Since this was one of my major beefs during this year's college season, I will
add my 2› on this (actually worth 1.2 cents w/o inflation escalator.)
 
>added a note to rule 6-35-c so a referee may stop play along the
>boards if allowing play to continue will lead to unnecessary contact
>surrounding the puck
 
I don't know if any rule modification in recent years has p***** (can be said
on Letterman and certain sit coms) me off as the admonition from refs to "play
on" when the puck was getting jammed against the boards.  Rather than speed up
play, more often than not, at least in the ECAC, it delayed the action even
more.  Instead of just stopping play and dropping the puck for a face-off the
fans were treated to a bunch of players enjoying a free-for-all on the
sideboards and corners with the puck remaining invisible to everyone except the
ref, who positioned himself to be sure to catch whatever glimpse of the puck
there might be.
 
And usually the defensemen were the ones who received the most crippling
punishment.  Since they couldn't simply freeze the puck for a face-off, they
were fair game for opposing forwards to take a free run at them.  In several
games RPI's woefully thin defensive corps was further weakened by a play
against the boards, as the result of a "legal" hit by a forward trying to
extract the puck from an RPI's defensemen moving the puck.  In fact I might
have even seen a handful of occasions when RPI's forwards...
 
Anyway I hope the refs see fit to blow the play dead next year when the
shoving/crosschecking/hitting from behind gets a little intense as the players
move the puck against the boards.  I would rather see a string of face-offs
any day then a rash of legally sanctioned muggings.
                    _
            "NYS   // Hockey"
        Go 'Gate  //   Brian Morris
          Go RPI //      Albany, NY
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