Michigan’s Michael Downing Suspended One Game

This is why I want to see video review on major penalties. This just furthers the argument even more.

I am not a Michigan fan. I also have no dog in this fight. However, if you watch the video you will see that this was a blown call by the on-ice officials. Watch the video for yourself, this was a shoulder-to-shoulder check. This was also a case of a bigger player hitting a smaller player.

Because of this hit in question, Michigan defenseman Michael Downing will sit for a game. Downing received his third game misconduct on Sunday and will sit an additional game.

Frist, Downing has a history. He was suspended a year ago according to USCHO: Big Ten suspends Michigan’s Downing one game.

NCAA rules don’t allow the officials to review a call and reduce it. This is a rule that I think needs to be changed. The NHL looks at calls by the officials and can rescind a match penalties if the call by the on-ice official was incorrect. I think the NCAA needs explore something like this.

Again, I have been consistent on this. The Officials in college hockey feel the need to review what seems like every goal, but we can’t take the time to review a hit that could end up being a major penalty.

Video Review of Major Penalties

On-ice officials are asked to make split second decisions that can affect the outcome of the game. Why not take a little extra time and get the call right? Over the past few seasons, we have seen players erroneously assessed a major penalty and thrown out of a game for making a legal shoulder-to-shoulder hit.

A simple video review of the play would’ve confirmed that the hit in question was legal and not a major penalty. In this scenario, it makes sense to allow the on-ice officials to review the play in question, to ensure that they’re making the correct call. This seems logical, right?

I would like to see the on-ice officials have the ability to review the video of major penalties to make sure that they’re getting the call correct before they kick a player out of a game.

Refs are human, and sometimes on-ice officials get the initial call wrong. There are instances where players that didn’t deserve to be kicked out are given a game misconduct.