At 12:12 PM 2/7/99 -0500, Mark Lewin wrote:
>Then, on Saturday night, Drew Taylor goes over to Schenectady
>and calls a horrendous game (according to some in attendance).
 
I think the problem with Taylor's calls (or non-calls as some cases
may be) was that he was letting them play for the first 30 minutes.
That's more than enough time to become accustomed to how a ref
will call the game. He then started calling ticky-tack penalties that
he wouldn't have called in the first period. This is clearly a huge
frustration to everyone in the rink (not to mention the players, coaches,
and fans that have already endured a frustrating season).
 
>Even the Albany Times-Union (which is notorious for keeping
>out of the good referee-bad referee fracas) featured  comments
>on the calls and non-calls.
 
I was surprised at this, also. The TU has been very professional
about reporting RPI & Union all year long. Kinda makes you
wonder....
 
>To his credit, Union coach Kevin Sneddon defused the situation
>somewhat by refusing to be baited in the post-game interview.
>He stated: "They (referees) can't win or lose a game for you.
>I truly believe that. We lost because not everybody showed up."
 
Once again, Sneddon shows a lot of class. It seems that over the
past few weeks, Union has picked up their play and gotten more
offensive chances. Last night was no different. Union had just tied
the game a few moments prior to the Smith/Stirling penalties and
had a lot of momentum on their side. Taylor then made a bad call
at the absolute wrong time. I don't remember Dave Smith doing
anything except for bumping into Stirling, but that was only because
he was crashing the net looking for a rebound.
 
It's one thing to make a mistake that costs your team the game, but
when the game is completely turned around by a phantom penalty,
you have to be exasperated. Kevin Sneddon has always been very
cool & collected behind the bench, but I don't think I've seen him
nearly as angry as he was last night.
 
Regardless, the game was only 3-2 at the end of the second period.
Give Brown credit for taking advantage of an awkward situation and
stifling Union's offense. The game was not anywhere near being over
after the penalties.
 
 
 
Andy Weise
SUNY Potsdam '93
Union College '95
 
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