First off, it's Piotrowski, not Pietrowski. Secondly he is far and away the
best ref left in the CCHA following the retirement of the Shegos Bros; Matt
after last year, Duke 1/2way through this year. There's rumors Duke may come
back next year but at this point I'd call it unlikely. It's gotten so bad in
the CCHA that Mark Wilkins, an IHL reject, is seemingly holding down the #2
slot - he worked the GLI and one of the Semis at the Joe - despite being
downright hated by fans of every CCHA team.

Granted I missed most of the 1st period, so I can't comment on how he may have
affected the style of play in the Championship game. But from having seen
numerous games reffed by Pi, the latest being the East Regionals in Worcester,
he calls an even game. It may not always be the way a team or the fans want it,
either letting too much go or calling too much, but he generally calls it the
same way for both teams, which is all you can ask of a ref.

And though I know you're not blaming the loss on Pi, to those that are, get
over it. If you hold onto the lead in the last minute of the third, you don't
need to go into overtime let alone be put in a position of killing off the
penalty. And had you killed it off, you know the next one was going to go your
way, the make-up call phenomenon is alive and well. And though I know it's the
in thing to yell at a ref for calling everything in the first and nothing in
the third, when was the last time you actually saw a ref call the third and
OT's the same as the 1st, especially in the playoffs? I'd be willing to bet
never

As a point of comparison, CCHA refs as a whole are on par with or even worse
than ECAC refs (growing up in Omaha and now going to school at Dartmouth, I've
seen plenty of both). Outside of Piotrowski and maybe Pochmara, who should be
the CCHA's #2 instead of Wilkins, the rest are pretty inconsistent. I think Pi
is better than most ECAC refs, but the rest are about the same, if not worse.
The loss of the Shegos Bros. especially hurt the CCHA and the NCAA, as one or
both were usually working NCAA tournament games annually.