Having watched the finals on video tape (thankfully before checking my email
where overzealous Minnesota fans once again put a final score in the subject
line), I had
flashbacks to RPI's last national championship in 1985.

Specifically, I refer to the semifinal between RPI (led by Adam Oates) and
Minnesota-Duluth
(led by freshman Brett Hull).  The officiating mirrored what I saw last
night.  They started calling
a tight game in the first and second period and put the whistles away for
the third period and all 3 overtimes.
I've heard the story before that the referees don't want to  affect the
outcome of the game
by penalty calls.  My contention is that calling an even, consistent game
puts the onus back where it belongs;
on the players.  If the players  know what the referee will and won't allow,
then it's up to them to
adjust their style accordingly. If they're dumb enough to clearly trip
someone in center ice with 19000+ people
watching, then, oh well, they blew it, not the referee.

In 1985, the 3rd period between RPI and UMD started getting quite physical.
The play deteriorated through the
overtime periods as the players got more and more tired and irritable.  As
the referee seemed to be calling nothing, play
deteriorated until there was an interference call in the third overtime
which allowed John Carter to score
the winning goal for RPI.  I've watched this tape a dozen times through the
years and have yet to determine what made
the referee call this particular interference when there were so many more
blantant penalties before that  he let go.

Last night also; was that a trip? Absolutely. But prior to that were
numerous more blatant calls. There were many
hitting from behind calls, boarding calls much more dangerous than the ones
that were called early in the game.
There were the two no-calls on Hauser for high sticking and tripping (or was
it slashing the ankles).

I agree that the level of officiating seems to be heading downhill.  Is it
too much to ask that a referee decide how he is
going to enforce the rules and warn the players in advance that a trip in
the first period will be a trip in the third and in overtime?  That leaves
the outcome of the game in the hands of the players where it belongs.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Benjamin J. Flickinger" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 4:41 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Frozen Four Officiating


> First off, it's Piotrowski, not Pietrowski. Secondly he is far and away
the
> best ref left in the CCHA following the retirement of the Shegos Bros;
Matt
> after last year, Duke 1/2way through this year. There's rumors Duke may
come
> back next year but at this point I'd call it unlikely. It's gotten so bad
in
> the CCHA that Mark Wilkins, an IHL reject, is seemingly holding down the
#2
> slot - he worked the GLI and one of the Semis at the Joe - despite being
> downright hated by fans of every CCHA team.
>
> Granted I missed most of the 1st period, so I can't comment on how he may
have
> affected the style of play in the Championship game. But from having seen
> numerous games reffed by Pi, the latest being the East Regionals in
Worcester,
> he calls an even game. It may not always be the way a team or the fans
want it,
> either letting too much go or calling too much, but he generally calls it
the
> same way for both teams, which is all you can ask of a ref.
>
> And though I know you're not blaming the loss on Pi, to those that are,
get
> over it. If you hold onto the lead in the last minute of the third, you
don't
> need to go into overtime let alone be put in a position of killing off the
> penalty. And had you killed it off, you know the next one was going to go
your
> way, the make-up call phenomenon is alive and well. And though I know it's
the
> in thing to yell at a ref for calling everything in the first and nothing
in
> the third, when was the last time you actually saw a ref call the third
and
> OT's the same as the 1st, especially in the playoffs? I'd be willing to
bet
> never
>
> As a point of comparison, CCHA refs as a whole are on par with or even
worse
> than ECAC refs (growing up in Omaha and now going to school at Dartmouth,
I've
> seen plenty of both). Outside of Piotrowski and maybe Pochmara, who should
be
> the CCHA's #2 instead of Wilkins, the rest are pretty inconsistent. I
think Pi
> is better than most ECAC refs, but the rest are about the same, if not
worse.
> The loss of the Shegos Bros. especially hurt the CCHA and the NCAA, as one
or
> both were usually working NCAA tournament games annually.
>