WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

[Chuck Murray]

As mentioned on the latest UNH thread, but with the genesis being towards the tail end of the prior UNH thread … events over the last week have provided me with the impetus to accelerate a new project I've been tinkering with for this coming off-season. Tonight's launch of The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac provides WIS fans and foes alike a venue to explore non-UNH stuff which can be either (semi) serious news, light-hearted satire, or even the occasional epic offseason tales I've put together to kill time during those seemingly-endless off-seasons. As soon as this current college hockey season wraps, I'll resume last off-season's epic - Once Upon a Time in Hockey East - in this space, from the start. And this time around, it's 100% guaranteed to get to the finish line.

To "celebrate" the launching of this new venture, for fans (and even foes) of all things WIS … without being too vague or overpromising, TEHA's first feature will not be the usual WIS silliness, but rather some follow-up on an interesting tip yours truly received over the last 36 hours. It's nothing "incriminating" per se, but it's fascinating (to me anyway), and pertains to a topic that's been developing over the last week or so. If true - and so far, the dots do seem to be connecting - it's at the very least a compelling insight into Hockey East that many of us are not afforded. And while it might raise more questions than it answers ... at the very least, fans of transparency will want to see how this all turns out.

As has always been policy with WIS, all sources will remain anonymous, and tips will remain 100% confidential. WIS operatives are continuing to work 24/7 to independently confirm the accuracy of this tip. I'll start to roll out the genesis of the story tomorrow - a week from its origins - and we'll see where this takes us over the next few days. After that, it's out of our hands here in Effingwoods. WIS thanks you as always for your interest and emotional support.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

EFFINGWOODS (WIS) - So our story begins a week ago, after a long night out and about downtown Manchester NH, on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary. Had to get into town early to get into the "main event" and then afterwards there was plenty to do around town, for politically active folks of all persuasions. For me, the second Monday of February more often than not has meant a standing "date" about 45 minutes south of the Queen City, but that was far from my mind this time around, and getting to check a box or two off the "bucket list" - seeing the President live and in person, and "The Beast" and its motorcade - definitely had things buzzing, as our group awaited the next day's festivities. One day every four years, it's a very special place up here.

Eventually, we wrapped up our business in the "big city" (NH style, anyway) and went our separate ways, and slowly returned to the rest of the real world. Our eldest - who'd often accompanied me to the Beanpot when she was younger - checked in late to see how things had gone in ManchVegas …

KID: You guys have fun with the President's rally tonight?
WIS: Yeah, it was a blast. Manch was alive and hopping. Never seen it like that.
KID: I bet …
WIS: … even saw Tulsi - again - gonna miss that girl.
KID: You pig. Anyway … you gotta check out how the Beanpot ended.
WIS: Did Northeastern win again?
KID: Yup …
WIS: Good for them.
KID: … double OT even, after BU scored late in regulation. Like with a second left.
WIS: Wow, no kidding. Sounds like I missed a good one ...
KID: But I think Northeastern got a break at the end, bad penalty call against BU …
WIS: … so the Huskies scored on the PP?
KID: Yup.
WIS: So BU should have killed it. Whatever.
KID: You should watch the replay when you get home.
WIS: Will do. Thanks for the heads-up …

I was so tired and got back to the wilds of the WIS Estate so late, that when I hit the hay, it was lights out, and not a single thought about the Beanpot crossed my mind until well after waking up the next morning. Wall-to-wall primary coverage, but at some point I remembered our discussion, and decided to check out the Beanpot coverage. And yeah, a lot of hand-wringing on the questionable call against BU that facilitated the Huskies' back-to-back-to-back title win. Looking at the replays, it's hard not to agree, it was at best a borderline call, and you always hate to see an important game end that way. But it's not like BU was guaranteed to have won, but for the call. If it happened to UNH, would I have been frosted? Yeah, you bet. If UNH had won it 30 or so times in the past, though, I think I probably would have gotten over it. As an outsider, it felt a little like Northeastern's day in the sun and their program's landmark win was being tarnished, as if multiple wins in a row was only a BU or BC thing.

