Tweet
Adrian College vs St Scholastica and the NCHA
I wanted to take some time before I commented on the Adrian College vs College of St Scholastica on Saturday night. So I have waited a day to make my comments.
First off I want to congratulate CSS for a well-played, exciting game. AC has played them three times this year and both teams are 1-1-1. Both teams are well coached and all the games have come right down to the end before being decided. With that being said now I need to comment on last night’s game.
With teams of this caliber playing in the league semi-final game it’s sad to say we did not have and officiating crew that was of the same caliber. The crew is as follows:
Referee(s): Karl Olm, Jason Swenson
Asst. Referee(s): Paul Rigby, Eric Frank
Swenson appearedto do a OK job and allowed the players to play without any real problems. Rigby, who has served as referee may times here, was doing all he could to direct Frank and assist both referees. Frank was in over his head. He has been here other times and every time appears to be out of position and very weak in his line calls.
Now we move on to Karl Olm. Olm has also been to AC a number of times before and once again Saturday night proved HE wants to be the center of attention and not the play of the players. Two controversial decisions he made showed his lack of respect for the players and for those who are assigned to assist in the game.
1. At the end of the 2nd period CSS player #7 Matt Malenstyn fired the puck from the blue line as time was running out. One would assume the goal was by him as the green light came on just afterwards. HOWEVER the goal was NOT by him but instead by #25 Dylan Nowakowski who was posted next to the net when Matt’s shot was made. In the video, which is available on AC website, you can clearly see Dylan poking at the puck AFTER the green light is on. Can you see the puck cross the goal line, no? But based on Dylan’s poking at it and being credited with the goal one has to assume he was the one who poked it across the line AFTER the green light is on.
The issue with Olm is he NEVER bothered to check with the goal judge, he kind of skated around looking at his other officials and allowed the goal. It seems like the least he could have done is consult with the goal judge and discuss the play and see why the red light was not on. As we all know you can’t turn the red light on AFTER time has expired. Olm took it upon himself to be the center of attention once again. Yes he is the referee but he does have others to assist him. With all that was going on at the moment at what point did he hear the horn?
2. In the third period AC put the puck in the net and the red light comes on. Once again Olm decides to be the center of attention and waves the goal off. This time, to his credit, he consults with the goal judge. The judge tells him the puck was across the line. Olm asked if the puck was under the goalie’s pads and the judge says no, it was not when it crossed the line. Olm decided the goal judge didn’t see it right and waved the goal off. Now could I see it from my seat, no. BUT we do have goal judges for a reason. I guess in Olm’s situation we don’t need to have any.
I would like to ask commissioner Dr. Steven Larson and director of official, is Karl Olm, really one of the top four referees in the league deserving of serving in the capacity for a semi-final game? If so it’s a pretty said statement on the quality of the officials in the NCHA. I hope you are out recruiting new officials if that is the case.
Did Olm cost AC the game? Maybe, maybe not, who knows, that’s not to point of this post. It’s time the NCHA to upgrade the quality of some of their referees in the upcoming years. The quality of play has made huge jumps the last couple of years and all indications are that will not change in the future. However the quality of the officials has not kept pace.
Commission Larson, I ask you what are the future plans for officials in the NCHA????
Hopefully the Bulldogs will get an at-large bid and have a chance to redeem themselves.
GO BULLDOGS
First off I want to congratulate CSS for a well-played, exciting game. AC has played them three times this year and both teams are 1-1-1. Both teams are well coached and all the games have come right down to the end before being decided. With that being said now I need to comment on last night’s game.
With teams of this caliber playing in the league semi-final game it’s sad to say we did not have and officiating crew that was of the same caliber. The crew is as follows:
Referee(s): Karl Olm, Jason Swenson
Asst. Referee(s): Paul Rigby, Eric Frank
Swenson appearedto do a OK job and allowed the players to play without any real problems. Rigby, who has served as referee may times here, was doing all he could to direct Frank and assist both referees. Frank was in over his head. He has been here other times and every time appears to be out of position and very weak in his line calls.
Now we move on to Karl Olm. Olm has also been to AC a number of times before and once again Saturday night proved HE wants to be the center of attention and not the play of the players. Two controversial decisions he made showed his lack of respect for the players and for those who are assigned to assist in the game.
1. At the end of the 2nd period CSS player #7 Matt Malenstyn fired the puck from the blue line as time was running out. One would assume the goal was by him as the green light came on just afterwards. HOWEVER the goal was NOT by him but instead by #25 Dylan Nowakowski who was posted next to the net when Matt’s shot was made. In the video, which is available on AC website, you can clearly see Dylan poking at the puck AFTER the green light is on. Can you see the puck cross the goal line, no? But based on Dylan’s poking at it and being credited with the goal one has to assume he was the one who poked it across the line AFTER the green light is on.
The issue with Olm is he NEVER bothered to check with the goal judge, he kind of skated around looking at his other officials and allowed the goal. It seems like the least he could have done is consult with the goal judge and discuss the play and see why the red light was not on. As we all know you can’t turn the red light on AFTER time has expired. Olm took it upon himself to be the center of attention once again. Yes he is the referee but he does have others to assist him. With all that was going on at the moment at what point did he hear the horn?
2. In the third period AC put the puck in the net and the red light comes on. Once again Olm decides to be the center of attention and waves the goal off. This time, to his credit, he consults with the goal judge. The judge tells him the puck was across the line. Olm asked if the puck was under the goalie’s pads and the judge says no, it was not when it crossed the line. Olm decided the goal judge didn’t see it right and waved the goal off. Now could I see it from my seat, no. BUT we do have goal judges for a reason. I guess in Olm’s situation we don’t need to have any.
I would like to ask commissioner Dr. Steven Larson and director of official, is Karl Olm, really one of the top four referees in the league deserving of serving in the capacity for a semi-final game? If so it’s a pretty said statement on the quality of the officials in the NCHA. I hope you are out recruiting new officials if that is the case.
Did Olm cost AC the game? Maybe, maybe not, who knows, that’s not to point of this post. It’s time the NCHA to upgrade the quality of some of their referees in the upcoming years. The quality of play has made huge jumps the last couple of years and all indications are that will not change in the future. However the quality of the officials has not kept pace.
Commission Larson, I ask you what are the future plans for officials in the NCHA????
Hopefully the Bulldogs will get an at-large bid and have a chance to redeem themselves.
GO BULLDOGS
Comment