Here's an interesting stat courtesy of UM SID Brian
Fishman.  Michigan's record through 32 games in the
1990s:
 
  1997-98: 25-6-1 (51 points)
  1996-97: 27-2-3 (57)
  1995-96: 25-5-2 (52)
  1994-95: 25-6-1 (51)
  1993-94: 27-4-1 (55)
  1992-93: 24-5-3 (51)
  1991-92: 23-6-3 (49)
  1990-91: 24-5-3 (51)
 
The current Wolverines fit right in with recent history,
sans the usual fanfare surrounding the squad.
 
And, I have a couple of thoughts on the officiating of
the recent Miami-Michigan game.  (A 3-1 Wolverine
victory including an empty-netter.)  I've seen posts
both knocking and lauding referee Steve Piotrowski.
 
Pi let almost everything go, for both teams.  He called
maybe a handful of penalties all evening...during a
game in which dozens of calls could have been made.
So, he was rather consistent in looking the other way.
If you want to grade him solely on the basis of consistency,
I'd probably give him an A-.
 
However, the amount of holding, tripping, interference,
etc was bordering on obnoxious at times.  Frankly, each
team has room to gripe.  On Miami's behalf, the calls
that Pi actually made indirectly hurt them.  The two goals
scored on Trevor Prior were scored 4-on-4 and 5-on-4.
Hard to say if what was called was any "more so" a penalty
than what was let go.  On Michigan's behalf, Miami's loan
tally was a result of Pi swallowing his whistle as a couple
of RedHawks "took out" a couple of Wolverines in the
neutral zone, creating an odd-man rush which resulted
in the MU goal.  In this case, the officiating (or lack thereof)
directly hurt Michigan.
 
What if Pi had taken the opposite stance and called
everything?  MU and UM have very similar power play
and penalty kill statistics, so I can't say that it would
have helped either team more so than the other.
Likewise, if one team was a more skilled skating team
than the other, fewer penalty calls would hurt that team
...but I think the comparative skill levels of Miami and
Michigan make this a wash as well.
 
So, it becomes a matter of preference.  Do you like the
referee to make the calls or let most of them go?  It's a
tougher question than you think, because on paper I
might lean toward the latter, but watching this game (and
the countless non-calls) was very aggravating.  It wasn't
a case of not seeing the penalties, either...it was simply
a case of not calling them.
 
I won't say the referee determined the outcome of the
game, but he certainly played a significant role in the
goals scored.  By choosing, for whatever reason (a
whole 'nother subject area), to make the calls that he
did make, it indirectly hurt Miami as Michigan was the
more productive non-5-on-5 team.  But, the Miami goal
was a result of some blatant penalties that went uncalled.
 
Everyone can decide for themselves how they prefer
a game to be called, but I was quite disgruntled by Pi's
performance on Friday evening.
 
A final footnote...Hobey Baker candidate Bill Muckalt
notched his 100th career goal, becoming the fourth
Wolverine (Dave Debol, Denny Felsner, Brendan
Morrison) to reach 100 goals and 100 assists in their
UM career.  Muckalt currently stands at 101-111--212
and continues to lead the CCHA in overall goals (28),
points (53), power play goals (11) and game-winning
goals (7).
 
 
John Haeussler ([log in to unmask])
Go Blue!  Go USA!
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.