I'm not on special teams therefore I get exactly 3 minutes of PT. Thanks refs!

[hockeyguy96]

There is a reason they call it "special teams" because it's supposed to SPECIAL! 28 minutes of a 36 minute game played in the playoffs should not be played on a power play or penalty kill. Most of the games played so far in the playoffs have been at least 50% if not more on pp or pk...I'm just throwing this out there if anyone wants to share some of their own thoughts. Thus, I'm not on special teams therefore I get exactly 3 minutes of Playing time. It's ruining this memorable experience for me...thanks.

[csdahlberg]

From what I saw, the officiating was very questionable at times. Reasonable body contact was often being called for penalties, but that's just a small part of it, at least from my team's experience this year.

When the owner (I believe?) of the rink has to pull the ref off to the side and tell him to call a fair game, you know it's bad. He never did start calling a fair game, though.

The outcome of our last two games were affected by the officiating. I obviously can't say for sure we would've won those games, but it sure as hell would have given us a better (and fair) chance. Having obvious goals ignored/disallowed really hurts.

[GR8SK8r06]

Look if you ask me if a teams spends so much time in the box they need to change the way they are playing. Sure some of the calls may be questionable! Yet in my opinion if a team cant stay out of the box then that is their own fault. Some of those kids out there dont know how to play the body or use their sticks effectively. Some of these teams are just hacks, so if that is the case the refs need to call it close to keep the games under control. Im not backing the refs at all! The only thing I am saying is that some players in the tournament are FAR better than others so the "not so good" players have to resort to hooking and other methods of stopping the great players. Cant punish teams like Lindenwood for their team being just that much better than the others. If the refs allow the other teams to hook and hold so they can keep up with those guys then they are favoring the other teams. Where are the coaches in these games to tell their players to stay out of the box? Its part of the game gentlemen and everyone has to play with the same refs. Dont be pissed at the refs....... be pissed at the morons sitting in the box all game.

[oldschool22]

First of all, quit whining. Second, which game are you talking about? Third, keep your thugs off the floor if they can't stay out of the box. Fourth, for the love of god, quit whining.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

First of all, quit whining. Second, which game are you talking about? Third, keep your thugs off the floor if they can't stay out of the box. Fourth, for the love of god, quit whining.

Are you there or have you been listening? It is crazy. Look at almost any boxscore, theres at least 6 penaltys a game, thats 1/3 of the game. Some games have about 14 penalties and thats over 2/3 of the game.

[hockeyguy96]

Yo, Whinny Mcwhinestein...check out the box score for these playoff games on Friday...They average around 10-12 penalties/game...Thats absuuuuuuuurd!


Florida-Michigan: 14
Rutgers-Florida International University: 13
Mizzu-Long Beach State: 12
Ohio State-Colorado State: 9
Rhode Island-Eastern Michigan: 13
UCI-Stony Brook: 13
Towson-UCF: 14

I know it a little pathetic that I counted the number of penalties and I apologize, it's a little obnoxious.

[MFitz24]

Yeah the refs have to call close games to keep things and hand and fair but when refs are hanging out with one team during period breaks and then shakig hands with a team after the game I think there's an issue.

[osu_buckeyes]

The reffing has been kinda crazy. I understand that they are trying to keep the games in check and not let anything get out of hand but then again this is hockey. It's like the refs have springs under their arms or something.

[hockeyguy96]

The referee are like currupt cops they have a quota of penalties they must meet each game...

[Flyinhighh]

this is the worst nationals of all time.

[Mtour71]

That is the game of Roller Hockey these days. If you have been to ANY National events (USA Hockey Sanctioned) in the recent year you would see that the game has changed. TORHS is even in the same boat as well. Lindenwood gets royalty treatment? I followed the box scores for the Championship game against UMSL and they didn't get any special treatment? They are truly the top D1 in the country once again. They prove it year in and year out. Scholarships? There is no scholarships involved. Maybe Grant Money?

Congrats to to UMSL and LU...Two class act organizations.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Flyinhighh,

On what facts are you basing that assessment? I thought the tournament was excellent. Sure, the referees were calling things tight, but that's the standard that the NCRHA is trying to achieve, and I'd rather have too many penalties than games that get completely out of control.

I saw some of the best inline hockey I've ever seen at this event, the NCRHA staff was professional, friendly and helpful, and the employees at the Colorado Sports Center and the Tour Inline Hockey Arena were top-notch, from top to bottom.

I'm not sure what tournament you were watching.

