Good point here by Jack McDonald from Denver. I have not notice the lenght of
the games here at Merrimack but I know that one thing that has to be changed is
the double minor rule. College hockey is the only league(that I know of) that
still does not cancel out the double minors and play 5 on 5. From a fan point
of view, a player point of view,and probably the coaches too, this would
improve the quality of the show and increase the time of the game played
5 on 5.
 
Concerning, how many penalties, I don't think it matter if the officials call
a lot of them. This will actually occur at the beginning of the season so the
player know what will be emphasized.
 
In hockey East, and probably in the other leagues too, the rules committee
sets the points of emphasis and the new rules for the season. The reason they
do that is that they want to reduce stupid stuff and, as the years go on, the
game will be cleaner and cleaner.
 
Last season, HE emphasized the checks from behind, hitting after wistle, and
the high sticking. Result: Those three point have improved 100% and the players
have found the benefits of it, spending less time at the penalty box and being
less cautious about braking their neck or teeth, etc.
 
This year, HE emphasizes mostly on the hookings. It will be interesting to see
how much hooking penalties will be seen at the beginning of the season compared
to the end of the season: No doubt, hooking will be put aside by the players
by Christmas. That's why, Jack you saw a lot of anoying calls in the past games.
 
Guy Ragault
Merimack '93
Warriors #23