Editor's Note: We received a Letter to The Editor this week after the completion of the Caribou Cup. The Letter comes from the coaching staff of a Winnipeg '01 team that participated in the event.
- Is there a difference in what is allowed in U.S/ Minnesota hockey and Canadian hockey?
- Is the game about physical play, hard work and speed?
- When calling penalties, what is classified as a late hit?
- What is a good follow up check and/or completion of a hit?
- How many seconds are allowed from the release of the puck, and what team gets an edge on the time count- home vs. away?
- Is there a one sided hockey game to be played when Canadians are south of the border and reputation is at stake?
- How are these things determined and at what point do you allow the boys to decide the game themselves?
These are some hard questions on how officiating changes the dynamics of a good game and places a favored home team who is losing in a better spot with the help of what some would call "homer" officiating.
Far too many times have I seen teams along with our team being the victim of this situation over the years and this weekend was no different.
Notable points
Opposing player is looking down at the puck and loses control in open ice. He is then crushed by our player and unable to compete the rest of the game. Is it decided when the player finally gets up that a "clean hit" as stated by the official is then assessed a "late hit penalty" when he "had" the puck in his feet, but did not control it?
In another game, another opponent retaliated our clean plays with head shots (that went uncalled) and big hits - but still no late hit calls on their team for hitting from behind or cross checks in the crease.
Many of these above occurrences took place but were not given consideration because the MN team was behind in the game. This was not proper officiating.
Our experience this weekend was great in many ways. I am proud of a team of players thrown together from Canada and MN as they had the talent, grit and heart to walk over the best of 2001 Minnesota, but with the help of the officials they were able to generate power play goals and get back into games and prosper.
What really needs to be addressed here before the tournament is run , if there is body checking that it has to be addressed and assessed accordingly and fairly against both teams that "wings" be tucked in, is meant for "both" teams, not just opposing teams that aren’t local favorites.
Head shots aren’t always head shots when a kid gets hit properly and there is a size difference - our team's player - 5'10/ 6"0 vs their team's player 5'2.
What is the difference on a boarding call "or cross checking" in the U.S or Canada when a player is hit from behind in the numbers, 2 feet away from the boards and buckles. That should be a 5 and a 10, it was done twice this weekend to our team, but when it happened to us, it was cross checking?? Then to make matters worse, a coach voiced concern on the call and the safety of our player, he was assessed a penalty for disrespecting the official's partner???
Call me crazy, but has this officiating gotten out of hand and do refs now feel that their empowerment on the ice allows them to change the dynamics of a game with their mere presence on the ice? It definitely had it's share of the outcomes of our success this past weekend.
End result
We clearly had some good games against U.S teams that we were completely maligned by refereeing that was biased, helping these teams get back into the game with their calls. Not a good experience from that aspect, but truly an eye opener when kids realize officials are making these calls on purpose. We as coaches and parents need to be able to stand with these officials as they are there to protect our players. It was tough to do this over the weekend. This makes the sport unfavorable to play, especially when you’re the visiting team.
