East Region Race

[ND Pride]

A lot for Minot depends on a couple of key players:  Willert, Dittus, and Kelly.  If those kids stay Minot should be pretty good.  But I'm sure that those three could play juniors next year if they chose to...

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With the Fall Elite I and Elite II league teams that combine North Dakota and Minnesota players there is less of a reason to leave for juniors than in the past due to the developmental opportunity that it offers. Still it is hard for the Minot kids to get to the games in the twin cities and Minnesota locations. South and North have a couple of forwards that could be junior "A" material too, not to mention the Campbell's of Grafton.

[Siouxhockey78]

I had several people from different schools - pushing that idea after the North/RR game. Interesting that the strongest proponents came from people not having kids in that game. The group includes some people who are heavily involved in North Dakota hockey. I wonder what the best logistics for this would be?

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That is really good to hear. People are starting to do something about it. Ladoucer simple sucks and should not be allowed to refee again. That is good to hear that you are siding with me on this one. I think the people that disagree with use is the RR parents of kids on the team and family or former RR players. Here is something funny...Well during the last game of the season RR vs GPR someone yelled out "Hay Ladoucer have another Taco in the Bag" and he acknowledged the guy. For a game of having 2nd place online you would think he would be more into the game and not even notice anyone yelling at him.

[gfcnative64]

Scores from the West:

Williston 5  Mandan 3

Century 4  Hazen/Beulah 3 OT

Minot 5  Bismarck 1

That sets up next weeks state tounry:

Minot vs. Central

Grafton vs. Williston

Bismarck vs. Red River

South vs. Bismarck Century

It was a pretty good day of hockey at the West Region tourny.  The Minot-Bismarck game was a whole lot closer than the 5-1 score.  Minot only had a 2-1 lead after two periods.  The atmosphere throughout the entire day was outstanding.  I couldn't believe the crowd for the Century/HB game, it seemed louder than the Ralph at times....

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the game would have been an entirley different storey if bis high would have had healthy roster

[gfcnative64]

Odds of favorites to win the 2005 ND State Championship:

  1.  Fargo South.  Clearly the class of this years class.

  2.  Grafton/PR.  Beat South early and took them to 2OT tonight.  Also historically the greatest overachievers at the state tourney.

  3.  Minot.  Only west team ever to win state.  If Dean Blaise had stayed there they would have a bunch by now.

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just some quick info being from grand forks i would like to see rr or gfc win the title your predictions could be accurate but i do beleive minot has a better chance then both FS and GPR mind you BHS beat south and blew grafton out of the water Also Red river had a strong showing against minot in minot so dont count anyone out

[cold]

just some quick info being from grand forks i would like to see rr or gfc win the title your predictions could be accurate but i do beleive minot has a better chance then both FS and GPR mind you BHS beat south and blew grafton out of the water Also Red river had a strong showing against minot in minot so dont count anyone out

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When South and BHS played it was South's first game and had key players missing, including their starting goalie, and the backup looked lost.

[Billy the Kid]

That is really good to hear. People are starting to do something about it. Ladoucer simple sucks and should not be allowed to refee again. That is good to hear that you are siding with me on this one. I think the people that disagree with use is the RR parents of kids on the team and family or former RR players. Here is something funny...Well during the last game of the season RR vs GPR someone yelled out "Hay Ladoucer have another Taco in the Bag" and he acknowledged the guy. For a game of having 2nd place online you would think he would be more into the game and not even notice anyone yelling at him.

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[Wilbur]

Siouxhockey78 said he isn't even from Fargo....

It doesn't matter if Laducer is a nice guy or not, he's a horrible official. I wasn't at the game, so I can't be totally sure, but my friends who were there (one from Minot, two from Minnesota, who really didn't give a $hit who won the game) said it was completely obvious that the officiating was biased. The first question I asked my friend from Minot right after they went off on the officiating was: "Did Laducer reff the game". And he responded with....."Ya think!! Of course he did."

Laducer shouldn't get to reff in the state tournament, hands down.

