Crazy Dave mentioned some of this in the MN/OSU series thread but this has reached the point of deserving its own conversation. The officiating has been terrible all year long in the WCHA but what was delivered at Ridder Arena tonight is simply unacceptable. The penalty calls were bad, to some extent both ways but in the style where the rougher team gets away with more, but it was the linemen who were grotesquely incompetent. They made the wrong calls. The made what were probably the right calls but at the wrong time. They made calls that were completely inexplicable. And they very clearly weren't communicating with each other.
As ARM mentioned, for much of the game it was as if they had no idea that they were supposed to be using the hybrid icing rules. Unlike the penalty calls, I think these errors worked to the detriment of OSU. There were several occasions when a Buckeye was clearly going to get to the puck to negate the icing but the whistle blew. There was one occasion when the play was blown dead before anyone from either team had crossed the red line.
There were times when the whistle went and I not only couldn't figure out what the call was, I couldn't even come up with anything that could have been called that would have led to a face-off where they put it. On one occasion with the play along the boards in OSU's defensive zone the whistle blew and the ensuing face-off was just outside the zone. The puck was clearly still moving, so it wasn't blown down as frozen. A hand pass would have meant a face-off either in the zone or all the way down at the other end, depending on who was called for it. It obviously wasn't for a player in the crease. I have no idea.
On one occasion in the second period the Gophers shot the puck down the rink for what should have been an icing. The Ohio State player was miles ahead of anyone, so hybrid icing or not it should have been called. The whistle was duly blown and then . . . the face-off was in the OSU defensive zone. Again, I can't come up with any explanation for what the call was.
The line changes during stoppages were a veritable comedy. Before a face-off in the OSU defensive zone the ref allowed an extremely late change by the Buckeyes, which was something of an ongoing problem all evening though this was particularly egregious. So then Frost decides to change his line, which the ref was clearly signalling to allow. Paige Haley and Kate Flug managed to get over the boards and headed towards the face-off circle, at which point the lineman dropped the puck with them on the ice and the ref out of position. Everybody had to scramble back since no one decided that they ought to stop play for such a fustercluck.
Similarly, late in the third the ref allowed a late OSU change of defensemen and the puck was dropped before the players leaving were anywhere near their bench.
The WCHA really should be embarrassed by what went on. I had really thought that Mr. Nepotism had left to become the supervisor of officials for one of the new leagues this year but I was wrong. But if he won't depart on his own, the league really needs to can him because his performance is appalling.
As ARM mentioned, for much of the game it was as if they had no idea that they were supposed to be using the hybrid icing rules. Unlike the penalty calls, I think these errors worked to the detriment of OSU. There were several occasions when a Buckeye was clearly going to get to the puck to negate the icing but the whistle blew. There was one occasion when the play was blown dead before anyone from either team had crossed the red line.
There were times when the whistle went and I not only couldn't figure out what the call was, I couldn't even come up with anything that could have been called that would have led to a face-off where they put it. On one occasion with the play along the boards in OSU's defensive zone the whistle blew and the ensuing face-off was just outside the zone. The puck was clearly still moving, so it wasn't blown down as frozen. A hand pass would have meant a face-off either in the zone or all the way down at the other end, depending on who was called for it. It obviously wasn't for a player in the crease. I have no idea.
On one occasion in the second period the Gophers shot the puck down the rink for what should have been an icing. The Ohio State player was miles ahead of anyone, so hybrid icing or not it should have been called. The whistle was duly blown and then . . . the face-off was in the OSU defensive zone. Again, I can't come up with any explanation for what the call was.
The line changes during stoppages were a veritable comedy. Before a face-off in the OSU defensive zone the ref allowed an extremely late change by the Buckeyes, which was something of an ongoing problem all evening though this was particularly egregious. So then Frost decides to change his line, which the ref was clearly signalling to allow. Paige Haley and Kate Flug managed to get over the boards and headed towards the face-off circle, at which point the lineman dropped the puck with them on the ice and the ref out of position. Everybody had to scramble back since no one decided that they ought to stop play for such a fustercluck.
Similarly, late in the third the ref allowed a late OSU change of defensemen and the puck was dropped before the players leaving were anywhere near their bench.
The WCHA really should be embarrassed by what went on. I had really thought that Mr. Nepotism had left to become the supervisor of officials for one of the new leagues this year but I was wrong. But if he won't depart on his own, the league really needs to can him because his performance is appalling.
