I was not on Hockey-L over the weekend, so I haven't read any comments about
last weekend's Hockey East Championship game, but before we get too far into the
NCAA discussions, I'd like to just add a few thoughts on the final game Saturday
night. NOTE: Even though I am a BC student and a lifelong PC fan, I think that I
can objectively look at this since it's been almost 48 hours since the
conclusion of the game (or at least I hope so!).
 
Anyway, I've seen a lot of college hockey games, and some of them (of course)
had their fair share of less-than-adequate officiating. Every hockey fan knows
that there'll be at least one or two games each season where the officials will
just have a "bad night." It happens to even the best of referees...
 
..but NO game in recent memory had the amount of absolutely biased, total
garbage calls I've EVER seen than the PC-BU Hockey East final at Boston Garden
on Saturday. My friends (one of whom goes to BU) and I were shocked--along with
the rest of the crowd we were sitting with (mostly PC and Maine fans)--at the
amazingly inept calls of refs John Gravelese, Frank Cole and linesman Jones on
Saturday night. For those that weren't there, here are just a few of the
examples:
 
1. A "too many men on the ice" call with 3 minutes left IN REGULATION on
Providence, who was trailing 3-2 at the time. The call came when PC was taking a
line change--the kind of call that could be made on virtually ANY team at ANY
given point when they take a line change, IF the ref was actually looking for
it. But in a championship game, with THREE MINUTES LEFT????? Give me a break!
 
2. At least two occasions where BU was offside by a few FEET (I was sitting
directly on the blue-line) and no offside call was made. Admittedly, Jones was
hit in the back on Friday night, and hit in the head on Saturday night--maybe he
didn't know WHAT he was looking at.
 
3. One PC player was decked right in front of BU goalie Derek Herlofsky (and the
official) as the puck was carried out of the BU end, yet no call was made.
Indicative of how things had gone all night, the officials then made a call on a
PC defenseman after a BU player took a dive. (Incidentally, does anyone notice
that BU players take more dives than the Olympic Diving Team? Mike Grier, in
particular, should get an Oscar).
 
4. PC's Chad Quenville carried one puck from the Terrier blue-line right to the
back of the BU net as he was being held up by 2 BU players, neither of whom
could keep up with his speed. I haven't seen such a perfect example of
intereference all year, yet it wasn't called. (The fact that it was so obvious,
coming right in front of the officials, made it even worse).
 
5. The very first penalty of the game came when a BU player ran INTO Providence
goaltender Bob Bell, obviously looking for a penalty--and got one because Bell
had his blocker up at the time, and the BU player did another acting job to get
a call from an (easily convinced) group of officials.
 
6. One PC odd-man breakout was called off when a BU player--down on the ice in
the Terrier end--decided to PUT HIS HEAD DOWN when he saw that a PC breakout was
about to take place. No one who saw it will deny it, either; he may have been
shaken up, but he had his head UP after he got hit, and then quickly put it down
and put on another Award-winning performance when he saw that the Friars had the
numbers down ice. (Incidentally, he quickly got up when the refs blew the play
dead).
 
Even though the officials made 1 "make-up" call for PC, their calls overall
clearly stacked the odds against them. So, what does it all amount to? Well, BU
still probably deserved to win the game...PC waited too long to play catch-up,
and they were especially tentative during the first half of the game, enabling
the Terriers to apply too much offensive pressure. However, I believe that the
officials hampered PC's attempts at a comeback (most significantly during the
3rd period, of course), and called one of the most one-sided games I've ever
seen. PC may not have won the game, but the officials certainly aided BU's cause
by--inadvertantly or otherwise--calling such a game.
 
Regardless, everyone else in the country should be happy that BU (barely)
squaked out the victory. The way PC was playing in the last few weeks of the
season, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be the team that ended up playing
them in the NCAAs! BU's win got them the #1 Eastern seed, and kept a team
playing some of the best hockey right now of ANY team in the country, out of the
Big Dance.
 
Well, I'm already for next season...watch out in '95-'96, BU!!!
 
Andy Dursin
Boston College '97
THE FRIARS WILL RETURN!