Why the WCHA should feel shame

[siouxnami]

This has become an ugly part of the game. It must change before someone is

seriously injured. Pretending it doesn

[forecheck]

I knew right then that no coach would say a word to me on how he truly felt about officiatintg. It would simply be another article in which players and coaches self-censored their true feelings and league officials like Greg Shepherd could spew the usual drivel about what a wonderful job they do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a shame, because as I think someone mentioned, nothing will change until the coaches and athletic directors of the WCHA speak up in unison. Hell, all the coaches should get together with PCM and openly share their opinions of the reffing in the WCHA, and just prepare themselves for the fact that they will be suspended for one game and let the assistant coaches have their one night to shine. It's a small step, but it would hopefully lead to larger events. Someone just needs to have the guts to take that first step and others will follow, because every team has to deal with the crap that is allowed to go on.

Thanks for sharing Parise's comments. That UAA game was brutal to watch. I remember my blood pressure rising that night becaues I was furious with the non-calls. Parise didn't just bleed a little from the high stick. It was pouring down his jersey.

[BigGreyAnt41]

I also remember that game. One of the only times I've sat right next to the glass. He was about 10 feet away from me arguing with the refs (right next to the penalty boxes) with the blood on his jersey. We were fuming about the missed call, as well.

When will things change? Maybe it will take getting rid of Daddy Shepard before something will change. I don't know why this seems to stop at him? He's not in charge of the WCHA, why don't the people above him see the problem? Do they not know hockey?

[PCM]

When will things change?

Edited March 21, 2005 by PCM

[jk]

Between traveling to and from the X and managing other things, I haven't kept up with the board and hadn't seen this thread until now. WOW. Thanks for sharing the historical info, PCM.

The "funny" thing is that the NCAA actually attempted to take a pretty big step in changing the way the game is officiated, and perhaps it was due in part to the experience of high-profile stars like Parise. We haven't seen it too much, since they apparently decided to phase in the implementation of the new emphasis: All the leagues except the WCHA were targeted for the first year, and the WCHA will follow nex ... er, sometime.

I'd just like to state for the record that the Sioux are no angels in this regard either. If a team attempted to compete in the WCHA without obstructing the opponent, they'd get killed because it would be akin to unilateral disarmament.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Does the league care? I think not as there has been nothing but silence regarding the whole matter involving Robbie Bina. What will it take to get change? I think some of the posters are correct that it will take a collective outcry from school officials. Without action we may be reading some players obituary next time.

[The Sicatoka]

It should be simple and clear:

You board someone and they get hurt you are done for as long as they are. How far would I take it? If their NCAA career is over, so is yours.

In this particular case, I'd add the official, who is now 2-for-2 because he had to be "corrected" for an undercalled penalty during UAA at UW the previous weekend, to that same penalty criteria.

[Goon]

I knew right then that no coach would say a word to me on how he truly felt about officiatintg. It would simply be another article in which players and coaches self-censored their true feelings and league officials like Greg Shepherd could spew the usual drivel about what a wonderful job they do.

I wanted no part of that. If I couldn't express my opinion on the subject honestly and openly, then I would play no part in helping others cover up the serious problems with college hockey officiating.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It needs to be said more, I don't understand why the league protects their officials like there were embassadors. The officating sucks in college hockey, lets not sugar coat it.

[Goon]

Does the league care?  I think not as there has been nothing but silence regarding the whole matter involving Robbie Bina.  What will it take to get change?  I think some of the posters are correct that it will take a collective outcry from school officials.  Without action we may be reading some players obituary next time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can you imagine if this happened to a gopher player, the league would have Adams head.

[dagies]

One thing I would say is there were many of us fans who last fall were ripping on the "points of emphasis" because it disrupted the flow of the game. Seemed the WCHA started getting away from enforcing it about the time many of the teams started adapting.

That said, I agree with everyone that there's a problem that needs to be fixed.

PCM, do you suppose Blais would talk on the record now that he's out of the league? Maybe Sauer and Sertich too?

[ScottM]

Unfortunately, there will always be "haves" and "have nots" in the WCHA, meaning that it's impossible to achieve natural parity. The league either conciously or unconciously uses officiating to help balance the ledger.

That's why there are different standards for different players. And it's why situational officiating exists.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I tend to agree. As much as McLeod and the other suits would like to mask it, players like Kessel, Toews, Parise and Vanek are never going to play at Mankato or Tech. UND, Minnesota and Wisco have the three largest barns in the country, and go to great efforts to fill them with people looking to watch the next Mondano or Forsberg. Every team has a "star" or two, but when you bring in players that garner national and international ink, the league has a duty to let these guys shine and ensure that some nameless thug doesn't get a "name" by ending their game, or career. "Parity" or not, without the bigger programs filling their barns, and having top talent, the "have nots" would have not a goddamn thing.

[sprig]

One thing I would say is there were many of us fans who last fall were ripping on the "points of emphasis" because it disrupted the flow of the game.  Seemed the WCHA started getting away from enforcing it about the time many of the teams started adapting.

That said, I agree with everyone that there's a problem that needs to be fixed. 

PCM, do you suppose Blais would talk on the record now that he's out of the league?  Maybe Sauer and Sertich too?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was likely one of them, because of all the extra weanie hooks and obstruction that was called, but I'm probably changing my mind. If the same kids can play the game the way it was played in the WJC with international officiating, it can certainly be done in college hockey.

Watch some of the Michigan/OSU Super 6 championship, and was really looking for those type of calls that I thought were marginal last fall, but neither team was doing any of those things, so little needed to be called. Seems that they've adjusted.

