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Officiating


dagies

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In some past years Sioux fans could readily scream about a goal here or there that was given to the opposition or taken away from us.

So far in both the MN series and the SCSU series there apparently have been calls that COULD have gone either way, and went our way.

Against MN is the Matt Greene in the crease play, and apparently against SCSU there was a goal where we may have had a player in the crease on Saturday?

My point is that even if the correct call was made, either of these plays sounded close enough where another call could have been made. In both cases they went for the Sioux, so we have to be happy about that. That hasn't always been the case.

So we got THAT going for us...

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Well, SCSU fans should just remember that infamous goal the Huskies scored against the Sioux in overtime at the 2001 WCHA Final Five that gave them the tournament championship.

Regarding Greene in the crease during the Minnesota game, after reading the rules, I think the officials probably did make the correct call. Blais said Lucia didn't seem to protest it during the game. And having heard what Lucia said after the game, I suspect that he knows it was the right call.

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I thought (college) players could be in the crease if they're not interfering with the goalie.

Aside from this mini-trend of goals going our way, we should be paying attention to the overall officiating. It appears that officials are somewhat clamping down on the clutches & grabs & in particular the slashing calls. Would be nice if Blais reinforced clean hockey to the guys as most of our penalties appear to be of the slashing variety...

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The Gophs haven't been playing well, but they sure haven't been getting any breaks either. How does a team get only two PPs vs. DU?

I could go on an on and bore you, but oh well. It has to turn around eventually right?

No.

See the second half of UND's season last year. Not just breaks from refs, but also no lucky bounces.

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The Gophs haven't been playing well, but they sure haven't been getting any breaks either. How does a team get only two PPs vs. DU?

I could go on an on and bore you, but oh well. It has to turn around eventually right?

College hockey has some of the worst top-to-bottom officiating I've seen in any sport at any level. People think Sioux fans b!tch a lot about this, so it's nice to see a Gopher fan who has issues with the reffing :silly:

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College hockey has some of the worst top-to-bottom officiating I've seen in any sport at any level. People think Sioux fans b!tch a lot about this, so it's nice to see a Gopher fan who has issues with the reffing :silly:

I ALWAYS bich about the refs, they all suck! Fire 'em all and get some REAL ones IMO! I'll donate $50 towards a salary for a yahoo that can be consistant and doesn't suck.

WPoS

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College hockey has some of the worst top-to-bottom officiating I've seen in any sport at any level. People think Sioux fans b!tch a lot about this, so it's nice to see a Gopher fan who has issues with the reffing :silly:

I don't disagree with you about the quality of the officiating in the WCHA, but some of it may have to do with the one referee and two linesmen system. I was very critical of Mike Schmitt after the Gopher series, but after talking with a buddy who refs alot of high school hockey games, he offered a different perspective. Many of Schmitt's tripping calls were because he was unable to keep up with the play and he was making calls from beyond the blue line when the alleged infractions occurred toward the goal. However, college hockey is so fast, and the puck is constantly changing direction, making it very difficult for a ref to keep up with the play. He correctly noted that many leagues use a two referee system with one linesman. That at least allows the refs to be in position to make the correct call. Just a thought, but it seems to have some merit.

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College hockey has some of the worst top-to-bottom officiating I've seen in any sport at any level. People think Sioux fans b!tch a lot about this, so it's nice to see a Gopher fan who has issues with the reffing :silly:

Wasn't there a Gopher game in Mankato last year that featured 16 penalties in 2.5 periods? Or something ridiculous such as that?

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I agree. The refs just can't keep up with the game and one idiot can't make all the calls. I have been saying for years that the WCHA and college hockey in general should move to a two ref system. Whether that means two refs, one linesman or shelling our the money for a fourth official, i think it would help manage the game. In addition to not keeping up with the play, that would give an extra set of eyes to catch the extra slash to the head Zack (or any other forward) takes everytime someone tackles him behind the play. I know being mean behind the play is part of the game, but it would suck to lose one of our key players because of it.

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I was wondering if any of these refs/linesmen have to qualify every so often in order to maintain their positions as officials. Are they like Supreme Court justices where once they're in, they're in? I know they get judged by the Commish every now & then, but that doesn't seem to be making them any better when they're not being watched.

Are officials like the "good ol' boy" network in the sense that they keep their jobs regardless unless they really screw up? I'll bitch about them when the Sioux win & bitch about them when we lose-until they institute some kind of stricter policy that includes competency as a prerequisite for officiating. Missing calls, singling out players for no apparent reason, blah, blah, blah...it needs to change...

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I was wondering if any of these refs/linesmen have to qualify every so often in order to maintain their positions as officials. Are they like Supreme Court justices where once they're in, they're in? I know they get judged by the Commish every now & then, but that doesn't seem to be making them any better when they're not being watched.

