I'm forwarding these responses to the list in the hope that
people seeing them may be inclined to add their own thoughts
on the subject. Please either send to the list or copy me
on your response. Thanks......mike_m
Responses will be relayed to the Hockey East league office.
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Date: Wednesday, May 30, 1990 4:47:44 pm (EDT)
From: [log in to unmask] (Bill Fenwick)
Subject: Poll response
To: Mike Machnik <mike_m>
Hi, Mike
In response to your informal poll:
> 1) Do you think the change by Hockey East from three 20-minute
> periods to two 25-minute periods is a good one? Why
> or why not?
I think it's an idiotic move, for some of the reasons you've already
mentioned -- loss of credibility for the league, the ice getting more chippy
after 25 minutes as opposed to 20, records and stats being meaningless for
the shorter games, and so on. The thing that bothers me the most about this
idea is that it's a major change in the structure of the game, and it does
not appear to be for a hockey- or safety-oriented reason. Maybe I'm too
much of a traditionalist, but as far as I can tell, hockey has been a three
20-minute period for many years on virtually every level -- high school,
college (all divisions), pro, Olympics, local leagues, and so forth. I
can't see anything about the game that all of a sudden cries out for a
change to two longer periods. Imagine the uproar if the higher-ups decided
to shorten college football by switching the game to three 17-minute
periods. Silly, right? Admittedly, there are college sports that are
structured differently than the "standard" pro games (basketball, baseball),
and they seem to be doing fine. That's good for them -- however, as I said
before, I don't see any benefit in changing a hockey game's structure. If
Hockey East feels that they MUST shorten the games, how about going to a
three 15-minute period arrangement? I don't favor shortening the game in
any case, but at least this way they would still have three periods, plus
the ice would not get as torn up.
> 2) Do you think your perception of Hockey East or the teams
> in the league will change? If yes, for better or for
> worse? Why?
My perception of Hockey East will definitely get worse. Partly because I
think the shorter game is dumb, but mostly from your report that the change
in format is driven by cable TV and money, which is really the only explan-
ation that makes sense. Some time ago I was discussing the Hockey East
league with a friend of mine who has followed ECAC hockey for many years,
and he said, "Well, you know that whole split was because those teams were
after more money anyway." That isn't true, but the move, apparently in
response to cable's concerns, is only going to hurt Hockey East's credi-
bility. If they start playing these two-period games next year, I'm sure
the non-HE fan's reaction will be to take the league somewhat less seriously
("They don't play REAL hockey like us!"). Are they in financial trouble?
Do they need money that badly? Frankly, I doubt it.
I'm also not sure what cable TV thinks it's going to get out of this deal.
Do they believe that the shorter games are going to attract more viewers and
give the stations those higher ratings? I don't see that happening. Hockey
fans who tune in to a Hockey East league game are likely to be a little
confused by the new format ("Hey! Where's the third period??"), and again,
they may take the league less seriously. I suppose cable wanted to shorten
the games so they could shoehorn some more programming (or commercials!)
into the extra space. Presumably, college hockey would be an easier target
for such changes than other sports because of its smaller number of fans,
but if cable wants to televise any sports, they should take them as they are
and not try to alter the games for the TV environment. There's entirely too
much dictating by the TV industry to sports these days -- loads of TV
timeouts, games scheduled at strange hours, and the like. If there's any
justice in the world, the cable networks and Hockey East will receive a host
of bad publicity about this change in format, and the whole mess will die a
quick death.
> 3) Should HE teams receive less consideration for an NCAA
> berth than non-HE teams, given all other things to
> be equal, because their league games are shorter?
As much as I would like to bury Hockey East for this ridiculous idea of
theirs, I don't believe the shorter league games should affect the selection
of teams for the NCAAs. The reason is that teams are considered for post-
season play based on their performance in their leagues (if they are not
independents) AND on how they did against other Division I opponents. Next
season's HE standings with the shorter games should not be too different
from what they would have been with the normal format. The only effect I
can think of is that teams relying on quickness rather than size might do
better in the shorter games, and that change might be cancelled out with the
longer periods. Anyway, the Hockey East teams will still be playing the
standard three 20-minute period games against non-league opponents, so there
isn't any issue there. Thus, if a Hockey East team does well in their
shortened league games, has a good record against other Division I opponents
(playing the normal length games), and has a "strong" non-league schedule,
they should receive as much consideration for post-season play as they would
have for playing normal length league games. This also holds for the
college hockey rankings during the season, if that matters.
Some people might feel that because of the shorter league games, Hockey East
teams would have an advantage against non-league opponents in that they may
be less tired. It's more likely that the HE teams would have some diffi-
culty adjusting to the longer non-league games (not being used to playing,
in effect, an extra period), and their non-league records would suffer. But
that's their problem.
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86
LET'S GO RED!!
"That boy's strong as an ox. And just about as smart."
-- Foghorn Leghorn
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