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