Just can't resist adding two cents' worth to all the discussion on the
quality of officiating.
 
The attitude concerning/beliefs about/behavior toward/comments on
officiating by fans is generally irrational in ALL sports.  That's
because by definition a fan is a "fanatic"--fanatically favorably
disposed toward her/his team.  As one poster noted, the basic psychology
of this makes it very unlikely that fans will view the officiating in
games involving their "own" teams objectively.  I am pretty certain that
the vast majority of us can judge officials' work objectively ONLY when
we watch them working games which don't involve a team about which we
care.
 
I don't know if college hockey fans are any worse about this than any
other group.  It would be interesting to compare comments on a college
basketball discussion list, if there were or is one.  I just smile to
myself and shake my head a bit when a fan behind me at Lakeview Arena
will see an official make a call against the Wildcats involving a play
100 feet from our seats and loudly state "That's terrible, just a
terrible call!"  One of my best friends at my previous institution where
basketball was the most involving sport, could not keep from yelling at
the referees, no matter how his vantage point compared with theirs
(almost invariably, of course, it was much worse).
 
Look--no official will see every violation.  Furthermore, once in a
while an official will interpret a player's action as a violation when
another might legitimately question that.  And certainly, the view of
the action of an official can be less than perfect, especially in hockey
where the action is SO fast.  I for one am extremely grateful that some
individuals are so dedicated to college hockey that they're willing to
put up with the physical and verbal abuse to be officials.  I'm certain
the monetary awards can't account for their participation!
 
Obviously, officials need to be consistent within games, both in terms
of the teams and the point in the game.  My personal feeling about WCHA
games I've watched over the last three years is that the officials HAVE
been quite consistent "within themselves." There have been differences
in terms of what gets called in different games worked by different
officiating crews, to a small extent.  Teams can live with that.  The
North Dakota coach and Rick Comley commented the other day that there
are about four critical calls an officiating crew makes, early in a
game, and then if they're constent, the teams know what will and won't
be allowed and everyone can play with that knowledge.  One thing which I
have a big problem with is the notion some fans have (and that some
believe some officials have) is that penalties should not be called late
in a game.  The rationale for this is that "the players should decide
the outcome."  Well, excuse me, but just who committed the fouls which
resulted in the penalties?  As far as I can recall, it's always a
player, not an official, who commits the foul.  (This issue is common to
all sports, not just hockey.)
 
Final note--could we have organized sports without officals?  Somehow, I
don't think so.
 
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