Paul Gentile <[log in to unmask]> wrote regarding UNH-BC stats: >this last powerplay was never credited, it should have been UNH's 6th of >the night. Was it under some time limit? >... >I doubt this ... but, did it have anything to do with B.C. pulling their >goalie? UNH was already on a power play (5 on 4) and as far as I know the extra penalty (making it 5 on 3) would not be counted as a separate power play, but as a continuation of a (2:59 long) powerplay. I don't think there is any distinction made in this case, and pulling the goalie has no influence (ever). >Another scenario would be that a team goes on a powerplay and 10 >seconds later, they commmit an infraction bringing the teams to even >strength. Which means the latter team will also have a 10 second >powerplay after they get their man back. Do these teams get credited >with powerplays? I have seen this listed both ways depending on the scorekeepers, but my own understanding is that if you have a man-advantage due to a penalty for any length of time (5 min., 2 min., or 2 sec.) it should be counted as a power play. The argument is made that, while it is likely these short (a few seconds) power plays lower your success statistics, you will also benefit from being on the penalty kill on the opposite side at other times and the statistics will balance out overall. The net effect would be to lower the overall success rates of power plays. On the other hand, combining a sequence of penalties to provide more than 2:00 of time on a "single" power play would tend to increase the success rates of power plays. Again, the effects tend to balance out. Perhaps the rules gurus can point out any relevant info here. The problem I have seen is that different schools total their power play stats differently. Some count every little segment of power play time as a separate power play, while others don't count these. The problem I have with those who don't count a "power play" because it is too short is consistency. Who decides what is "too short"? Is it 10 seconds? 20 seconds? 60 seconds? It is for those reasons that I think the interpretation should be "any man-advantage time at all that is separated by any length of time at equal-strength". This can get very complicated real quick, though. If you have a 5-minute major with no other penalties, then it is a single 5-minute power play. If you have the same major but the other team gets a 2-minute minor one minute into the major, then do you have 2 power plays, one for the first minute of 5 on 4, and then one more for the 2 minutes of 5 on 4 after the intervening 2 minutes of 4 on 4? I say yes, they are separate power plays. As long as the same rules are applied to all teams, then the absolute percentages are not critical, only the relative strengths between teams. This is the type of thread that I think of as "STATS-L", of interest to stats junkies only (possibly the same people who debate endlessly the substitution rules in baseball). (I include myself in this category.) :-)) -------------------- ---------------------- Rick McAdoo [log in to unmask] "Volunteer reporter" A positive BC fan. GO EAGLES! HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.