It was a 3 person shoot out to begin with, but since neither team had a lead after this first six shooters, then it continues one on one until one scores and the other doesn't. I was not shocked seeing the same players go over and over again, but still do not understand the details of it. I am not sure, but thinkthe same 3 for Canada kept alternating and the same 3 from the US kept going, but it seems to me that if you have a really hot player that you would use just that one player over and over and over again. 

I would not be surprised if the rule does read that the team going first alternates during the shootout (either one by one or three by three). At the beginning of the game the announcers said that the US was the home team (and gets last change) in the semifinal because the previous game when Canada beat the US, Canada was the home team and IIHF rules said that the home team must alternate, despite that Canada was the higher seeded team for the semifinal. However, I am not convinced that who goes first matters all that much. The shooter has to make it and the goalie has to stop it when it is down to one on one.

Nathan Hampton 


-----Original Message-----
From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List on behalf of mike patten
Sent: Fri 1/5/2007 8:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Referee mistake led to Team Canada win?
 
since i was watching in french i didnt really know what the procedure 
was supposed to be.. i was surprised when the same guys seemed to be 
shooting..

i couldnt even tell how many rounds it was before it become a single 
shot thing.
>> From College Hockey News:
> http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2007/01/04_penalty.php
>
> "The USA lost to Canada in the Semifinals of the World Junior 
> Champioships
> in a shootout. Now ESPN is reporting that the refs didn't use the correct
> procedure in the shootout. Turns out that Canada should have gone first
> three times and then it was to be the USA's turn to shoot first. In 
> the end,
> Canada went first on all seven shots and prevailed when the U.S. 
> missed on
> the last shot.
>
> I actually think the shooting order mistake was a major error. With 
> Canada
> shooting second there is far more pressure on the shooter had the U.S.
> scored. Plus Frazee could gamble more with a lead.
>
> HUGE mistake and inexcusable by the refs. Nonetheless it's something 
> the U.S.
> coaches should have picked up on implies that the U.S. was ill 
> prepared for
> the shootout."
>