> From: [log in to unmask]
>
> Question to Kenny Zalewski, and anyone else who isn't yet convinced that for
> the most part the Div 1 refs often stink.
>
> Did you see the Harvard-RPI game Friday??
>
>                      [specific calls/plays deleted]
>
> This was a case where a bad call by a referee changed the course of the game
> substantially.
 
Yes, I was at the game Friday nite.  And in this case, yes, I will agree
with you that a bad call HELPED to change the course of the game.  However,
I will still not agree with your statement that "for the most part the Div 1
refs often stink", and I believe your own comments below will address that.
 
> Now in all fairness I was impressed with the way MacConeghy called the first
> 40 minutes of the game. I thought the officiating during the first 2 periods
> was as good as I had ever seen in the ECAC. This included a call on a blatant
 
OK, I also agree with the above statements.  Myself, and two other guys on
my ref staff sitting near me at the game (yes, Al Popp was one of them) both
thought that Tim MacConaghy was calling a great game.
 
Then came the third period.  RPI had a 3-1 lead, and Harvard scored two
goals off power plays, one of which was after a penalty on Juneau for
slashing.  This was what might be called the "bad call which changed the
game."  Yes, the Harvard player should have been penalized for blatant
roughing, and instead Juneau was called.  And I have never seen Juneau
argue about a call with a referee.  Well, he argued plenty.  It was obvious
that Tim made a bad call, and Harvard scored on the ensuing power play.
 
On Saturday, I went to talk to RPI Coach Buddy Powers about having some
of our better intramural referees officiate some of the RPI varsity team
practice scrimmages.  At some point in the conversation, he brought up
the previous nite's game, and the call on Juneau.  It was obvious he was
quite disturbed that MacConaghy could make such a bad call considering
the incident occurred right in front of him.
 
So, let's make the statement that "the referee made a bad call which
changed the outcome of the game."  Well, what about every other call and
non-call earlier in the game?  What about the players' mistakes -- the
missed passes, the defensive errors, the bad stick handling?  What about
the fact that Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni gave his team a third period
spark by saying that "this is our season coming up in the third," and
"we knew that was going to be the biggest period we played all year."  Do
we ignore all those factors and blame the entire final score of a game on
one or two missed/bad calls?  Obviously, many people do.  Myself, well, I
think you all know how I feel.  :-)
 
As far as being inconsistent in a single game, as it appeared Tim MacConaghy
had been, I will just say that the game was a different game in the third
period, play-wise.  Maybe he adjusted his officiating to the "new" game
out there.  Maybe he still reffed the same, but it just SEEMED to be
different.  Maybe he got a migrane headache during the intermission
(probably from the hearing the rowdy crowd).  I don't know.  The point
is:  many, many factors contribute to the outcome of a game.  In this
case, a few bad calls might have contributed a bit more than usual, but
I do not think that any of us can say that Division I refs stink.  In
fact, I kinda like them...
 
(stay tuned for my next posting....   "My Chat with Peirre Belanger")
 
---
Kenny Zalewski
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 65 13th Street, 1st floor, Troy, NY, 12180
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