Are officials like the "good ol' boy" network in the sense that they keep their jobs regardless unless they really screw up? I'll bitch about them when the Sioux win & bitch about them when we lose-until they institute some kind of stricter policy that includes competency as a prerequisite for officiating. Missing calls, singling out players for no apparent reason, blah, blah, blah...it needs to change...

I'm not sure, but I could ask Randy Schmidt. He works out at the Y in Fargo, and is a really good guy. I can only assume that they have to be certified and reviewed every year since the league has strict requirements as to when you can be an official. It is my understanding that you cannot be a referee until you are 33 or 34, which means that many of these guys have difficulty keeping up with the very fast and young college players. That is another reason that they should have two officials. I don't see that as a problem for Randy Schmidt as he is in extremely good physical condition, but it is an issue for some of the referees in the league.

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One other question: Do the officials ever sit down with the game tapes? I think every official should have to sit down and watch the games they officiated the next tuesday or something. I can't believe that after watching themselves on tape they would continue to call the games the way they do. I have heard that when teams are extremely upset about a call or a game they send the tape to Shepherd, the head of WCHA officials and he takes a look and deals with the situation; but in my opinion he is the biggest problem--along with his kid. Does anyone know if they are required to watch the tapes?

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The NCAA should follow the NHL's lead and install a two ref-two linesman system. The current AR's can call penalties away from play, but are strongly encouraged not to. If you think the reffing is bad now, Robin Anderson, Tom Goddard and Mike Schmitt will all be retired by the end of 2003. You make think all three of these guys suck because they didn't call a trip one time when you were at a game but it will be interesting to see how the league fills the holes the second half of the year. I've reffed high school, USA, and some college games for over twenty years and it is a lot easier to make a call drinking a Windsor/Coke at center ice than it is skating full speed with four 6'3 gorillas screening the play from you. I encourage anyone who has a remote interest in hockey to sign up to referee a house mite game and give it a shot. Between pyscho coaches, immature players, and distracting hot hockey moms wandering around, it's not as easy as it looks. :glare:

Here are my top ten

1.)Mike Schmidt-fine North Dakota boy. Has reffed 3-4 NCAA championship games.

2.)Don Adam-Skates funny but has done NCAA championships and the Olympics

(and gave my kid a puck).

3.)Lil' Shep-Quit chewing gum and smiling all the time, has really improved in the last two years.

4.)Jon Campion-Let's em play, without losing control.

5.)Tom Goddard-Somehow improved quite a bit the last three years. Is retiring to run the Little REA in Thief River Falls.

6.)Marco Hunt-Just started reffing last year, very good skater.

7.)John Boche-Does a decent job

8.)Bill Mason-OK, but too inconsistent.

9.)Robin Anderson-Reminds me of Charlie Chaplin, OK but too inconsitent

10.)Mike Riley-Haven't seen him that often. So-so.

11.)The other Anderson-That thing on your finger is a whistle, occassionally you should blow it.

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One other question: Do the officials ever sit down with the game tapes? I think every official should have to sit down and watch the games they officiated the next tuesday or something. I can't believe that after watching themselves on tape they would continue to call the games the way they do. I have heard that when teams are extremely upset about a call or a game they send the tape to Shepherd, the head of WCHA officials and he takes a look and deals with the situation; but in my opinion he is the biggest problem--along with his kid. Does anyone know if they are required to watch the tapes?

Excellent point. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago & it only makes sense to me that they review game tapes in order to improve their officiating. Regardless if an official is good or not, it only makes sense to review tapes so you're not considered a buffoon & a disgrace to your profession. Where do they get some of these knuckleheads anyway?

I mentioned my displeasure re: WCHA officiating on USCHO last year & some other poster there who happens to be a ref got miffed because he thought I was challenging his integrity & profession. GEEZ...

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Here are my top ten

11.)The other Anderson-That thing on your finger is a whistle, occassionally you should blow it.

Uh, what? He reffed the BC series this season and if you recall he called 24 penalties Saturday night and 11 Friday night which makes 35 for the weekend. He also called 20 penalties Friday night last season when doing the UND at Denver series. It is hockey, not basketball for crying out loud. He is as whistle happy as they come in the WCHA.

Also, according to the WCHA website Goddard and R. Anderson are already out of reffing, at least in the WCHA.

I do, however, agree that a two-ref system is needed and that Schmidt and Campion are two of the better refs in the league.

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schmidttydogg,

I don't know what the other Anderson's name is and I'm a St.Cloud guy so I didn't get to see the UND-BC series; but I watched him do a couple of SCSU seiries last year and it was like the WWF without pulling the punches both ways. It's a miracle no one was seriously injured. I agree, part of why basketball is so unwatchable (besides the tatoos, potheads, no one can shoot anymore and the game sucks) is because of all of the damn whistles.

NCAA referees and AR's receive tapes of every game they do and are critiqued and sometimes fired.

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