in the crease.
Taken by Moynihan, failed.
SLU DiFrancesco (roughing) 7:55
SLU Clarke (double roughing) 7:55
COR Peach (double roughing) 7:55
COR Hovey (roughing) 16:29
COR McNiven (unsportsmanlike conduct) 16:29
COR McNiven (roughing) 16:29
COR McNiven (misconduct) 16:29
****** Note again, no obstruction calls, mostly matching penalites, *****
****** most, if not all, after the whistle. *****
The referee was Scott Hansen. This was the first game I saw him officiate
and I hope it's the last. Note, I do not think he was biased against
one team, but I really do not like his style of officiating.
On the night there were only 2 obstruction penalties called and no
trippings or hookings or holdings. Do you think that's because
the players weren't doing these things? Hell no. The sad part
was that I feel like St. Lawrence used this to their advantage
and Cornell did not (personal bias creeping in). Since Hansen was
not making any obstruction calls, by the time the whistle blew
tempers were sky high. This is when the little punches, high sticks,
and slashes started, which inevitably got called as matching penalties no
matter who instigated...and believe me both teams were instigating.
So now the players know that even when they "play dirty" after
the whistle it isn't going to cost the team because good ol' Hansen
will even things up. To make matters worse, the whistle often seemed
"late" and the AR's were not at all aggressive in getting between players
and heading off some of the rough stuff. Of course this lead to more and more
and MORE bullsh*t going on after each whistle and during play. At one
point in ,third period it became laughable when right in front of Elliot a
Cornell player literally tackled at St. Lawerence player...they got up and the
St. Lawrence player returned the favor and just as the whistle blew the
Cornell player tackled the SLU guy one last time for good measure. UGLY.
No penalty called whatsoever.
As you can see from the box score the game got out of hand in the third
period. McNiven got his string of penalties when after a whistle in
the Cornell end, the refs were taking some time to sort out the pushing
and shoving...the next thing I know, McNiven is right in front of
the St. Lawrence bench and pushing and shoving is going on. How
did he get there? What was he thinking? The timing couldn't have
been worse because with over 3 minutes to go we had to kill a 2 minute
penalty. Pretty much game over at that point.
Anyway to summarize: St. Lawrence won 4-3. They took advantage of
the type of game called by the ref and Cornell did not. Hansen's style
of officiating is in my mind the worst kind because the game degraded
rapidly into a series of pushing and shoving matches after each whistle
along with every clutch and grab imaginable. That's not hockey. It's
more like wrestling.
Well I'll get off my soapbox now. I sincerely hope that the ECAC takes
a look at both games this weekend and gives out some bad officiating
grades.
Eric
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Eric Hoffman | "It was...an afternoon scraped out |
Graduate Student | of the dog dish of meteorology..." |
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ES-333 | Tom Robbins describing an August |
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Atmospheric Sciences |---------------------------------------|
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State University of New York | Big Red Hockey |
1400 Washington Ave. | 1996,1997 ECAC and Ivy League |
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