OK, here I go again on the shootouts.  I don't understand how SO's came to
be viewed as winning or losing "by chance".  Saves in SO's are rarely
accidental and the same can be said for goals.  You'll notice that most SO's
only have 2 or 3 goals per side, at most, showing that indeed the goalie has as
good a "chance" as the shooter does.  I, too, lament the fact that the defense
has nothing to say about it, but c'est la vie, eh.
   I also think that many are putting too much stock in how it will affect
teams of a certain style.  The most defensive-minded team in the nation will,
if they're ANY good, have at least a few guys with good offensive skills.
Also, as I've said before, any player on the Div. I level has a move that he
can use on a goalie.  Even Walt Bartels had a reasonably good one. (If you
don't know who Walt is ask any real Spartan fan from the late eighties.)  The
advantage that the top scorers, like a Kariya or a wiseman, is that they also
have a bunch of other moves to put on defensemen.  Obviously, you don't have to
worry about the defensemen in a SO.  I think that the widespread support among
the coaches shows that they are unconcerned that it will hurt the tighter
checking teams.  Even defensive-minded coaches came out to support it, not just
Shawn Walsh. (Disappointing many who would like to blame him for everything, no
doubt) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
   As for ties I, as you know, abhor them.  Maybe, in an ideal world, college
athletics was played for the joy of the players and not the fans.  But, those
fans do pay for their attendance at these games.  This is not an ideal world
and, if college sports ever was like that, it is no more and is unlikely ever
to be again.  Call me a cynic, but I think that the evidence of this reality is
out there for those who will accept it.
   As for half the arena leaving in a bad mood because of a shootout.  Stop and
think about the ties that y'all have been at.  How many of them did you
honestly go away from happy.  I can say, honestly, that of all the ones I've
witnessed in my years of watching college hockey at MSU (7) and since, I can
count only 1.  That was a 6-6 tie vs. Bowling Green, I think, where Dwayne
Norris scored 4 goals, the last one with under a minute remaining, to erase a
huge deficit.  Other than that, I've left the building feeling like I spent my
money on a game that ended in the same place it began.  3 hours of
entertainment, to be sure, but they still accomplished nothing.  From the
reactions of others in the arena, they seem to leave the same way.  I say that
half of the arena going home happy would be quite an improvement.
  I agree that it is only part of the game.  That is why I say leave it out in
the playoffs.  However, the comparisons to other sports, save soccer, are
absurd.  And speaking of soccer, it has worked quite well in that sport for
years and their goalies don't have a snowball's chance in hades most of the
time.  In hockey, at least, the odds approach 50-50.
   OK, off the soapbox, now.  But someone has to stand up for shootouts, HE,
and the coaches who support them.  Have a great summer all of you that are
signing off.  We'll see you in the fall.
 
  Working hard to protect Hockey-L from the tyranny of the majority,
                                                          Steve Moerland
                                                          MSU '92, UK '95