Quote:
Originally posted by Serpent
Oh and what really gets me is when refs call a penalty when there was not one.. The announcer here last night for the lightining was about to start swearing over the call where suposidly modin had covered the puck with his hand.. When he was really putting it back down on the ice..
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From the NHL Rulebook:
Quote:
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(a) If a player, except a goalkeeper, closes his hand on the puck, the play shall be stopped and a minor penalty shall be imposed on him. A player shall be permitted to catch the puck out of the air but must immediately place it or knock it down to the ice. If he catches it and skates with it, either to avoid a check or to gain a territorial advantage over his opponent, a minor penalty shall be assessed for "closing his hand on the puck".
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He didn't put it down on the ice. He put it down on the ice a good couple of feet away from the Habs player, but not too far that he couldn't run away with the puck. He gave himself the distinct upperhand by gaining territory. In this case, the ref actually made the right call.
And to further my point, a lot of people seem to criticize refereeing without knowing too much about what it's like to be a referee.
The other day, I was playing a game of hockey, and down at ice level, it felt as though the game were moving at a fairly rapid pace. On this day, one of the wives decided to bring her camera along, and after watching the playback, I couldn't believe how amazingly slow we looked. I mean, we're not exactly a low skill team, but even then, it looked as though we were skating on tar.
I can only imagine then what the game of hockey at the NHL level must feel like down at ice level. So, it's understandable that a referee (or two) can't possibly call them all, even the blatant ones. A referee has only a split second to make a decision before 10 other things happen on the ice. On top of that, their view is obscured being down at ice level, and they have to be concerned with maintaining the flow of the game. It also doesn't help that there are ~20,000 self-appointed "referees" in the stands who all think they could do a better job.
Are calls missed? Yes. Are unnecessary calls made? Absolutely. Is refereeing a perfect science. No. The best you can do is improve the training, maintain a high level of communication, both on and off the ice, and hope that the game is officiated at a respectable level.