But after that, the impressions faded, and it was back to being in the thick of our once-every-four-years day in the sunshine, and an uneventful week would follow. Of course, there would be the weekend, and some discussion of the dynamics of UNH, in the thick of an unprecedented deep and close playoffs chase (reminiscent of the '67 AL pennant race for some of us old-timers), facing BU home-and-home in their first post-Beanpot games, with the teams even in the standings at the outset, and with BU enjoying a game in hand. I was in the "bring 'em on" camp, thinking that a BU team that had just lost the Beanpot, and also had been bumping along at 3-2-1 in the league, including a home loss to Merrimack, might be ripe for the picking. How wrong that proved to be on Friday night in Durham, though, as BU skated out with a 4-1 win in a game they mostly dominated from start to finish. Next up would be a trip down to Agganis, and a tall task for the 'Cats, with a win badly needed to resuscitate their chances to snag one of the final HE playoff berths.

Then things began to get interesting, with the arrival of some interesting information at WIS HQ …

… more on that to follow in the next 24 hours. Stay tuned ...

 

[e.cat]

EFFINGWOODS (WIS) - So our story begins a week ago, after a long night out and about downtown Manchester NH, on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary. Had to get into town early to get into the "main event" and then afterwards there was plenty to do around town, for politically active folks of all persuasions. For me, the second Monday of February more often than not has meant a standing "date" about 45 minutes south of the Queen City, but that was far from my mind this time around, and getting to check a box or two off the "bucket list" - seeing the President live and in person, and "The Beast" and its motorcade - definitely had things buzzing, as our group awaited the next day's festivities. One day every four years, it's a very special place up here.

Eventually, we wrapped up our business in the "big city" (NH style, anyway) and went our separate ways, and slowly returned to the rest of the real world. Our eldest - who'd often accompanied me to the Beanpot when she was younger - checked in late to see how things had gone in ManchVegas …

KID: You guys have fun with the President's rally tonight?
WIS: Yeah, it was a blast. Manch was alive and hopping. Never seen it like that.
KID: I bet …
WIS: … even saw Tulsi - again - gonna miss that girl.
KID: You pig. Anyway … you gotta check out how the Beanpot ended.
WIS: Did Northeastern win again?
KID: Yup …
WIS: Good for them.
KID: … double OT even, after BU scored late in regulation. Like with a second left.
WIS: Wow, no kidding. Sounds like I missed a good one ...
KID: But I think Northeastern got a break at the end, bad penalty call against BU …
WIS: … so the Huskies scored on the PP?
KID: Yup.
WIS: So BU should have killed it. Whatever.
KID: You should watch the replay when you get home.
WIS: Will do. Thanks for the heads-up …

I was so tired and got back to the wilds of the WIS Estate so late, that when I hit the hay, it was lights out, and not a single thought about the Beanpot crossed my mind until well after waking up the next morning. Wall-to-wall primary coverage, but at some point I remembered our discussion, and decided to check out the Beanpot coverage. And yeah, a lot of hand-wringing on the questionable call against BU that facilitated the Huskies' back-to-back-to-back title win. Looking at the replays, it's hard not to agree, it was at best a borderline call, and you always hate to see an important game end that way. But it's not like BU was guaranteed to have won, but for the call. If it happened to UNH, would I have been frosted? Yeah, you bet. If UNH had won it 30 or so times in the past, though, I think I probably would have gotten over it. As an outsider, it felt a little like Northeastern's day in the sun and their program's landmark win was being tarnished, as if multiple wins in a row was only a BU or BC thing.

But after that, the impressions faded, and it was back to being in the thick of our once-every-four-years day in the sunshine, and an uneventful week would follow. Of course, there would be the weekend, and some discussion of the dynamics of UNH, in the thick of an unprecedented deep and close playoffs chase (reminiscent of the '67 AL pennant race for some of us old-timers), facing BU home-and-home in their first post-Beanpot games, with the teams even in the standings at the outset, and with BU enjoying a game in hand. I was in the "bring 'em on" camp, thinking that a BU team that had just lost the Beanpot, and also had been bumping along at 3-2-1 in the league, including a home loss to Merrimack, might be ripe for the picking. How wrong that proved to be on Friday night in Durham, though, as BU skated out with a 4-1 win in a game they mostly dominated from start to finish. Next up would be a trip down to Agganis, and a tall task for the 'Cats, with a win badly needed to resuscitate their chances to snag one of the final HE playoff berths.

