New Rules

[rollerhcky09]

Just wondering what everyone thinks of the new rules. The ECRHA preseason tourny was this past weekend and the big new was lots and lots of penalties. I personally like the new rules. They are going to be tough to get used to, but it allows for a more clean game with less stick work. What does everyone else think?

[Dead34]

I feel that the new rules could actually work if officiating was consistent. Over the weekend, we (PSU) played several games that had potential to be very hard fought, tight and fun match ups. However, as many of us encountered, the games were pretty much determined by who had the most PP's. For example, in one of our late games there were seven goals scored, but just one of them was even strength; at this rate, PP goals will out number regular goals in no time. The biggest difference I noticed in the inconsistency was between the ref pairings on the rink. On rink one, the officials let us play a little more, and as a result the new rules were enforced in a more realistic manner. However, on rink two - the officials were the exact opposite; they called penalties on almost everything. One game I remembered watching, I counted 23 penalties total - and almost all of them were interference and hooking; not one roughing, tripping, or slashing...or anything that would merit a reasonable call. This is just one example of a game that could have been a good match up with clean play on both sides - but because of the ridiculous number of calls, that were not even the result of bad "cheap" plays - the team with the most PP's won. During another game, I even saw one official on rink two raise his hand like he was going to call something - and then changed his mind and lowered it - no call was made. It is clear that inconsistency was a factor for most of the weekend! Now, I consider myself a good sport, willing to try new things - but if things continue on this path I see this season shaping up to be a long one. On a final note, it would seem to me that we have spent a great deal of time trying to get our sport of inline hockey some recognition - and for the first time in awhile, I began to see some success this weekend. There were a ton of teams and fans that came out this weekend - and their impact really made the atmosphere great. However, following the conclusions of several games, I heard fans and parents say, "The games weren?t as fun to watch because of all the ridiculous penalties." With that having been said, I ask you - why take two steps forward by gaining great fan support and league recognition, and then take three steps backward by changing the game to a point where parents and fans aren?t even having fun watching?

[Defense1st]

This is probably too simplistic an answer, but........
The rules have not been changed, but now they are being enforced the way they were written. It will change the game back to what it was supposed to be, but it will take time and a learning curve by the players and the refs........a game of speed, and talent; the teams that learn to pass even more quickly and accurately will win more games; as the director of a facility that hosted College weekends I got to watch many of the games a few years ago; the outright goonism and thuggery that they called college hockey had most of my Elite level players disgusted. It was nothing like what they were used to seeing in Gold or Platinum level play with those same players when they played locally. The talent they displayed in their local leagues and tournaments was what my players aspired to emulate; not the hooking, slashing, checking, punching I/we witnessed.

Phil Steur

[Dead34]

Having played at elite levels of hockey myself (PIHA, State Wars, ECRHA, etc) - I can agree with you to a certain extent. There will need to be some time for both players and officials to adjust. However, the majority of the penalties called over the weekend had nothing to do with "goonish" hockey; many calls focused on obstruction issues. Nevertheless, as I stated before, I think the new rules will work - but not until consistency issues are addressed. I just do not feel that the officials should be able to make such an impact on the game. At this point, it seemed to me that it was less about how good a team was or how good they played - and more about who benefited the most from the PP goals. In our late game only 1 of the 7 goals scored by both teams was even strength - to me that seems a little out of hand; but again that is just my opinion.

[hokirballa]

yeah its also hurting our ice hockey team too but i am nto sure if its hurting us that much but i think we just need to focus and dotn wrooy about refs that much! because its not jsut our ice hokckey tema that is not happppy abotu the new rules its ervey club hockey team! becuase i checked vcu ic ehocckey and well they hade problems too!

[hockeyrobin1]

We just played at the WCRHL kickoff event in San Jose. I think that the new crackdown got a little out of hand. It felt like there was no way to back check as any stick check was called as a hook. I understand that hooking arms and/or the body should be called, but it seemed like any stick on stick contact above the blade was immediately called as a hook or slash.

[bigdaddy80]

yea the refs are getting way to quick on the whistle

[ref'n'roll]

There IS a way to backcheck---it's called SKATING!

The High School games I have been officiating the past few weekends have been better than the college games I have had.

Defensemen are keeping their stick on the ground and breaking up more plays, thus the transistion game is better. Forwards are backchecking by skating harder and getting into lanes and giving better puck support, rather than trying to go one-on-one with the player with the puck.

I think the biggest difference is the coaching. Coaches are actually taking the time to explain to players what the referees expect and what they are calling.

[nizmo]

Seeing that we're under USA Hockey Inline rules, I don't see why we are adopting the USA Hockey rules emphasis.

[MBurke]

Seeing that we're under USA Hockey Inline rules, I don't see why we are adopting the USA Hockey rules emphasis.

USA InLine adopted them as well this year. Along with PIHA and others.

[Puckdropper]

Actually, USAHIL has adopted the new rule. The new standard of play was voted on and past by all Zone Referee in Chiefs this past September.

