I've gotten a lot of response (some positive, some negative) about my
post regarding players and/or coaches that try to draw penalties as an
advantage to their team.  My point in the post was that I don't think
it's necessarily illegal, but it does cause quite a bit of
frustration for me as a fan because I'm a bit of a purist, I guess.
There may be some reasons for this, and perhaps some of you would like to
offer your own.
 
One reason for this may be the rise in pressure for a winning program, and
that would trickle down into game strategy.  An example: If your team is
playing a big game (playoffs, etc.), and you're down by a goal, would you
tell your team to take a dive to get a possibly pivotal power play?  Some
coaches keep something in the back of their minds for such a situation,
like if they know if an opposing player is using an illegal stick.  This,
to me, is acceptable strategy, but actually telling your team to take
dives is not.  Do you think this happens today?  Perhaps the chances of
this happening is related to the coach's personality, the fans'
expectations, media expectations, or a variety of other factors.
 
It can be argued that it's smart to do everything you can to try to
influence the outcome of the game in your favor, since that's the object
of the game: to win.  But is this necessarily the best hockey to watch?
Is sportsmanship still instilled in *everyone* around college hockey?  Are
the rules being bent too far?  Are the coaches taking too much advantage
of the referees' limitations (what they can see at any particular moment
on the ice)?
 
I know, I know, I'm rambling...  :)
 
In short, is taking dives for advantage good for hockey?
 
--Steve.
 
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|Steve Phillips                            Ford Motor Company           |
|Support Consultant                        Electric Vehicle Engineering |
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