Then things began to get interesting, with the arrival of some interesting information at WIS HQ …

… more on that to follow in the next 24 hours. Stay tuned ...

Tulsi.....hmmm, hmmm

Bated breath;-)

 

[Felger]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Tulsi.....hmmm, hmmm

Bated breath;-)

As as fan of irony I find it tantalizing that Tulsi Gabbard is an opening element of a narrative that is clearly headed for grassy knoll territory....

 

[e.cat]

As as fan of irony I find it tantalizing that Tulsi Gabbard is an opening element of a narrative that is clearly headed for grassy knoll territory....

The possibilities are intriguing!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

As as fan of irony I find it tantalizing that Tulsi Gabbard is an opening element of a narrative that is clearly headed for grassy knoll territory....

Can't rule out the grassy knoll, Felgie … or, maybe it's just a red herring in a white pantsuit???

https://babylonbee.com/news/hillary...nces-for-tulsi-gabbards-suicide-one-day-early

If I were to be sniffing for clues, I might start with the recently-closed UNH thread. Just sayin' …

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

#937 on 2/15/20 @ 9:49 A.M. from TEHA HQ in Effingwoods NH

… never forget, it's a Boston-centered league, with most of the officials from that area.

Going back at least to the Parker era, BU has usually gotten the rub of the green on tight calls.

Just sayin' ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Picking up where I left off this time yesterday … Saturday morning's tip sent WIS HQ into a flurry of <s>in</s>activity to track down additional information, and determine if there was validity to the tip - the specific nature of which I'm hesitant to disclose, lest its source be endangered. UNH would be making the trek to Agganis later in the day for the second half of a crucial home-and-home series, needing to get something out of the game to keep their flagging playoff hopes alive; awaiting them would be a BU squad which had been bumping along with a .500-ish record in the league since the turn of the calendar, but had rebounded strongly after the Beanpot Finals double OT loss with a statement win at The Whitt to pull two points clear of UNH with a game in hand. But there would be another familiar face from the previous evening awaiting the 'Cats upon their arrival at Agganis …

EVERYTHING AFTER THIS IS "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" ONLY … SO FAR ANYWAY

After being in the thick of a key call (and non-call) the previous evening, one of the previous night's referees - Kevin Shea - was also going to be one of the referees for Saturday night's rematch at Agganis. Shea was not part of the Beanpot crew Monday night in Boston, but he was assigned to Durham on Friday, and (curiously) was the only one of the four officials on Friday night's crew to also appear on the Saturday night crew. If there was a flashpoint on Friday night, it surrounded a major/game DQ call against UNH defenseman Ryan Verrier for a hit from behind, late in the first period. There appeared to have been some activity leading up to that call, which arguably should have seen at least one BU player penalized … but at worst, this was hardly a first time in hockey history where the retaliator got nailed, and the instigator skated off scott-free. Shortly after, UNH's Anthony Wyse would get another penalty - this time only a minor - for a similar hit, one which UNH Coach Mike Souza seemed to thank Referee Shea and his companions for not handing out another 5 minutes and game DQ to Wyse. BU would score on the PP to take a 2-0 lead into the first break, and coasted to a 4-1 victory from there on out.

Referee Shea honestly had never made an impression on me before, pro or con, so I decided to delve a little further into what other folks thought of him, and how long he's been doing this. On the latter issue, I came up with this interesting item, which placed him on a Beanpot officiating crew circa 2003, when his full-time job apparently was as "chief spokesman for the Boston Red Sox". This mention, and details of an in-game injury he suffered, appear at the bottom of this long-ago ESPN article:

http://www.espn.com/ncaa/news/2003/0203/1503576.html

Digging a little deeper, TEHA staff stumbled upon another interesting nugget, which is apparently from a more recent (yet still long-ago) BU hockey fan's blog ten years later circa 2014, in which the blogger reviews Hockey East officials' performances for that season, and spends a lot of time discussing one Kevin Shea …

http://baystateroadsports.blogspot.com/2014/09/hockey-east-refs-2013-2014-season-in.html

