> take penalties to try to slow them down.  Throw in Tech's habits of taking
> bad penalties, this could obviously get them in trouble and it sounds like
> it did yesterday afternoon.  Frankly, I've watched Tech play and I'm not
> inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
>
> J. Michael Jackson
>
   Michigan Tech does take some bad penalties.  This will only hurt the
team, if they continue to do it.
 
   But the fact is, Tech plays a physical game.  They are more physical
than most teams.  Body contact is a part of the game.  While Tech does
tech bad penalties, plenty of bad penalties are called against them.
 
eg.--Overtime call- MTU vs. Michigan State (1996 GLI)
    A very inconsistent CCHA ref decided to let blatent penalties go
    throughout the first 15 minutes of overtime and then call a holding
    penalty off a face off with 3 minutes left in the overtime. It was
    a very cheap call which allowed MSU to win the game.  The only
    explanation for the call --->  Either the CCHA ref was pulling for
    his CCHA team, or he had to be somewhere and didn't want it to go to
    another overtime.  Tech outplayed MSU in this one, but lost on the
    bad call.
 
eg.--MTU at UMD (1995/96)
    Jarko Ruttu, a Tech forward (and not your typical Finlander) layed a
    dynamite hit on a UMD forward.  This hit ranks as one best I've seen,
    and maybe the best hit this year in all of college hockey (It was
    also one of cleanest I've also seen).  The UMD players took offense
    to the hit and started a line brawl.  Two players jumped Ruttu,
    while the refs tried to break things up.  A UMD player shoved a
    linesman.  Ref Krieger should have gave Tech a lengthy powerplay,
    intead he evened it up, gave Ruttu a penalty for the hit, and a
    fighting major- causing him to miss Saturday's game.  The problem
    with this was that 1) The hit was Clean.  2) Ruttu never threw a
    punch.  This was Ruttu's second major penalty- one more and he's
    done for the season, causing him to change his style of play.
 
Bottom Line---> College hockey has an officiating problem.  Officials
at this level have a really tough job.  Its hard to be a ref - whatever
you do you'll be critiszied.
 
 
 I don't think its the officials falult. It the rules.  I
think the biggest problem is the 2-ref system. Each ref calls
the game differently, and with this system you get 2 different types of
officiating.  You got the main ref trying to even up his calls and
allow the players to know what he will be calling during the game.
Then the second ref starts calling penalties.  The players have no
idea what is going to be called or let go.  In the end you get a
whole bunch of penalties, usually one team will have most of them,
while the other will get a lot less.  This is how the officiating
decides a game.  Of course officials have an impact on the result of
a game.  The impact shouldn't be deciding the outcome.
 
The WCHA should follow the CCHA and go back to the 1 man system.
 
---I didn't see the 8-1 loss to Colorado, so I'm not pointing the
finger at the refs for the score.  Lets face it CC is the best team
in the country.  But TECH has proven they can play with the best
teams in the country---1) Split with Minnesota  2) Tied CC twice
3) Outplayed MSU in an overtime loss 4) Season Split with UMD
They have also proven some of the bottom half teams can play with them
1)Loss to Northern  2)Swept by SCSU  3)Loss to Wisconsin.  While Michigan
Tech has been very good this season most of the time, they have lacked
consistency. Consistency is what seperates the top teams from the middle
of the pack teams. Tech could be up thier, if they can get some
consistency. Tech has one more road trip (UND), the rest they will play
at home (except 1 in Marquette).  MTU has been great at home, and will
likely continue. MTU will finish in the top half of the WCHA.  Just how
high will depend on thier consistency and if they can stay out of the
penalty box the same amount or less than thier opponent.
 
--Just curious J. Micheal, what MTU games you've seen this year not to
give them "the benefit of the doubt".  I'm wondering since your Gophs
only played TECH once this season, and YOUR GOPHER HOCKEY CONNECTION
(MSC) decided not broadcast the game.  Did you make the trip up to
Houghten and brave the condidtions that MSC couldn't (It was the first
game of the season, early October--Sunny, NO SNOW)?  Or did you catch the
only other 2 TECH games televised this season  1 on Prime/1 on Pass?
 
Jason Roy
U of Manitoba
 
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