[CSteamer]

Why are they trying to acheive a standard of calling a lot of penalties? This is Hockey...your supposed to be allowed to hit people, knock them off the puck etc. Otherwise the score will be 12-11 every game. When there were games with 15 penalties called, all minors, I think thats a little excessive. It means that 30 minutes of 36 were spent on special teams, that's not a real hockey game.

[NYR1199]

You probably got stuck with "Roy" and his crew from the secrhl. They are probably the worst most inconsistent refs I have ever seen in my life. Its too bad the NCRHA cannot hire "true" officials to ref their league.

[TEXT REMOVED] This is hockey people, let us play!

[jpalic]

I agree...the officiating at this year's nationals was very inconsistent. While one game would be full of powerplays and penalty kills because of minor stick work and a little body contact, another would allow the players to get away with what seemed like anything.

It is understandable to call a game tight to keep it from getting out of hand, but in each championship game there were power plays within the first minute and a half after the drop of the puck. It seemed like the refs were definitely a little too quick to throw their arms up this year and call a penalty (mostly hooking).

Hockey is a physical game. That's the bottom line. People will get knocked off the puck and that is alright and is the reason we wear pads. It seems ridiculous that in a national tournament some games ended up being dictated by too many power plays against teams that were playing hard to advance in the tournament.

[PGHhockey]

I wasn't there, but just from reading this thread, I can probably guess what was happening.

Let's face it - all the big national organizations are really trying to take the stickwork and the body checks out of the game...and I don't blame them.

You get a bunch of 18-25 year old guys together for a few days in Colorado, playing inline hockey for a national championship - guys are going to get excited, desperate, and chippy. Guys that consistently complain about officiating will complain either way.

Too many calls...then obvioiusly you weren't given a fair game because the refs needed to meet a quota and weren't "letting you play."

Too few calls...then obviously those 3 big fights that broke out and the player on your team that got injured by a trip/slash/check were all because the refs let it get out of hand.

Bottom line - an official's first responsibility is the safety of everyone on the rink. His second responsibility is a fair, consistent game. His third responsibility is to call the game so that both teams can enjoy themselves and have fun, which is what we're all here for.

And from what I've read, complain about what you want with how many penalties were called, but at least it's consistent. Use your first periods/games to get used to the refs and how they're calling it, and then instead of complaining, adapt your play to the way the game's being called.

Lastly, this isn't "hockey." This is inline hockey. If you want to hit - switch out your wheels for a steel blade. If you want to use your stick as a crutch/weapon - take the skates off altogether and play in a dekhockey tournament.

[The Stiff]

I was there, and I agree with everything that PGHHockey says in his post.

I must have watched at least part of 30+ games Thursday through Sunday, and I can safely say this — the officiating was very consistent. You can argue all you want about whether it was called too closely or not, but the bottom line is that the players and coaches should have known what was going to happen if they were paying attention at all.

As for Lindenwood getting special treatment, I watched their coach get a bench minor for berating the officials following two calls he did not like against UC Irvine. The result was a 4-on-2 for Irvine, a quick goal and a 2-1 Irvine lead. Lindenwood got no special treatment from the officials.

I had a wonderful time watching hockey for four days. And I can safely say that the highlight of the trip was watching UC Irvine's wild 9-8 come-from-behind victory over Stony Brook. It seemed as if every kid from California was sitting together in the packed house and chanting louder and louder with each goal. Tying goal with 20 seconds to play and winning goal in overtime. It was the most exciting hockey game I have watched in a long, long time.

[InlineMBA]

I was there, and I watched a lot of games at both rinks. I also had the good fortune to go to the Frozen Four semi-finals and finals up in Denver.

Having been to a quite a few NARCh events, I recognized a lot of the ref's from NARCh working the NCRHA CRHC. So, IMO, the NCRHA was very fortunate to have these guys. Again, IMO, these guys are the "best of the best".

Were there missed calls? Sure, but there were missed calls at the Frozen Four too. I think the ref's at the NCRHA CRHC were instructed on how to call the games - and just what the NCRHA wanted to keep tight reigns on.

If you have a beef - I don't think you need to bash the ref's. I think you need to take it up with your conference and let them pass it on to the NCRHA. Some guys like "blood and guts hockey, and think fighting is part of the game". Not me - if you watched the Lindenwood vs UC Irvine DI semi-final, you'll know what I'm talking about. That game alone was worth the $20 event admission.

Thank you NCRHA for a well run event,

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

[Swampdonkey17]

Are you there or have you been listening? It is crazy. Look at almost any boxscore, theres at least 6 penaltys a game, thats 1/3 of the game. Some games have about 14 penalties and thats over 2/3 of the game.


Is there a private message board for this?

[showtime89]

What about the point that if you played on the PP or PK, this post might have never happened?