The blogger's main points in reviewing Shea's "metrics" seems to be that he is someone who likes to use his whistle, more so than most (if not all) of his HEA colleagues-in-stripes. Whatever. Shea also comes under criticism from the blogger for his on-ice demeanor, which apparently involves frequent yelling at the players ( I believe one of the UNH posters commenting after watching the Agganis rematch affirmed this may still be the case), which I suppose in Shea's defense can be chalked up to style and game control means and methods. Again, no big deal necessarily, and certainly nothing to get worked up over.

However, the blogger did make one interesting observation that he seemed to put out there, and decided to leave alone. But it was a tantalizing loose end, and like the proverbial cat being taunted by the lure of a loose ball of yarn, your friends at WIS had to pull at that loose end to see what might be there. So be sure to check back later today, or tomorrow latest, to see how this "yarn" concludes …

 

[Felger]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Picking up where I left off this time yesterday … Saturday morning's tip sent WIS HQ into a flurry of <s>in</s>activity to track down additional information, and determine if there was validity to the tip - the specific nature of which I'm hesitant to disclose, lest its source be endangered. UNH would be making the trek to Agganis later in the day for the second half of a crucial home-and-home series, needing to get something out of the game to keep their flagging playoff hopes alive; awaiting them would be a BU squad which had been bumping along with a .500-ish record in the league since the turn of the calendar, but had rebounded strongly after the Beanpot Finals double OT loss with a statement win at The Whitt to pull two points clear of UNH with a game in hand. But there would be another familiar face from the previous evening awaiting the 'Cats upon their arrival at Agganis …

EVERYTHING AFTER THIS IS "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" ONLY … SO FAR ANYWAY

After being in the thick of a key call (and non-call) the previous evening, one of the previous night's referees - Kevin Shea - was also going to be one of the referees for Saturday night's rematch at Agganis. Shea was not part of the Beanpot crew Monday night in Boston, but he was assigned to Durham on Friday, and (curiously) was the only one of the four officials on Friday night's crew to also appear on the Saturday night crew. If there was a flashpoint on Friday night, it surrounded a major/game DQ call against UNH defenseman Ryan Verrier for a hit from behind, late in the first period. There appeared to have been some activity leading up to that call, which arguably should have seen at least one BU player penalized … but at worst, this was hardly a first time in hockey history where the retaliator got nailed, and the instigator skated off scott-free. Shortly after, UNH's Anthony Wyse would get another penalty - this time only a minor - for a similar hit, one which UNH Coach Mike Souza seemed to thank Referee Shea and his companions for not handing out another 5 minutes and game DQ to Wyse. BU would score on the PP to take a 2-0 lead into the first break, and coasted to a 4-1 victory from there on out.

Referee Shea honestly had never made an impression on me before, pro or con, so I decided to delve a little further into what other folks thought of him, and how long he's been doing this. On the latter issue, I came up with this interesting item, which placed him on a Beanpot officiating crew circa 2003, when his full-time job apparently was as "chief spokesman for the Boston Red Sox". This mention, and details of an in-game injury he suffered, appear at the bottom of this long-ago ESPN article:

https://www.espn.com/ncaa/news/2003/0203/1503576.html

Digging a little deeper, TEHA staff stumbled upon another interesting nugget, which is apparently from a more recent (yet still long-ago) BU hockey fan's blog ten years later circa 2014, in which the blogger reviews Hockey East officials' performances for that season, and spends a lot of time discussing one Kevin Shea …

https://baystateroadsports.blogspot.com/2014/09/hockey-east-refs-2013-2014-season-in.html

The blogger's main points in reviewing Shea's "metrics" seems to be that he is someone who likes to use his whistle, more so than most (if not all) of his HEA colleagues-in-stripes. Whatever. Shea also comes under criticism from the blogger for his on-ice demeanor, which apparently involves frequent yelling at the players ( I believe one of the UNH posters commenting after watching the Agganis rematch affirmed this may still be the case), which I suppose in Shea's defense can be chalked up to style and game control means and methods. Again, no big deal necessarily, and certainly nothing to get worked up over.