[CloserThanYouThink]

South beat Central 2-0 and Grafton beat Red River 2-0 as well.

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Charlie Bair still gets my nonexistent vote. He took a skate to the groin just into the Minot game. He bled out and kept playing. He had stitches put in after the game. Kid played on guts and heart and didn't jaw about it. Pretty gutsy, I think. No to Marto and Aide. Yes to Bair.

[doubleu]

That is really good to hear. People are starting to do something about it. Ladoucer simple sucks and should not be allowed to refee again. That is good to hear that you are siding with me on this one. I think the people that disagree with use is the RR parents of kids on the team and family or former RR players. Here is something funny...Well during the last game of the season RR vs GPR someone yelled out "Hay Ladoucer have another Taco in the Bag" and he acknowledged the guy. For a game of having 2nd place online you would think he would be more into the game and not even notice anyone yelling at him.

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I find it really funny that you people can find a way to blame the refs for every game that your team loses. That really shows how much you know about hockey! Second, I know Laduceur and he is a real good guy, just because he acknowledged sombody at a game doesnt mean he is not "into the game". All of you guys should look at the games your teams are losing and realize maybe it is somthing they are doing wrong rather than being a coward and blaming it all on the refs. Last thing is all you guys are whining because the refs supposedly wanted RR to beat north in EDC and your saying they called all these penalties on North which lost them the game, the wierd thing about that is that RR only scored one power play goal which would mean the game woulda been tied up and giving RR all the momentum going into OT, it woulda ended the same way as it did. so find somthing to worth while to whine about!

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[fushie]

Mike Schmitt, not Randy Schmidt

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Mike Schmitt was in charge of the officials for the west region Tourney. Apparently this year the officials are trying to get more officials involved in tournament play so officials that work the regional tournaments do not work the state tourney. Which means we all experienced the same situation at both regional tournaments, Apparently (lets Hope) they haved scheduled the best refs for the State Tourney.

[ND Pride]

That is really good to hear. People are starting to do something about it. Ladoucer simple sucks and should not be allowed to refee again. That is good to hear that you are siding with me on this one. I think the people that disagree with use is the RR parents of kids on the team and family or former RR players. Here is something funny...Well during the last game of the season RR vs GPR someone yelled out "Hay Ladoucer have another Taco in the Bag" and he acknowledged the guy. For a game of having 2nd place online you would think he would be more into the game and not even notice anyone yelling at him.

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I find it really funny that you people can find a way to blame the refs for every game that your team loses. That really shows how much you know about hockey! Second, I know Laduceur and he is a real good guy, just because he acknowledged sombody at a game doesnt mean he is not "into the game". All of you guys should look at the games your teams are losing and realize maybe it is somthing they are doing wrong rather than being a coward and blaming it all on the refs. Last thing is all you guys are whining because the refs supposedly wanted RR to beat north in EDC and your saying they called all these penalties on North which lost them the game, the wierd thing about that is that RR only scored one power play goal which would mean the game woulda been tied up and giving RR all the momentum going into OT, it woulda ended the same way as it did. so find somthing to worth while to whine about!

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[Wilbur]

Thanks for the info Fushie. I did see Mike walking around the tournament a couple of times, talking with the coaches and what not.

If they truely want the best officials at the state tournament that means that Laducer will not be there!

[ND Pride]

Thanks for the info Fushie.  I did see Mike walking around the tournament a couple of times, talking with the coaches and what not.

If they truely want the best officials at the state tournament that means that Laducer will not be there!

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Well, if those in hockey administration care about the game they need to have the best officials possible for regional and state tournaments. Procedures should be initiated to make sure that happens. In addition, hometown refs should not ref their own teams in high school tourney play to eliminate the perception of possible bias as well as the possibility of actual conscious or unconscious bias.

[ND Pride]

[CoteauRinkRat]

Uhhh, this just in... the South Bruins own the GF schools this year and from what I've seen in the youth programs will most likely continue to own them for many years.

