June 6, 2008
NCAA Rules Committee Mandates 2-Ref System, Makes Other Changes
CHN Staff Report
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee mandated the use of the two-referee, two-linesman system for all levels of NCAA hockey this season.
The decision was part of an emphasis for the committee on allowing players to "use their speed and skill to create scoring opportunities."
All rules proposals must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which meets July 2 via conference call.
"The committee strongly believes that having one officiating system for all levels of college hockey is the right decision," said John Harrington, secretary-editor of the committee and outgoing head coach at St. John's. "In today's game, two referees and two linesmen are necessary to properly enforce our rules."
Protection of the puck carrier and faceoff protocols were identified as the committee's points of emphasis. The committee believes officials have properly handled obstruction away from the puck, but believes the puck carrier must be afforded more opportunities to make offensive plays.
In the area of faceoffs, the committee will continue to emphasize the administration of the line change procedure and increase the enforcement of interference and obstruction fouls immediately after a faceoff.
The committee forwarded several major proposals intended to enhance the game:
* Goals scored by kicking. In the aftermath of the controversy in last April's NCAA championship game, where a Notre Dame goal was disallowed, the committee spent a considerable amount of time discussing goals that are scored with the use of the skate. To make this rule as clear as possible, the group proposed adjustments to its rules that will allow all goals scored as a result of deflections. This will include deflections off an attacking player who is in the act of stopping, provided neither skate is used to direct the puck into the net. Pucks that are directed or kicked with the skate moving toward the goal will not be allowed.
* Shootout. Last year, the committee said it was moving towards eliminating ties from college hockey. But after considerable time for feedback from coaches, there was little consensus on what the change should be, or if there should be any. Thus, the committee voted to maintain the traditional game structure (60 minutes, followed by a five-minute overtime), but will allow interested conferences to use shootouts at their discretion. This will in no way alter national rankings or the NCAA championship selection process.
* Icing. The committee approved a proposal dealing with icing. The rule will not allow a team that ices the puck to change its on-ice personnel.
* Faceoff locations. Starting next season, all faceoffs will be conducted at one of the nine faceoff spots.
A full listing of the committee's proposals will be distributed to the NCAA membership for comment. The Playing Rules Oversight Panel will consider these changes and membership feedback before final implementation.
yeah ok...
Jun 6 2008, 7:52 pm by ND
That explanation of kicking is still way too vague.
Jun 7 2008, 2:09 pm by Josh, Madison
so with the kicking rule, the key words are "skate moving toward the goal" but wouldn't that include the act of stopping? so a redirect with a skate moving toward the goal is disallowed, but a redirect that isn't "moving toward the goal" is? i'm still confused
Jun 7 2008, 7:02 pm by joe, ithaca
You'd think the protracted ambivalence shown by the college hockey coaching community re: the possible elimination of ties would be reason enough to shelve the whole idea. But nooooo; the 'change-just-for-the-sake-of -change' folks are persistent in the extreme. Hockey East has already 'experimented' with shoot-outs, and it lasted all of two seasons, banished - or so we all hoped - to the dustbin of history. It was a bad idea then, and it's STILL a bad idea; why, oh why, can't we just stick a stake in it and leave well enough alone? Sometimes a tie is a perfectly satisfactory result between two evenly matched teams, and no amount of hand-wringing from the 'but there has to be a winner!' crowd will ever convince me otherwise. Let's focus instead on recruiting / training better officials, an issue surely more important than this never-ending debate re: tinkering with ties ...
Jun 8 2008, 8:45 pm by JL, upstate NY
Looks like they gave the refs more leeway in screwing up the calls as far as goals off of skates.
Jun 8 2008, 10:24 pm by ND
I still don't think that this will help. But maybe I am wrong. Who knows. I still think that some refs have their favorite schools and some have ones that they hate. So that won't change. What does everyone think about a shootout?
Jun 10 2008, 6:20 am by Mike Sauk Rapids MN
College Hockey would be a much better product if the pay scale for on-ice officials were on par with NCAA football and basketball. Officiating a high level hockey game is way more physically and mentally demanding....give the guys a raise!
Jun 11 2008, 1:50 pm by Lipp, Keyport, NJ
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