> And for you non-WCHA people out there, what is the situation in your
> league?
 
The officiating seems pretty much the same as it did last year...  ie. the
marginal hooking and holding goes uncalled.  The new points of emphasis were
supposed take the marginal stuff and require penalties to be called.  But the
NC$$ never instructed its officials on exactly how they wanted it to be called,
so in the NC$$'s vagueness, the officials just kept on calling games the way
they had previously.
 
The offside-interference point of emphasis (when a player forces an opponent
offside) has always been called as far as I can remember, as officials were
always aware of it.  It doesn't seem like something new, at least in the ECAC.
 
The most obvious change which can be seen at each game is the pre-game meeting
of both team captains with the referee.  This is now required under the 1992
rules.  At this time, the referee is supposed to discuss the points of
emphasis with the captains.  As far as I'm concerned, they as might as well
chug a beer or two, and talk about the weather.  I'm sure the captains hear
the same speech at each game, and the officials aren't calling the game
stricter enough to actually make a difference.  The most that could be said
for the pre-game meeting is that it allows a little communication between
the captains and the referee, since once the game starts, the referee becomes
a robot.  A non-human skating entity who has no feelings.  Friend to neither
the players, nor the coaches, nor the fans.
 
When I'm officiating under NC$$ rules, I also like to use the pre-game meeting
as a chance to breakdown the player-official barrier.  Usually, the captains
are quite responsive and cordial, and some even go back to their benches and
discuss the points of emphasis with their teams.
 
> ps: Discussing officating can't be 100% objective, but we can
> keep it productive and avoid general ref-bashing, right?
 
Lord help anyone who starts bashing referees.  :-)
You guys know I can't keep my mouth shut when someone takes a low blow at
a referee.  But seriously, I'll try to provide any useful input that I can.
 
---
Kenny Zalewski -- Information Technology Services at Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 83 Albright Court, Troy, NY, 12180
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