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That is not what I'm saying. South has had a great year so far, I never said they didn't. You are a little defensive about that for some reason. I'm glad you are already judging what the future schools will look like already, because of their youth programs, thanks for scouting them for me.

If you read my original post, I put the smiley face on their because I was being sarcastic.

Go back to worshipping the 80's.

[CoteauRinkRat]

The theme I have been hearing from various people across the EDC is that we need a better system for refs.  It is a tough job and you take abuse but we need more quality young people from all over giving back to the game in that way.  Maybe the North Dakota High School Activities Association needs to see some sort of proposal for ref teams in Regional and State competiton.

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I couldn't agree with you more ND Pride. A friend of mine and I attended almost every game and we both agreed that the officiating was below average. I think just about every team could come up with some quick examples of where they thought the refs had blown a call. I think the problem not only lies with some bad refs, but with the quick responses of individuals saying that the refs were biased and they were favoring one team or another. This never helps the situation and only causes people to get angry at each other, instead of addressing the problems at hand. I just think that there are some really bad officials.

[crosby_87]

Who was injured or not at full strength for Bismarck High?

Aide was out for the game. He re-injured his knee and they felt that it would be best to rest him, since bismarck had already made state. During the 1st period, one of their top defenseman took a shot to the foot and missed the rest of the game. In the 2nd period, the forward who scored their goal had a huge collision with a minot defender and suffered a concussion.

[ND Hockey 4]

[ND Pride]

[Poncho & Lefty]

Siouxhockey78 said he isn't even from Fargo....

It doesn't matter if Laducer is a nice guy or not, he's a horrible official.  I wasn't at the game, so I can't be totally sure, but my friends who were there (one from Minot, two from Minnesota, who really didn't give a $hit who won the game) said it was completely obvious that the officiating was biased.  The first question I asked my friend from Minot right after they went off on the officiating was:  "Did Laducer reff the game".  And he responded with....."Ya think!!  Of course he did."

Laducer shouldn't get to reff in the state tournament, hands down.

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Tell me about it, I know the man like a brother, in fact he was the best man in my first wedding to that scuzzy broad from Great Falls. But when it comes to officiating he makes worse calls then a certain republican in D.C. haha am i right fellas. I was coaching a team in Little Falls in the late 80's and he my player gets thrown out for intent to injure after pushing the net at the opposing teams player. Then we had to dress my 2nd line center at dropped that one to either Bagley or Lengby 17-2. He obviously needs to be critiqued by a higher official before they allow him to ref such a prestigous event.

[gr8sk8er]

Well since we are obviously picking out the not so good officals, who does everybody want to officate the state tournament this weekend?

[gr8sk8er]

Well, the kids who play these games, especially the top players from different schools are team mates in the off season for select teams and also on some AAA teams. I think eveyone just wants to see good hockey and let the best team win. I do not believe in any Grand Forks conspiracy type of garbage. There are good and balanced refs all over - but there are some that are simply poor. I think any hometown team could come up with one or more hometown refs that they would not like to have. My opinion is simply that it was a terrible job. There is a lot more behind these penalties and I was told that the ref apologized after the game for a penalty he called. The game is for the kids, lets get officials who have that level of professionalism as a priority. Congrats to all of the teams and good luck at state.

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Actually out of the 8 officals from the EDC torunament, two were from Grand Forks, one from Thompson, and 5 from Fargo. Try a different conspiracy bud.

[ND Pride]

Actually out of the 8 officals from the EDC torunament, two were from Grand Forks, one from Thompson, and 5 from Fargo. Try a different conspiracy bud.

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I have to agree with you - there is no conspiracy - just an occasional ref who makes a bad call or bad calls. Every community has great refs, average refs, and unfortunately some who are not up to par. Lets move those at the lower end out. Actually, the number of refs from various communities does not change the fact that you can have a ref from one of those communities who does not function at the level expected for a tournament.

[doubleu]

Thanks for the info Fushie.  I did see Mike walking around the tournament a couple of times, talking with the coaches and what not.

If they truely want the best officials at the state tournament that means that Laducer will not be there!

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My understanding is that Laducer is working the state. All teams beware especially if you are playing RR.

