Re: Ohio State Buckeyes 2017-2018 ... Home Playoffs This Season?
As for the weekend, the tying goal on Friday was pretty soft and possibly, maybe was decisive...
It was definitely decisive. But soft? It's funny how the same play can look so different, depending on one's vantage point. Funny, but quite understandable.
From a Buckeye point of view, watching Charly split the defense was very cool. A feat of skill and determination that one rarely sees anymore. Highlight reel stuff. And yet, from a Gopher point of view, I can easily see that the response would be: "She split the defense? That should NEVER happen!"
As for the Goalie's attempted save, I don't have a clear picture in my mind's eye. Was that the "missed pokecheck" that's been referenced? If so, that could fairly be considered soft. And yet when the shooter is charging the net uncontested, then shooting at point blank range, it's very hard for me blame the goaltender.
...Gophers are using their media timeout this year, also.
This is a host team, campus-by-campus choice. I believe the conference is split roughly down the middle on this. Though beyond the Gophers & Buckeyes, I'm not sure who else is using the extra timeouts. Anyhow, my understanding is that you have to make one choice and stick with it for season. But even if that's not true, you certainly can't change it up in the middle of a game.
Since there is a choice, I have no problem at all with a coach thinking things through, and making the decision that most benefits the home team. That's more than rational, it's good coaching.
At the same time, I'm not nearly as sure that campus-by-campus choice is good policy from a league perspective. All of the extra timeouts have a definite impact on the game -- an impact that really goes beyond legitimate home ice advantage. I'm guessing we'll see a standard, league-wide rule sometime in the near future.
Another angle: The media timeouts that we now use are a classic example of unintended consequences. 10 or 15 years ago, we went to "fast face-offs'' for the purpose speeding up the game. Part of the idea was that we didn't want coaches "gaming the system" with slow changes. For a period of years, game times significantly decreased. But that gave TV a problem. Fast face-offs didn't leave time for commercials. Voila - media timeouts. Game times are back on the rise. And if anything, the media timeouts are more disruptive to the flow of the game than the slow changes were.
Last Item: Of course it can be fairly argued that streaming services don't need as many timeouts as commercial television does. And since most of the Women's games are streamed rather than televised, maybe it follows that we don't need all those extra timeouts. Conversely, there is something to be said for uniformity, and not having to suddenly change the rules if TV shows up. Stay tuned...
