I heard that the American Eagles played a game at the end of August where there were a total of 56 penalties between the 2 teams.

My son has played about 16 games since June and, while there have been more interference calls, it hasn't been too bad.

How's it going with everyone else?

Players appear to be clumbsy? At the higher levels they are reluctant to react because they have the fear of being called.

Biggest problem I see is there is no consistancy with the officials. Too many differences of opinion in the way each referee feels the game should be called which is impacting the players. I guess it will eventually become a mute point. By December you wont see the games called this way and when Febuary rolls around the calls will resume when the district gooroos start complaining.

Wait until we start having 3 hour JV Games!

Won't happen...the ice slots are still going to be 90 minutes. If the overwhelming amount of penalties makes the games go too long....they are going to be cut short. 90 minutes....that's it!!!

I hope your right?

I am......if the first two periods take up 80 minutes of the ice slot.....the third period is going to start with five minutes on the clock.

At least 4 games had the 3rd period cut short today because of the disaster of calls.
These were teams who had some games under their belts already and know the do's and dont's.
To be honest, I really hate the sport now. It's no longer fun and it sure as heck is nothing like the NHL as the USA Hockey President compared it to in his video. Those NHL officials are on television and there is replay and other tools to hold them accountable. If they are not consistant they dont get the games and dont get paid.

There is no accountability for the officials we deal with. Some of them have no idea what the heck they are doing. Some honestly dont know how to manage the game now and a small few are just lacksadasical money lovers who could care less and do whatever comes to mind? For the most part they are all great guys but there is no consistancy which sends mixed messages to the players.

We had scorekeepers constantly calling the officials to the scorers box to explain penalties so they could make sure the score sheet was accurate which slowed the game down even more. One referee shrugged his shoulders and couldn't keep track on what the heck he called? He told the score keeper "I dont know what the Hell you want me to tell you". Bottom line he was calling some much he couldn't manage his own calls.

I spoke to a lot of the better referee's in the area and they made it clear that it's not going as planned and most hate it as well. One of the biggest complaints was their partners were on a different page calling the game differently then what they thought it should be called. Some of the officials actually argued with each other because of the frushtration it created. Those guys are having some tough times with this too.
One official told me tonight, out of the 5 games he worked today 4 coaches were suspended under the 15 penalty rule. These were club games were most teams have 3 to 4 coaches. Whats going to happen with school hockey were most teams only have 1 or 2 coaches?

I tried to be open minded and give it a chance but it's just not happening. It really ruined the game.
The kids are the on reason I'm hanging in there.
Some may disagree but it's just my feelings.

Jim, I agree with you in principle.....but you certainly can't blame the refs, the are only doing as they are told.

Also, It's not the refs job to manage the scoresheet or the penalty box, that is the job of the people at the scorers table. That is the main reason why scorekeeping should be a paid position that comes with training.....not just some kids dad that hangs around the rink alot.

I was a little tired when I entered that post and by no means am I blaming the referees. The point I was trying to make is even the referees are having a difficult time.

I watched several coaches (myself included) take the time to reserve a party room at the rink and show the video to the kids. The video is well done however the consistancy of the calls we are seeing differs from one official to the next.

I was at one of the referee clinics and they told the officials that they need to manage the game. The score keepers I referred to where simply asking the official to repeat what they were calling so they could list the proper penalties, player numbers etc. on the score sheet. When asked by the score keeper to repeat what the penalties were this referee became agitated. What was the scorekeeper supposed to do if they didn't know the call?

Perhaps because I was tired I didn't use the correct wording in my original post to make my point. It just seems this whole thing is becoming a flop and a hinderance to the coaches, players, officials and even the scorekeepers. When you express your displeasure primarly because of the inconsistancy from ref to ref (not saying it's intentional, it's more of the individual referee's honest interupratation of what USA hockey wants) you are told to watch the video. I watched that video at least 3 times and as I mentioned, it's well done and for the most part pretty clear but it's not the magical cure to the problems we are seeing.
What you see on the video is not consistant with whats going on at the actual games which makes it very frushtrating.
I tried to be open minded but from what I see it's getting worse. You know things are bad when squirt coaches are being suspended on a daily basis for 15 penalties. It really helps the developement of a kid when their coach is on the bench every other game let alone reducing the playing time $$ because the game is running 2 1/2 hours long.
When I mentioned games being cut short for curfew Matt didn't think that would be a major issue. At this point I wouldn't say it's a major problem but it is happening with club hockey. I just cant imaging how this will impact school hockey? The two largest rinks in the area normally will let the games play to completion but the smaller rinks are known to cut games short to make sure their public skating is on time. Can you imagin a Bonner vs Ohara game with over 1000 fans in attendance or for that matter any other rival game being cut short because of a curfew?

Perhaps it will smooth itself out before school hockey begins, but for now it's a mess.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BIGJIM,

I never said that cutting the games short wouldn't be a problem or a concern.....I just said that it would happen.

Well it is becoming a problem! They didn't plan this right and now it's a disaster.
Should be a fun season?

Matt, when are you coming up for dinner? Eating may reduce the stress?

I'll be there as soon as the varsity season starts. Ask Richie about our feast this past Friday. Good stuff!!!!

My son plays Midget Minor AA as well as varsity high school hockey. From June thru this past weekend he's played about 18 games for travel club. There have been more penalties, especially interference calls, but so far neither our team nor our opponents have had 15+ penalties in any of our games, tho I have heard otherwise for other teams. Despite the penalties, the games have been faster moving and finishing on time. Yesterday was the closest we came - we had a league game where we had 13 penalties and our opponent had 12.

We have also had 2 pre-season high school games with the same results - a few more penalties, faster pace and finished on time.