However, the blogger did make one interesting observation that he seemed to put out there, and decided to leave alone. But it was a tantalizing loose end, and like the proverbial cat being taunted by the lure of a loose ball of yarn, your friends at WIS had to pull at that loose end to see what might be there. So be sure to check back later today, or tomorrow latest, to see how this "yarn" concludes …

OK Chuck while you work on the Single Referee Theory I will play along -

1 - How is Shea being the only official to work both nights of the BU-UNH home and home series any different than Walker Holton being the only member of his officiating crew to work both ends of the UML-Northeastern home and home the same weekend?

2- Not sure if the two situations addressed in point 1 are an aberration and I'm not going to waste a bunch of brain cells reading box scores like the blogger you cite did. However isn't it possible that if there were any anomalies to the officiating schedule they could have been caused when the league pulled Testa from his assignment to the PC-UVM series in mid week?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Single Referee Theory - LOL

Single Referee Theory - LOL

OK Chuck while you work on the Single Referee Theory I will play along -

1 - How is Shea being the only official to work both nights of the BU-UNH home and home series any different than Walker Holton being the only member of his officiating crew to work both ends of the UML-Northeastern home and home the same weekend?

2- Not sure if the two situations addressed in point 1 are an aberration and I'm not going to waste a bunch of brain cells reading box scores like the blogger you cite did. However isn't it possible that if there were any anomalies to the officiating schedule they could have been caused when the league pulled Testa from his assignment to the PC-UVM series in mid week?

Thanks, Felgie - playing along is good. Just be sure to keep an eye on the qualifiers I've made … not saying there's anything evil, or maybe not even anything nefarious going on (yet?). But it's at least something that might make you (and others?) go hmmmm …

And FWIW, in the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I'm told your aforementioned Walker Holton did both ends of the UVM-UNH series weekend before last. Maybe it's a "Walker Holton thing" (BTW another Boston area guy I'd never taken past notice of)? My researchers indicate Shea also did both ends of the UNH-Providence weekend not that long ago. Further, the same 4-man crew (not including WH or KS) did the entire UNH-UMaine series in Orono in late 2019. Which we're guessing is an "Orono thing"? So we've looked at it, at least from a UNH perspective, and while it's not yet an exhaustive review, it's pretty clear it's an exception, and not the rule.

But semi-educated guesswork should not be sneered at out of hand. Sometimes what you find lurking behind the proverbial Door Number Three of life can be surprising …

 

[BlackI]

EFFINGWOODS (WIS) - So our story begins a week ago, after a long night out and about downtown Manchester NH, on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary. Had to get into town early to get into the "main event" and then afterwards there was plenty to do around town, for politically active folks of all persuasions. For me, the second Monday of February more often than not has meant a standing "date" about 45 minutes south of the Queen City, but that was far from my mind this time around, and getting to check a box or two off the "bucket list" - seeing the President live and in person, and "The Beast" and its motorcade - definitely had things buzzing, as our group awaited the next day's festivities. One day every four years, it's a very special place up here.

Eventually, we wrapped up our business in the "big city" (NH style, anyway) and went our separate ways, and slowly returned to the rest of the real world. Our eldest - who'd often accompanied me to the Beanpot when she was younger - checked in late to see how things had gone in ManchVegas …

KID: You guys have fun with the President's rally tonight?
WIS: Yeah, it was a blast. Manch was alive and hopping. Never seen it like that.
KID: I bet …
WIS: … even saw Tulsi - again - gonna miss that girl.
KID: You pig. Anyway … you gotta check out how the Beanpot ended.
WIS: Did Northeastern win again?
KID: Yup …
WIS: Good for them.
KID: … double OT even, after BU scored late in regulation. Like with a second left.
WIS: Wow, no kidding. Sounds like I missed a good one ...
KID: But I think Northeastern got a break at the end, bad penalty call against BU …
WIS: … so the Huskies scored on the PP?
KID: Yup.
WIS: So BU should have killed it. Whatever.
KID: You should watch the replay when you get home.
WIS: Will do. Thanks for the heads-up …