[ND Pride]

Actually, most of the officals for the EDC tournament were not even from Grand Forks. Secondly, these officals in EDC and out West are usually some of the best officals in the state. Especially in the state tournament, they are the best in the state. But there are some exceptions, and some "not so good" officals that get selected for the games. However, I do not know of any offical that would ever decide a game. I think it is a lot of immaturity from some players that got beat. That were not predicted to go far in the first place. That needed someone to blame for them not being a scoring team. For those of you critisizng these on ice officals, they work hand in hand with the coaches before and during the season. I do not think the officals are to be cited for not having "a good program". Officals are human and make mistakes. They are going to miss some things, but believe you me, if there were ever a biased offical, the NDHAA would have them canned immediatly. ANd while we are on the topic, then we should be having non-biased goal judges working as well. Instead of certain north and south fathers. Being around the EDC and State high school tournaments for 11 years, I know how in depth the administration goes to make sure that the officals are paired up correctly. Some of you just have to face the facts that you got beat. Better luck next year. This happens every year. Somehow the officals decide the outcome of the game. "SOmehow this one penalty made us loose". Is that what you are seriosuly going to tell your kids? Maybe some of the players should not have put themselves in the situations they did to get the penalty. And yes, the penalty against Galt was correct. I was in the corner and saw it. The player he checked last night was turned and it was a good call of checking from behind. It did not look like he meant to do it, but it was still a checking from behind. ALso, a poor descision on his part for being selfish when he put his team in jepordy. But next weekend, there will be most of the best officals in the state officiating. I wonder how many people will be complaining this time next weekend. ANy takers?

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I tip my hat to the officials who take the time to make games possible for the kids. It is usually a thankless job and one that does not provide much compensation with the main reward being giving back to the game. That said, as I indicated before there are some who need to move on to other pursuits for the good of the game. I agree the post season events normally have the best refs. There were many very good ones at EDC from every community represented. As you said, "But there are some exceptions and some 'not so good' officials that get selected for the games." You also indicate, "However, I do not know of any official that would ever decide a game." Hmmm, part of their job is to monitor the game so that no one gets an unfair advantage by violating the rules - so in that sense it is their duty to have an impact on the game. If you mean that you know no official who would give the game to another team then that makes little sense. Even if a person is biased the team getting the advantage still has to capitalize on that advantage. You can create an unfair environment through slanted officiating but bottom line the team getting the advantage still has to use it.

Your cheap shot on players being immature is not well taken. I did not hear player complaints - but that does not mean there were none. I did hear refs in the stands who watched the game, parents across the EDC that were floored at the calls in one particlular game. Calls - plural. Read the posts on this thread and get a sense for the broad range of concerns. We are not talking about several refs in the game - just one, not one call but many calls, not players complaining but hockey fans across the board - including fans from both teams.

Officials are human and make mistakes - that is to be expected. I have written a handout for parents to try and get them to understand the difficulty and nature of work that refs do. Perfection rarely exists because refs do not have the vantage point of fans - they do the best that they can given their line of vision - sometimes they see things fans do not see and sometimes fans have a better view. We all have to live with that. However, my support to refs aside, this situation went too far.

I believe that NDHAA would get rid of a clearly bad official. We had a situation many years ago however, where it was nearly impossible to get rid of an older ref who would swear at players during games at the younger age groups. The guy was at the more experienced end of the continuum - it was incredibly difficult to move him out. Also, try and prove bias - it has to be consistenty blatant and clearly negligent to be noticed by higher officials who are rarely at games.

On the topic of non-biased goal judges - get a league policy and have them changed. If that is a problem step up and do something about it if it really bothers you.

Also, the theme of the ref issue on this thread has not been "Somehow this one penalty made us lose" The issue here is consistent poor officiating by a ref (singular). If it was a one call issue I would agree with you - get over with it and move on with your life.

The key here is to improve the system and not repeat the traditional old defensive statements about the system - call the players immature and the parents whatever. There is a problem here and it is time to face it and improve.