[WPoS]

[PCM]

IMO, this isn't a "team" thing it is a systemic problem across the league.  This is sadly ANOTHER example on how bad our reffing has become.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're exactly right. I wish people would stop turning it into an issue of individual teams or players. The problem is caused by a deep-rooted culture in the WCHA and its leadership that believes it's doing a good job of officiating. That's what needs to change.

Pointing fingers at other players or other teams accomplishes nothing.

[PCM]

PCM, do you suppose Blais would talk on the record now that he's out of the league?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Blais might do that, but he was always one of the few coaches who spoke frankly about the officiating when he was a coach. Where did that get him? If the WCHA ignored him then, why would it pay attention to him now?

[Sioux_Hab-it]

It would sure get the leagues attention if one of its elite teams decided that it had enough and applied to join the CCHA. It might hurt on the PWR but at least that team's fans would get to enjoy the true talent of their elite players.

[yzerman19]

The college game will never be as clean as the WJC, as there isn't the parity in skill level among players that their is in international play. With that skill comes a certain respect for each other too. I watched the AA game referenced, and if I had been on the ice with Zach, the Sioux would've been without my services for 10 and a night. A third paired defenseman at AA versus a first round draft pick in ZP is a no win for AA unless he breaks the rules. The league has to shut this down. The NHL and Major Junior allow fighting to enforce justice on the ice. Maybe the WCHA should too. I am a hockey purist and don't like gooning and fighting, but I definitely understood the role of Marty McSorley and Wayne Gretzky. I don't want Ogie Oglethorpe and Dr. Hook McCracken out there, but I think the players should be allowed to enforce the cheap stuff.

As far as the hit on Robbie. I first wish him the best in terms of a speedy recovery. The hit is the same every time when a player breaks his neck or becomes paralyzed. It is a combination of bad luck and timing. As a former player, when I saw the hit on Friday, I knew what was coming. It is terrible and sickening and is about the only thing that makes a player on the ice feel vulnerable. You are taught from the first days of checking to be aggressive and hit every different colored jersey that gets near you. In the heat of the moment and speed of the game it can be really difficult to not hit someone. I don't see how the league can stop those kind of hits. I think the better choice would be to try and develop a helmet that can somehow absorb the impact. Equipment is our best hope. This is also a double edged sword, but that is a different story.

Get well soon Robbie.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

You are taught from the first days of checking to be aggressive and hit every different colored jersey that gets near you.  In the heat of the moment and speed of the game it can be really difficult to not hit someone.  I don't see how the league can stop those kind of hits.  Get well soon Robbie.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As a player I was also encouraged to be agressive and we all like to push the envelope to see just how much we can get away with. It is human nature. The message the league is sending with its poor officiating and lack of calls is that headhunting is okay so go ahead and bash the stuffing out of the leagues elite players. Therefore, a league shakeup is required.

[sioux7]

[Canuck]

Please keep in mind that EVERYTHING is called at the international level and that draws an equal amount of ire from the fans who follow it closely. You'll see many more "tickey tack" calls made, particularly by European officials. Many times it makes it next to impossible to play an honest-but-physical style without falling into penalty trouble.

Having said that, there has to be some sort of middle ground. Clutching and grabbing is one thing;as frustrating as it is to have to watch, it doesn't put anybody's career - or even life - on the line. When Zach Parise is mugged in the corner and there's no call, that is frustrating to no end. When somebody nearly loses their ability to walk and a two-minute minor and one-game suspension are all that result, well, that is completely unacceptable.

[The Sicatoka]

The penalty should match the crime.

A boarding penalty should be that a player delivering a hit (Paukovich) can not play another NCAA game until the receiver of the hit (Robbie Bina) can, with a minimum suspension being an escalating games suspenion (ala fighting).

[Canuck]

It is a combination of bad luck and timing.

I respectfully disagree. You are correct - many times these things are unavoidable, particularly when a player turns his back at the last possible split second.

However, that was not the case in this instance. Bina clearly had his back fully turned and was in a complete vulnerable position and Paukovich hit him at near-full speed.

It would be awfully presumptuous for us to claim Paukovich intended to do harm to Robbie. Nobody wants to see an opponent in the hospital with a career-threatening injury.

However, checking from behind is checking from behind. No matter what the intentions were of the offending player, the bottom line is he viciously hit an opponent from behind and may have ended his career.

Two minutes and one relatively meaningless game do not suffice.

[yzerman19]

The bad luck and timing to me is that you are off the boards just the right distance, forced to put your head down to look for the puck and you have your back turned towards the middle of the ice. I don't want to see defensive players get game misconducts for giving a forward in a corner a shove in the back or for a nice crisp shot to the back in front of the net. It is a physical game, and as one of my coaches once put so eloquently: if you didn't want to get hit, you should've joined the band! What happened is terrible, but I see a difference in the hit on Bina and the beating of ZP vs AA last year.

[PCM]

The bad luck and timing to me is that you are off the boards just the right distance, forced to put your head down to look for the puck and you have your back turned towards the middle of the ice. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You just described something that probably happens dozens of times each game and thousands of times each season without players being drilled head-first into the boards and having their necks broken. The problem wasn't the circumstances. The problem was the thoughtless act of a player who took advantage of another player in a vulnerable position.

[yzerman19]

In my opinion, there is no way that the DU player even thought about how far Robbie was from the boards when he hit him. He saw a player with a different colored sweater on with the puck at his feet and hit him. I don't condone it. It does happen though. When you are battling on the ice, you don't stop and think before you do anything out there. Not at game speed. The actual events that put a puck and a player 7-8 feet off the boards with an opposing player in hitting distance directly behind the player all at the same time is not all that common. I feel terrible for Robbie, but I don't think the league can do anything to stop the circumstances that occurred. DO I think it should've been 5? Absolutely. Do I think the DU player should have a misconduct? given the results, yes. Do I think that it looked like a play where he should be suspended indefinitely? No.