I was so tired and got back to the wilds of the WIS Estate so late, that when I hit the hay, it was lights out, and not a single thought about the Beanpot crossed my mind until well after waking up the next morning. Wall-to-wall primary coverage, but at some point I remembered our discussion, and decided to check out the Beanpot coverage. And yeah, a lot of hand-wringing on the questionable call against BU that facilitated the Huskies' back-to-back-to-back title win. Looking at the replays, it's hard not to agree, it was at best a borderline call, and you always hate to see an important game end that way. But it's not like BU was guaranteed to have won, but for the call. If it happened to UNH, would I have been frosted? Yeah, you bet. If UNH had won it 30 or so times in the past, though, I think I probably would have gotten over it. As an outsider, it felt a little like Northeastern's day in the sun and their program's landmark win was being tarnished, as if multiple wins in a row was only a BU or BC thing.

But after that, the impressions faded, and it was back to being in the thick of our once-every-four-years day in the sunshine, and an uneventful week would follow. Of course, there would be the weekend, and some discussion of the dynamics of UNH, in the thick of an unprecedented deep and close playoffs chase (reminiscent of the '67 AL pennant race for some of us old-timers), facing BU home-and-home in their first post-Beanpot games, with the teams even in the standings at the outset, and with BU enjoying a game in hand. I was in the "bring 'em on" camp, thinking that a BU team that had just lost the Beanpot, and also had been bumping along at 3-2-1 in the league, including a home loss to Merrimack, might be ripe for the picking. How wrong that proved to be on Friday night in Durham, though, as BU skated out with a 4-1 win in a game they mostly dominated from start to finish. Next up would be a trip down to Agganis, and a tall task for the 'Cats, with a win badly needed to resuscitate their chances to snag one of the final HE playoff berths.

Then things began to get interesting, with the arrival of some interesting information at WIS HQ …

… more on that to follow in the next 24 hours. Stay tuned ...

You should be more of a libertarian. You should promote local money vs. oversized ****.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

https://baystateroadsports.blogspot.c...season-in.html

However, the (BU) blogger did make one interesting observation that he seemed to put out there, and decided to leave alone. But it was a tantalizing loose end, and like the proverbial cat being taunted by the lure of a loose ball of yarn, your friends at WIS had to pull at that loose end to see what might be there. So be sure to check back later today, or tomorrow latest, to see how this "yarn" concludes …

Coming soon …

 

[e.cat]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Well, I guess "horse faced lesbians" and "fat broads" won't be voting for Bllomberg!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Pop quiz, while I hold off on the big (?) reveal …

(1) Which Hockey East referee is also well-known as an Everett (MA) police officer?
(2) Which Hockey East referee *purportedly had a cameo once on This Old House?

*I say "purportedly" only because I've never once watched the show
And no - that doesn't mean I got a traffic violation in Everett, ever ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Pop quiz answers:

(1) Which Hockey East referee is also well-known as an Everett (MA) police officer? Benedetto
(2) Which Hockey East referee had a cameo once on This Old House? Gravallese

Moral of the story taken from the quiz (if any)? Being a HEA on-ice official is probably a great side hustle, and helps these guys supplement their income, all the while doing something they all probably really enjoy doing (and for the most part, they do good work that keeps them in those jobs). But it's clearly not paying anyone enough to be a full-time gig, unless you can string in a few ECAC and/or AHL games to round things out - to say nothing of the seasonal nature of the employment.

Now ... back to where we left off, which was with the BU blogger's stray observation in his circa 2014 review of HEA officials, in which he commented at length about a certain Kevin Shea ...

https://baystateroadsports.blogspot.com/2014/09/hockey-east-refs-2013-2014-season-in.html

Another interesting stat about Kevin Shea is that among his 27 games that he officiated in Hockey East last year, he officiated approximately 0 BC games. Now this may be because he has a documented bias for or against BC(I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is for if this is the case) so good for Hockey East for not assigning him to BC games but they still benefit by not having the worst ref in the league do their games.