There is inconsistency among the refs, but there always was before too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SJ Fan,

Apparently this was a letter circulated which in my opinion shows there was obvious problems with the games. Kudo's to the man for trying to clear up the problems. I just hope his efforts pay off and it sinks in for the sake of the game.



Officiating Information - Standard of Play



Dear Official,



The season is well under way in most areas of the country and the early indications suggest our officiating team has met the challenge of implementing the Standard of Play and Rules Enforcement Initiative. We know that this transition period is difficult and will require a lot of patience and perseverance. Some areas have already reported a positive response with the games played at a faster pace, with fewer penalties and more physical play and without the illegal use of the stick or arm to gain a competitive advantage. Keep up the great work and please understand that you have the full support of the entire USA Hockey family in maintaining this standard.



The District Referees-in-Chief would also like to take this opportunity to clarify a few things as it relates to the Standard of Play and make sure every official is on the same page. Attached, please find interpretations for four areas that appear to have caused the most confusion to players, coaches, parents and officials. Please review these interpretations, along with the Standard of Play Video on USAHockey.com, on a regular basis in order to keep them fresh in your mind.



In addition, it is also important to make sure that we do not over react to situations and call infractions that are simply not penalties. To help you respond accordingly, keep in mind that a “competitive advantage” needs to be gained as the result of an “illegal action” in order for a penalty to be assessed. Whereas we want to reward skilled play such as skating, balance, strength, puck handling, body position/checking and anticipation, the defensive player also possesses some of these skills and we do not want them penalized for good play, either. Let’s also not forget to call the other infractions that may not be specifically covered under the Standard of Play.



As always, if you have any questions regarding enforcement of the rules or the Officiating Program as a whole, do not hesitate to contact your District Referee-in-Chief. Your efforts and commitment to the sport of hockey and the “art of officiating” are greatly appreciated.



Best wishes for a successful season!



USA Hockey District Referees-in-Chief

_______________________________________________

USA Hockey Standard of Play and Rule Emphasis Interpretations:
Battling in Front of Goal
With the standard of play initiative, players are still legally able to battle for position in front of the goal and in the
corners. This may include considerable body contact. A player using their size, strength and balance to establish a
favorable body position is an effective play and rewards players who use this skill to gain a competitive advantage.
The use of the stick in this process to steer the opponent is also allowed as long as it remains close to the body and the
arms are not extended in a manner that cross-checks the opponent. An example of an illegal tactic would include the
extension or use of the arm(s) to push off in an effort to create distance between the player and the opponent or prevent
them from legally playing the puck.

_______________________________________________
Free Hand Used By Offensive Player
A player who is in possession and control of the puck and has established body position may use their free hand to
maintain that body position. In this situation, both players are skating shoulder-to-shoulder, or the defensive player is
slightly behind, and the attacking player uses the free arm to fend off the defensive player and simply maintain their
already established body position, as long as they do not grab the stick, sweater or arm of the opponent.
However, a player who uses a free arm to push off of an opponent and create space, or uses the free arm to originally
establish body position by impeding the progress of the opponent, will be penalized for holding or interference.

_______________________________________________
Lifting an Opponent Stick and Stick Presses

The use of the stick to lift an opponent’s stick and gain possession of the puck, or prevent them from gaining
possession of the puck, is considered a good defensive play that should not be penalized. Lifting a non-puck carrier’s
stick in a manner that does not impede their progress is also allowable under the rules. In addition, the use of the stick
to check an opponent’s stick, or press the opponent’s stick to the ice or boards, is a good defensive play as long as it is
done on the lower portion of the stick shaft and the intended purpose is to dislodge the puck or prevent the opponent
from playing the puck.

________________________________________________
Turning the stick blade over on top of the stick of an opponent for the purpose of pressing the stick and preventing the
opponent from playing the puck is also allowable. If done, it must be on the lower portion of the stick and for the sole
purpose of preventing the opponent from playing the puck. However, if done in a manner that impedes the progress of
an opponent, or contact is made higher up on the stick, a penalty for hooking should be assessed.

________________________________________________
Diving
One area that has gotten more attention as a result of the Standard of Play is diving. Although there is no indication
this is a significant problem at the youth level, the action does exist and everyone will need to be on the same page in
handling those rare situations.
First off, it is important to recognize that under the new standard, there is no inherent advantage to embellishing an
action by the opponent. A player no longer has to fall down to have a penalty called, so the end result is a player will
essentially be taking himself or herself completely out of the play by doing so. It is also important to establish that
even the most obvious dive does not excuse the illegal action of the opponent.
Since USA Hockey’s current rules do not specifically identify diving as an infraction, we are somewhat limited in how
officials can react to this type of action. When an obvious dive occurs, the recommendation is to have the official
skate over and request to speak to the coach of the offending team. In doing so, they are acknowledging the fact a dive
occurred and are asking the coach to address this action with their team. A friendly reminder that a diving action will
have no effect on a penalty being called or not would also be warranted.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BIGJIM,

I was at a tournament in boston during labor day, and in another game (I believe it was the long island gulls vs. another team...) the teams got so mad about the penalties (50 some called in the game!) that when the refs dropped the puck for the third period, both teams just sat there and didn't touch it. time ran off the clock and eventually the refs threw all of them into the box for delay of game.

quote:

Originally posted by PaulGray:
I was at a tournament in boston during labor day, and in another game (I believe it was the long island gulls vs. another team...) the teams got so mad about the penalties (50 some called in the game!) that when the refs dropped the puck for the third period, both teams just sat there and didn't touch it. time ran off the clock and eventually the refs threw all of them into the box for delay of game.

That's hilarious!

But really - the coaches have known all summer long about the new emphasis USA Hockey is taking and should have prepared their teams better. Since this is the way the NHL is going, and we saw last season played this way - if the players want to aspire to professional hockey they need to learn the new way to play.