http://www.shshl.org/ess/boxscore/boxscore.asp?GameID=1856

Is this a risk assignor issue ? How could anyone involved in the Suburban league allow that game to be played at Winterpit ? Where is the common sense ? They even had 3-man either earlier this year or last for this game. Lots of risk issues here and lost revenue if it were at a better more suited environment. The last 3 games between these teams had full houses at Face-off or OYR. Dangerous situation from what I hear was full stands well before an hour before the game. The rink had a kid at the double doors as security. I never stop being amazed at the incompetence at all levels of this game.

Just to throw in another, "what's with that", The Atlantic District had 3-man for squirt and PeeWee at Iceline, but two-man for Midgets at Hatfield.

What does it being a 2 or 3 man system have to do with the spectator issue?

14 penalties in 2 periods is pretty typical for that level of hockey. Or am I missing something completely about the potential violence that was on the ice?

The 3-man at Iceline was for the DVHL, the 2-man at Hatfield was districts. The district doesn't pay for the 3rd official because those teams playing at Hatfield aren't "national eligible." Go figure, cause I don't think the Squirts at Iceline were "national eligible" either.

2-man had zero bearing on the crowd. It does show that the league is aware of the rivalry in the past(using 3-man and having league reps present), which means an awareness for a better site than wintersport should have been made many moons ago.

The Midget games at Hatfield were district games not DVHL(oops - that's what you said) my bad.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EH2,

McDevitt-Abington is a big Rivalry.

The Stands at Wintersport hold about 100 people and there is no seperation/divider between the fans so they are all pretty much mixed together.

in all honesty what is the difference where these rivalry games get played,if the fans want to fight they are going to fight. iceline last week saw the worst case unionville vs. kennett police using stun guns it was so bad outside the rink. wintersport oyr pick one if it is going to happen you can not stop it.

True to a degree. But all precaution should be taken, where applicable, to minimize the chance for an occurrence. There is a more likely probability for an incident when you place 400 kids in the same space.

Folks, here are the facts about what took place during this game between Abington and McDevitt. Yes, the crowd was far larger than anticipated for a game that meant absolutely nothing to the standings. McDevitt had a playoff spot locked up and Abington had already been eliminated.

It was scheduled for 9:00 PM. Spectators (students) began showing up at the rink between 7 and 7:30. It is important to correct one thing that EH2 stated, Wintersport (entirely at their own expense) hired a police officer to manage security at the game as well as their employees. It was more than just a kid at the door managing the crowd which quickly became overwhelming. When the building was at it's maximum capacity they began turning students away at the door, however they continued to allow adults in. When the officer realized what he had on his hands, he called for re-enforcements. This was not because things were out of control, but simply because of the size of the crowd and the potential for problems. The additional Upper Moreland officers decided to stay for the remainder of the game and took over the entire job of crowd control.

These are the circumstances that caused the game to be ended. During the first period, the spectators were throwing things onto the ice which obviously creates hazardous conditions for the players. The officials had it announced to the spectators that any further incidents would result in the game being terminated. Things went smoothly from that point until about half-way through the third period.

At the time noted in the box score, a fight broke out in the bleachers. The officers quickly ended the altercation and based on the previous warning, made the decision to end the game. The police emptied the building in under 15 minutes and the parking lot within a half hour.

As a league, the SHSHL supported the decision to end the game given the circumstances. I was at the game and in contact the officers as well as the league president throughout the night. If the game had any implications, one of two things would have happened. 1) The building would have been emptied and the game would have resumed or 2) the game would have been completed at a later date.

To the credit of the players and coaches from both teams, nothing but hockey occurred on the ice. The SHSHL does in fact use the 3-man system in certain rivalry games when we feel it is better to have an extra man on the ice. The Thanksgiving games are a good example. In this case, the officiating system had absolutely no bearing on anything that took place during this game. I did not speak with the McDevitt people following the game but the Abington coaching staff was very supportive of the decision to end the game.

The league was caught a bit off guard by the turnout and it cost them revenue in the form of over 100 spectators turned away at the door. However, I think Wintersport and the Upper Moreland police deserve some credit for the way they handled things.

I'm not sure why the crowd was not anticipated by the league - win-loss records haveless to do than th e natural rivalary, espically in the last game of the season.

There were things missed, as always in the 2-man system.

And to give Wsport any credit may be premature, as my unserstanding is that the police were there only because of an incident prior to the game (drinking)... and there were no plans to pay for any police presence.

How about admitting a mistake.

Ok, let me try this again. If a language other than English would work better let me know. I stated the mistake in my first post, I felt pretty clearly. Since it appears that it was not stated clearly enough, please allow me to try again.

The Mistake: The league under estimated the number of spectators who attended the game.

Giving Wintersport credit for the police presence is not premature in any way. This is a FACT and it was reported to me directly by the ranking Upper Moreland police officer in attendance at the game. Wintersport paid a uniformed Upper Moreland police officer his overtime hourly rate to handle crowd control. Additionally, they had 8 employees on duty to handle crowd control. They did so on their own, at their expense and without prompting from the league. For having the fore sight to do that, they deserve some credit. Obviously they were the only ones, including the league and the two teams involved, who recognized the potential this game had. The additional police presence in attendance at the game was a direct result of the call placed by the officer hired by Wintersport.

If you wish to dispute what I have stated here then please do some homework aside from your personal opinion or what you have heard from people in attendance at the game and follow up on what I have stated in this post as well as in my previous post. A call to the UM police department will confirm exactly what I have stated.

There is no reason to criticize the officiating in this game. Things are missed in every game regardless of whether the officiating system is 2 or 3 man. The key point to this all is that the officiating system used in this game had no bearing on the game being ended early. Nothing took place on the ice during that game which was out of the ordinary.

Why is this particular game such a sticking point? McDevitt was losing 7-2 when the game was called. My understanding is that they were very short handed because of either the DVHL playoffs or the district tournament. There was ABSOLUTELY nothing to be gained by continuing this game for either team.

Agreed on point of officiating. It had zero influence on the environment. Original point about 2 vs. 3 was only to point out some awareness by the league as to the intesity of the rivalry existed previously. The safest place in the building was on the ice.

I am assuming you are involved with the league, though you were not there for league business, you kind of fell into the situation. It took some prompting, but at least you have admitted there was a mistake made to schedule the game at Wintersport from the get go.

My issue concerning accountability has no relationship as to who won or lost the game, but to the risk involved in putting those kids in a very undesirable and dangerous situation. It's another black mark on HS hockey. It doesn't take but a little common sense, a little awareness, to know that game should never have been scheduled there. I don't think you would have been comfortable with your child in those stands, bunched like cattle shoulder to shoulder.

I have had a conversation with an UPM officer, since that game, and it was indicated that they were not employed until the rink realized an hour before what they had on their hands, i.e., the tailgating incidents. The rink considered it earlier, but did not act on it, thinking they could handle it internally, without the extra cost, until that evening.

To just write off the rest of the game is a bit cavalier. I would think the senior players for Abington, their friends, their families had the right to expect them to finish their final HS game in a more fitting manner. Who McD had or didn't have only takes away from how well Abington played. McDevitt gets to play another day, and were probalbly glad to have it over with.

My point is that the league has a responsibility to provide a safe environment. Understood that they can't parent the kids, but providing the safest environment should be always at the forefront of their decisions. I don't really understand how they came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be an issue, but all we can hope for is to learn from the mistake.

Luber 25,
Is this guy an idiot or what? Maybe your 1st post, which appeared in English for me, appeared in Swahili for him. Or he just can't read.