So that didn't go any further with the blogger, at least not that he commented on in his blog. But it's an interesting observation that at least deserved some further checking into, so the folks at TEHA set about doing that checking. To recap one of the things we'd stumbled into earlier … Shea was placed him on a Beanpot officiating crew circa 2003, when his full-time job apparently was as "chief spokesman for the Boston Red Sox". This mention, and details of an in-game injury he suffered, appear at the bottom of this long-ago ESPN article:

https://www.espn.com/ncaa/news/2003/0203/1503576.html

TEHA sources were able to determine that Shea left the Sox a year later, sometime in 2004. The next couple of years, Shea went to work for the Archdiocese of Boston as communications director for Cardinal O'Malley, during a fairly turbulent time with the Church, in the aftermath of the various sexual abuse scandals that rocked the Archdiocese at the turn of the century. Two years later, no doubt having experienced a demanding and challenging time working for the Archdiocese, it appears Shea took his career in a different direction, and into the world of academia, where over the next decade-plus, he would advance to the heights (spoiler alert) of overall second-in-command at a most prestigious local university. As a Holy Cross graduate, it probably shouldn't have come as a big surprise that his route into academia followed a Jesuit path, but after starting out as an Executive Assistant in the President's office …

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-shea-95a25811/

… ten years later, Shea would be appointed as Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President, Fr. William Leahy S.J.

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/Shea_named_vice_president.html

https://services.bc.edu/publicdirec...tInformation=&peopleSearchFilter=BC+Community

At Boston College

As in, the second-in-command at a prominent HEA member institution is an on-ice HEA official.

Bet you never saw that coming. I know for sure I didn't.

So TEHA at WIS came upon this information before Saturday night's UNH @ BU rematch, in which Shea was the lead official for a second straight night with the home-and-home series, working with two entirely separate officiating crews. Reach your own conclusions about how that game was called. I made some comments dotted in and around the game thread that evening, and in a game where UNH had their most dangerous forward DQ'ed relatively early in the game - for a second straight night BTW - which led to a BU equalizing goal, followed by a would-be UNH go-ahead goal that was chalked off, and concluding with BU getting a go-ahead goal late in the second period, followed by (predictable?) whistle-swallowing in the 3rd period that had UNH head coach Mike Souza blowing a gasket at least once … it just had a *funky* feel about it.

Again, remember, UNH and BU entered the weekend even in the standings, with BU having been the "victims" of the double OT questionable call to lose in the Beanpot Finals. I will concede, as far as "motives", I'm not sure anything we've come up with here so far is a smoking gun that gets us beyond "conspiracy theory" territory. It's one of the reasons I waited to post this until today. Was HEA looking to "protect its gate" at the HE Tourney next month by helping BU out a bit … did the way BU lost the previous Monday play a role in things? It seems weird that the league might view a "BC guy" as someone to smooth things over with BU here … but then again, why does HEA keep the aforementioned "BC guy" in its mix of available on-ice officials, when it might be more prudent from a league standpoint to avoid even the slightest perception of putting their thumbs on the scale???



So, there it is. Many thanks to our source(s) for the lead. If nothing else, a moment of transparency.

 

[e.cat]

Pop quiz answers:

(1) Which Hockey East referee is also well-known as an Everett (MA) police officer? Benedetto
(2) Which Hockey East referee had a cameo once on This Old House? Gravallese

Moral of the story taken from the quiz (if any)? Being a HEA on-ice official is probably a great side hustle, and helps these guys supplement their income, all the while doing something they all probably really enjoy doing (and for the most part, they do good work that keeps them in those jobs). But it's clearly not paying anyone enough to be a full-time gig, unless you can string in a few ECAC and/or AHL games to round things out - to say nothing of the seasonal nature of the employment.

Now ... back to where we left off, which was with the BU blogger's stray observation in his circa 2014 review of HEA officials, in which he commented at length about a certain Kevin Shea ...

https://baystateroadsports.blogspot.com/2014/09/hockey-east-refs-2013-2014-season-in.html

Another interesting stat about Kevin Shea is that among his 27 games that he officiated in Hockey East last year, he officiated approximately 0 BC games. Now this may be because he has a documented bias for or against BC(I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is for if this is the case) so good for Hockey East for not assigning him to BC games but they still benefit by not having the worst ref in the league do their games.

