I think it's great if Nick Gildred (or others) want to conduct an off-line
poll on the shoot-out, but the answers will make sense only if the question
does.  A shoot-out as compared to what: the old 60 minute tie? the previous 60
plus 5 minutes sudden death? 60 minutes then a shoot-out? or the proposal that
was floated in Chance, 60 minutes, a shoot-out, then a 5 minute reprieve?
 
And more important, when should such systems be use?  The shoot-out may be a
regular season crowd pleaser, but as I head for the Gahden tonight, I want to
see a game that is won or lost by a complete team.
 
So before some poll is annointed as representing HOCKEY-L nation, let's make
sure that we know what we are comparing.  Incidentaly, I'm puzzled by the
argument that the Shoot-out is somehow flawed because it made a difference in
the standings (i.e., created a first place between BU and Maine).  The whole
point of any of these systems (sudden death, shoot-out, etc.) is to make a
difference.
 
A final point, not many people seem to realize it, but Maine actually benefited
from another, more subtle change in the HE rules this year, namely using
head-to-head competition to determine seedings in the case of a tie.  Until
this year, the first tie-breaker was league victories, which would have given
BU the number one slot in the playoffs.  Had Maine and BU met in the finals,
Maine would have had the slight edge that goes with being the "home" team (last
move on line changes).  As it happened, however, this meant that Maine had to
face a rapidly improving Providence team, so the number 1 seed may have been a
dubious honor.