[GoRangrHky]

so how long before we get 11" goalie pads, form fitting jerseys, and a trapezoid behind the net? I mean, why not? Everyone else is doing it...

[MBurke]

so how long before we get 11" goalie pads, form fitting jerseys, and a trapezoid behind the net? I mean, why not? Everyone else is doing it...

Actually I think that's just the NHL, not every major entity in the hockey world.

[GoRangrHky]

Actually I think that's just the NHL, not every major entity in the hockey world.

The next IIHF world ice championships will have restricted gear and Nike's form fitting jerseys. And since USA Hockey does what the IIHF does, and USA Hockey InLine insists on doing what the ice hockey guys are doing, and since we insist on doing what USAHIL does, I have a feeling that it'll be here soon enough...

[ref'n'roll]

AAU has also adopted the new rules empahsis. USAHIL is also suggesting that their sanctioned tournament series also adopt the new standard.

IMHO it is till way too early to see how this will affect the game of inline hockey. I have heard many arguments against it---the game is already wide open, scoring will be too high, the average and below average player will suffer, etc.

I have been officiating for 32 years (ice and inline) and have always called a tight game. This new rules emphasis is taking some of the "gray area" out of the game for officials, which will help the more inexperienced officials. Let's face it, most officials are inexperienced. Not everyone has the luxury of playing in a game with experienced officials like college, Juniors and minor pro and "pro" (elite) inline leagues do.

I have officiated about 20 games (upper level high school and NCRHA) the past three weeks and have been seeing some inprovement. I have seen games with 20-25 penalties, games with 10-15 penalties where players start to understand after a period or two what the new emphasis means, and games with 5 penalties played the way the "new" game is supposed to be played. Scoring remains about the same, although mismatches are seieng some higher scoring.

I do agree that some of the lesser skilled players (both skating and stick handling) are struggling, but hopefully their love of the game will make them strive to get better, rather than walk away from the game.

In USA Hockey's press release on the matter they stressed that we must all --players, coaches, parents and officials--- support this in oreder for it to be a success.

[hockeyguy44]

I personally think the new rules are crap. Basically they have turned the game into a buch of figure skaters with sticks trying to score. It is not ice hockey, i understand that, but with these new rules even the slightest contact is called. You can not touch another player and that is not what hockey is about. physical play and contact is part of the game even in roller hockey. They say they want to open the game up and make it faster with more goals. Do they want a basketball game? Roller hockey was already extremely fast loaded with kids who do toe drags and make fancy plays. Yes this is fun, but at least you were allowed, especially on defense, to do something about it and try to stop them. Now you may as well step aside. Hell, it is crazy that you are no longer allowed to go over the top of the players stick. Why is this not legal? if you can lift it why cant you go over the top? Infact, trying to lift it creates even more danger with the chance of missing and hitting the player in the face, we have all had that happen. If you go over the hands that is one thing, but come on going over the blade is part of the game that some people have mastered. These new rules have just made a sport that already took **** for being "Whimpy" and "Fake Hokcey", and made it even less of a hockey game and more about fancy moves and pretty unrealistic goals. Those of us that play are often from ice hockey backgrounds, but arnt ashamed of playing roller hockey because it was still fun, but with these new rules, i dont even want to call it hockey.

[ref'n'roll]

:cool: I don't know anywhere where it says that you cannot go "over the top" with your stick onto another player's stick. Stick checks are still legal below the hands, although hard slashes should still be called---as in the past. Pinning and lifting the stick in an attempt to play the puck is still legal!

Misconception by players and officials alike is a big part of the problem with the New Rule Standard. I would suggest viewing the New Rules Standard Video at www.usahockey.com (http://www.usahockey.com).

We just had another great weekend of hockey in the ECRHA at Pittsburgh. Teams are getting the gist of the New Standard, and every game was close, except one, and scores weren't any higher than in the past. I also felt the officiating was more consistent, although we are still learning, too.

As far as not being able to play defense---I don't see it. Defensemen are making some great plays and the transition game and end-to-end action are much faster. I believe that defensemen are breaking up more plays because their sticks are on the surface (where they belong!). Forwards are skating harder and their backchecking is offering better puck support, thus a faster transition game.

Take off the blinders and stop being so negative---this is the way the game should be played! Give the new game a chance. I see players working and skating harder to make up for their inability to use their sticks to tie up other players. The game is much more fluid and exciting to me!:cool:

[GoRangrHky]

Just because it's not illegal dosen't mean it's not a penalty these days. Although to my own credit, I have not taken a single hold, hook, or rough all season. Even still, it's boring. And I am STILL sick of hearing "*** is doing it, so we are going to do it too."


I hear that they are all going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. Why don't we all go join them...
(My response is directly from 4th grade, because that is how we are now being treated on the rink).

[RUsigs11]

If it's going to be called this way, then call it this way all the time.
Some refs call it by the book, some don't. This is confusing for everyone involved.