So that didn't go any further with the blogger, at least not that he commented on in his blog. But it's an interesting observation that at least deserved some further checking into, so the folks at TEHA set about doing that checking. To recap one of the things we'd stumbled into earlier … Shea was placed him on a Beanpot officiating crew circa 2003, when his full-time job apparently was as "chief spokesman for the Boston Red Sox". This mention, and details of an in-game injury he suffered, appear at the bottom of this long-ago ESPN article:

https://www.espn.com/ncaa/news/2003/0203/1503576.html

TEHA sources were able to determine that Shea left the Sox a year later, sometime in 2004. The next couple of years, Shea went to work for the Archdiocese of Boston as communications director for Cardinal O'Malley, during a fairly turbulent time with the Church, in the aftermath of the various sexual abuse scandals that rocked the Archdiocese at the turn of the century. Two years later, no doubt having experienced a demanding and challenging time working for the Archdiocese, it appears Shea took his career in a different direction, and into the world of academia, where over the next decade-plus, he would advance to the heights (spoiler alert) of overall second-in-command at a most prestigious local university. As a Holy Cross graduate, it probably shouldn't have come as a big surprise that his route into academia followed a Jesuit path, but after starting out as an Executive Assistant in the President's office …

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-shea-95a25811/

… ten years later, Shea would be appointed as Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President, Fr. William Leahy S.J.

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/Shea_named_vice_president.html

https://services.bc.edu/publicdirec...tInformation=&peopleSearchFilter=BC+Community

At Boston College

As in, the second-in-command at a prominent HEA member institution is an on-ice HEA official.

Bet you never saw that coming. I know for sure I didn't.

So TEHA at WIS came upon this information before Saturday night's UNH @ BU rematch, in which Shea was the lead official for a second straight night with the home-and-home series, working with two entirely separate officiating crews. Reach your own conclusions about how that game was called. I made some comments dotted in and around the game thread that evening, and in a game where UNH had their most dangerous forward DQ'ed relatively early in the game - for a second straight night BTW - which led to a BU equalizing goal, followed by a would-be UNH go-ahead goal that was chalked off, and concluding with BU getting a go-ahead goal late in the second period, followed by (predictable?) whistle-swallowing in the 3rd period that had UNH head coach Mike Souza blowing a gasket at least once … it just had a *funky* feel about it.

Again, remember, UNH and BU entered the weekend even in the standings, with BU having been the "victims" of the double OT questionable call to lose in the Beanpot Finals. I will concede, as far as "motives", I'm not sure anything we've come up with here so far is a smoking gun that gets us beyond "conspiracy theory" territory. It's one of the reasons I waited to post this until today. Was HEA looking to "protect its gate" at the HE Tourney next month by helping BU out a bit … did the way BU lost the previous Monday play a role in things? It seems weird that the league might view a "BC guy" as someone to smooth things over with BU here … but then again, why does HEA keep the aforementioned "BC guy" in its mix of available on-ice officials, when it might be more prudent from a league standpoint to avoid even the slightest perception of putting their thumbs on the scale???



So, there it is. Many thanks to our source(s) for the lead. If nothing else, a moment of transparency.

"All politics is local." Tip O'Neill circa 1980

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

"All politics is local." Tip O'Neill circa 1980

Wondering what games Shea will be assigned to this weekend ...

 

[e.cat]

Wondering what games Shea will be assigned to this weekend ...

Two minutes for too many refs on the ice;-)

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Wondering what games Shea will be assigned to this weekend ...

Put him on the BC v NU game.... Oh, wait...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: WIS Productions Presents ... The Effingwoods Hockey Almanac

Two minutes for too many refs on the ice;-)

Looks to me like HEA's Boston-centric "old boys network". Wonder what the new commish thinks?

Maybe Huddleston or Umile are up for reffing a few games, as long as they're not UNH games?