Dave O'Hara writes:
>The fact is that Geranozzo checked the goalie in the crease BOTH Friday
>and Saturday nights.  The ever-vigilant Greg Shepherd gave a major
>penalty to Reynard instead of Geranozzo on Friday.
>
>Shepherd should bear some responsibility for the roughness of Saturday's
>game.  After all, he appropriately gave a 5 minute major to CC on Friday,
>but an almost identical play warrants only a minor penalty on Saturday?
>Talk about inconsistency!
 
Still, the final responsibility rests with the officials to hand out
what they believe to be appropriate penalties for any actions that do
occur.  It is not up to the teams to take matters into their own hands
if they feel the calls haven't been fair.
 
I have seen a number of games where I felt the officiating seemed
one-sided against a particular team, but I would never have condoned
allowing the team to take matters into their own hands.  Avenues exist
whereby teams can try to get justice.  And even if through those you
still don't feel you have gotten justice, then you have to let things be.
The alternative is much worse.
 
>I certainly don't approve of bounties, but let's be realistic.  Geranozzo
>HAS to know that somebody from Minnesota will take a run at him when CC
>visits Minnesota.  I'm quite sure that he would be one of the first guys
>on his team to defend his goalies.
 
Sure, but there is a difference between sending a message and placing
a bounty on someone's head.  I think back to "Slap Shot" - "You can't
place a bounty on a man's head!" "I just did. <click>"  This is not
the Federal League.
 
Even if Minnesota has plans to send a message or take a run at the
guy, this is not something you announce (unless you are Reggie Dunlop,
I guess).  Do your talking on the ice and be prepared to take the
consequences if you go too far.  Minnesota's best revenge would be to
sweep the Tigers in the rematch.  BTW, while this incident might help
them get fired up (as if you need to get fired up to play the best
team in the league), it could backfire if they allow it to knock them
off their game.
 
And of course, I don't know for certain that there really was such a
bounty - we are talking hypothetically here.  I still feel that
unquestionably, one of the two sides was very, very much in the wrong
here, but who that is depends on what the truth really is.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93