Virg Foss' Column

[airmail]

Good read with his picks for the WCHA individual awards, and his picks for all WCHA teams.

Also some good stuff on other teams in the conference.

From the Grand Forks Herald

[nodakvindy]

Interesting about Vanek not being nominated by Minnesota, but not entirely surprising.

[The Sicatoka]

From Virg Foss' column:

A costly call by referee Jon Campion in last Friday's Wisconsin-Minnesota Duluth game cost the Bulldogs their last outside chance to grab a piece of the MacNaughton Cup.

The Bulldogs, leading 2-1 with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game, were slapped with a pair of minor penalties on the same play when Campion called Steve Czech for holding and Luke Stauffacher for hitting after the whistle.

That gave the Badgers a 5-on-3 power play. Nearly a minute into the power play, Dan Boeser cranked a blast that went in off the glove of Duluth goalie Isaac Reichmuth to tie it at 2. Neither team scored in overtime. That Duluth tie, coupled with UND's victory over Michigan Tech, gave the Sioux the MacNaughton Cup outright.

Bulldog coach Scott Sandelin, aware that the call cost his team the last chance at a title, was careful that his comments after the game didn't cost him the $1,000 fine the WCHA can levy on coaches who make negative comments about officiating.

"I wish I could tell you what I wanted to tell you," Sandelin told the Madison media.

He didn't need to. His non-comment spoke volumes.

Media types aren't subject to a fine, though. My opinion? There's no way a referee should make that type of call in a game of that magnitude. Referees need to be aware of the entire situation, not only in the game, but in this case, in the league race as well.

Forgive me but, Virg, B-S. That's B as in B; S as in S.

I saw the replay. Campion's arm was up for the hold. After the whistle one of Sandelin's players took a stupid run at a Badger, thus the second call.

The first penalty was called by Campion; the second the Bulldogs forced Campion to call (clear, obvious, and after the whistle).

There's no "special rule book" for the last game of the regular season.

In this case the Bulldogs did it to themselves and the referee got it right*.

* I feel so unclean after those last five words.

[CoteauRinkRat]

I agree. That wouldn't be fair at all to the team who isn't involved in the WCHA title hunt. It is the referee's job to call penalties when they see them, regardless of where the team is in the standings or when in the year the game is taken place. If it is a penalty in the eye's of the referees, it should be called one.

[jnv]

I agree. That wouldn't be fair at all to the team who isn't involved in the WCHA title hunt. It is the referee's job to call penalties when they see them, regardless of where the team is in the standings or when in the year the game is taken place. If it is a penalty in the eye's of the referees, it should be called one.

Would it be fair to the other teams in the league to "not" call a penalty in that situation?

I agree......to a certain extent, you have to use judgement on some calls, but it shouldn't matter if you're in a "race" or not! A penalty is a penalty, although making it 5-3 is pretty tough?

oh well, I'm not complaining! It was sweet to watch the Sioux hoist that trophy Friday!

[Cratter]

I agree it shouldn't matter if the team is in a race for a league title, but then the same can be said for the lack of no calls in OT (all leagues). It shouldn't matter if it's during regulation or not a penalty is a penalty, but unfortunately that's not how most people see things.

But it don't matter we swept Tech and the cup is the Sioux's outright, no matter happened in Wisconsin.

[Diggler]

How weird will it be if Bochenski wins the Hobey? He'll be the national player of the year, but not the league player of the year.

[airmail]

How weird will it be if Bochenski wins the Hobey?  He'll be the national player of the year, but not the league player of the year. 

Almost as weird as a freshman Hobey candidate not winning ROTY in his conference...

[Fanfromafar]

Anyone else surprised that Jones didn't make first team on Virg's ballot?

[Siouxdonyms]

I've seen hits after the whistle all year long with no penalty called. Happens to Parise, Bochenski, and Murray all the time. It really depends on the Ref and unfortunately, I think it depends on which players are on the ice. And that's the reason I won't be surprised if Zach and Brandon do not return next year.

[redwing77]

I've seen hits after the whistle all year long with no penalty called. Happens to Parise, Bochenski, and Murray all the time. It really depends on the Ref and unfortunately, I think it depends on which players are on the ice. And that's the reason I won't be surprised if Zach and Brandon do not return next year.

I do too, but when a Sioux player is hit after the whistle, the Sioux player usually sits as well.