If it's going to be "black and white" as was advertised, then call it that way. The game should not change depending on which teams are playing. If it's a hook, call a hook. The problem lies in the fact that the games are not being consistently called throughout the weekends.

[NLane]

The way to defend it is to body them. Body position and skating are the keys to a good defense now. And not impeding the opposing team with your stick when they attempt to back check is a rule that I've been waiting for awhile to get called. Keeps players from being lazy. Too much behind the play bs will now be called.

[MBurke]

I'm still at a loss as to how people are defending illegal hooks and holds - to be honest, I'm sick of hearing the 'why do we have to do it if everyone else is?'....

Nearly every player coming in and going out of our league (most naturally from HS and house leagues and into PIHA) will be coming from or going to that new standard - both organizations adopted it.

Almost every official we have will be calling that standard in EVERY other game they officiate, whether that be USA Hockey (ice), USAHIL, or PIHA. From speaking with many of them, it appears as though the major tournament series will almost be forced into adopting that new standard because all of the officials will begin to call games more tightly.

I have yet to hear a justifiable reason for us to NOT change the standard other than 'we don't want to' - yet I've heard plenty of compelling arguments as to why it's a good idea. It hasn't increased scoring (in fact, thus far scoring is DOWN from last year. I can run DB queries to find this stuff out), and penalties aren't up nearly as much as you'd think. In most regions it's only up ~2 infractions per game, and many of those have been misconducts (frustration I guess?).

I consistently hear the 'but we don't have checking' argument. The major point being missed is that 95% of the calls I see now are against players who either don't have the puck or who have already beaten the defender. A body check in either of those circumstances is either impossible or an easy interference call. If I make a move to beat a defender, why should he be able to rip my arm off my stick with his blade?

I've now watched about 50 games over two regular season weekends, and I can probably count on one hand the number of games that I thought were not called by the new standard. Is this change supposed to increase consistency? Sure. Will it do it overnight? No. Just like everyone out there on the floor, the refs need to 'reprogram' what in many cases is 20+ years of officiating experience under a different standard.

It's hard to adjust to, but this past weekend in Pittsburgh was probably the best competitive hockey weekend in the history of the ECRHA. Look at the scores - and it wasn't a situation where teams were constantly playing special teams.

Also - for the ECRHA guys - if it's a regional issue with this stuff, please bring the discussion into ECRHA forums since we don't have to worry about things being moderated there.

[minveninato]

honestly the "new rules" don't bother me because it should be called to begin with. I'm a defenseman and when i get the puck behind the net and am trying to skate up the rink with it i get hooked all the time and nothin was ever called and it gets annoying. It should be called no matter what it is! Its a penalty! but what i don't get is the incosistantsy! maybe in other games there hasn't been a big difference but at the pre season tourney everything was called all weekend, and then at rahway almost nothing was called all weekend, maybe in a game or two but overall nothing was called. All that is going to do is make the situation worse because then nobody is gonna know what is going to be called. BY ALL MEANS CALL THE PENALTY IF IT IS THERE but be consistant and call it all year!!!!! sorry for that rant but i had to get that out

[minveninato]

and if theres anybody else who has seen this with me please explain or if i'm wrong and i am imagining that it was inconsistant let me know lol post it here

[DUHockey9]

Yea I went to the Rahway event to check out some games and the types of calls that were being made on Columbus Day were not being made.

[JLambertUMSL]

The games are now completely in the hands of the referees - because there are sometimes five or six plays on each shift that could be called. It's just a matter of which ones they choose.

[ISFN]

Seems like the refs are trying to make a point by over-calling games in order to get it into the players heads when they should just be calling it normally, it defintily is ruining the game atleast from what I saw/played in. League needs to relize we're college kids not peewees.

Good rules for little kids, horriable rules for college.

[JGrabowski]

There was definitely a big difference in how the games were being called during the Columbus Day Event and the Rahway Event. Obvious calls were being let go. A stick in the chest, whether you get pulled down or the player barely tugs on you, is a hook. A hook is a penalty. If this is the way the league is going to call it, then call it. I feel at the Rahway event, the new rules were ignored a bunch of the games and the refs were trying to control the flow of the game like how it was done in the old standard of play. The new standard of play is supposed to get rid of the "grey" area. If a player causes an infraction, even if it is the weakest infraction ever, it has to be called.

Not only do the refs have to learn the new game, but the players have to as well. If calls that should be calls aren't being made, then both refs and players aren't learning the new game. With referees not doing their job by not calling the game by the new standard, players are left in confusion. If the refs learn and make the calls now, players will be able to learn and adjust to the new game. Players and the refs need to work together to make this work. Otherwise, we are basically continuing to play the old standard of play.

[DUHockey9]

My observations from Connecticut this weekend.

The refs individually were consistant, however, some refs called it entirely different than others, which is a bit frustrating. A fair share of phantom calls as well. I got an interference penalty and I'm still trying to figure out what happened. I wasn't even aware I made contact with anybody, the other team or my own.