At 11:49 AM -0500 11/11/96, Ted Halm wrote:
> IMHO, goaltender assists are more often than not the result of poor
> score-keeping.  Obviously, when a goalie starts a breakout and a goal is
> scored, he/she deserves an assist.  What I have seen, though, thru my
> many travels in the CCHA, is the awarding of a goalie assist after a
> SAVE.  For example, the goalie makes a save.  The puck goes to the
> boards.  His defenseman picks it up, passes to a forward and he scores.
> This is a save, not an assist.  The CCHA record books are fat with these
> gifts.
 
Well, part of the problem is that there is no clearly defined way in which
to award assists.  The NCAA rule book says,
 
[Rule 6-15-d]
"When a player scores a goal, an assist shall be credited to the player or
players taking part in the play preceding the goal, even though the play
may originate in the defensive zone; but not more than two assists can be
given on any goal."
 
Now, what constitutes "taking part in the play"?
 
Does it have to be without the opposing team touching the puck, or just
without them controlling it?  Or neither?  Does it mean that you have to
have made a concerted effort to be involved in the play, or just that you
touched the puck?
 
There is no definitive answer.  Assists are credited many different ways;
the example you gave is just one of them.  If you follow the "last two guys
to touch the puck" paradigm, then the goalie gets an assist.  This is
probably what is done the most, because it is easiest and doesn't require
the referee or SID to make a judgment call as to whether or not the player
getting the assist "deserved" it; if he touched the puck, he gets it.  At
the same time, there are those folks out there who only give "earned"
assists, and they are justified too because nothing makes it clear as to
what you're supposed to do.
 
Interesting thing is that way back when HE was playing the WCHA teams,
there was a standing joke when the WCHA teams came to town that "WCHA rules
of scoring are in effect".  That meant "two assists on every goal"; the
"joke" arose because people in the East perceived that Western players had
to have been racking up their amazing point totals as a result of
questionable scoring.  Turns out, the same thing goes on in the East.  I've
seen two assists awarded on a goal where the goalie put the puck into his
own net while pulling it towards him to cover it up.  I've also seen two
assists awarded on a goal where the goalie made a save, the defenseman took
a whack at it to clear it, and an opposing player blocked the clear and
rifled it home (argument was that the D "never controlled it" - I guess
whacking at a rebound and driving it towards the blue line was not
control).
 
I think those "WCHA rules of scoring" are probably really in effect just
about everywhere - in hockey, there isn't much to demonstrate how a player
is doing stats-wise, unlike baseball, so people want to be as lenient with
the assists as possible.  Also, everyone sees everyone else doing it, and
you don't want your players to suffer in comparison just because you choose
to take the high road and make it harder for players to get points.
 
Plus, let's remember that no one's breaking a rule here...they're just
interpreting it in the way that is most favorable to their players.  This
may argue for not allowing SIDs to call assists (the NCAA rules do allow
this and usually each conference sets its own rules).  On the other hand, I
have seen referees get it wrong too many times and the SID is in a better
position to see it.  Either way, in the grand scheme of things, I believe
it all evens out in the end.  And in Ted's example above, I think many
goalies would wind up being credited with the assist, no matter what
conference they were from.
 
BTW, one esteemed SID made a cogent argument to me that SIDs should not be
allowed to use instant replay to get assists right.  Two of the things he
said were, 1) it is not fair for a team that appears on tv a lot to benefit
by picking up more assists (and if there is one thing that replay shows
more than anything else in this regard, it is the guy who started the play
back in his own zone, thus replay allows you to add that second player more
often); 2) officials in other sports are in some cases allowed replay to
get the call right but not to get the scoring right (thus why do it in
hockey).  He makes a strong case and I may be forgetting some of his other
points...I think anything you can use to get the scoring right should be
used as it is meant in the best interests of the players, but I have
trouble disagreeing with his points too.  Not an easy situation.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                [log in to unmask]               *HMM* 11/13/93
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