NCHC Hockey: The Elephant in the Room

Last March, during the Frozen Faceoff, I had an uncomfortable elevator ride with a number of NCHC officials. One of them joked that they should take care of me right here. We both had a good laugh. With that in mind, I wouldn’t write anything here that I wouldn’t say to them if I was standing in front of them.

When the National College Hockey Conference was formed many of us were hopeful that the on-ice officiating would improve over the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. We’re in the sixth season of the NCHC, and the play on the ice has been fabulous. That last three NCAA titles have resided in the NCHC.

With those facts in mind, the on-ice officiating really hasn’t improved. Frankly, it’s been about the same as it was in the WCHA. Ironically, many of the same officials that officiated in the WCHA now reside in the NCHC.

The Stripes have to be better. In the last two series, UND has been on the wrong end of two controversial calls. They’re not the only one. Omaha also was victimized by poor on-ice officiating.

With the help of social media, weekly, we’re shown numerous instances of blown calls. It’s not just one fan base, it’s all of them. The league commissioner needs to look long and hard at some of his on-ice officials. Yes, they’re human. Yes, humans make mistakes.

For the record, I want to be clear, not all of them are doing poorly. There’s a few that have done a great job officiating. However, there’re a few of them that need to be shown the door. Time to address the elephant in the room.

Think of it this way. This is a customer service issue. Fans play hundreds of dollars to watch college hockey. Fans don’t go to the games to watch the on-ice officials call a game. They just don’t. Let the players settle it on the ice. Fans have the right to be upset when the on-ice officials do a poor job.

If you’re confused on what’s a goal and what’s not a goal. You’re not alone.

“At our level, and at the NHL level, I think we still struggle to find out what a consistent ruling is, and that’s not a negative on anybody,” head coach Brad Berry said. “You look at our disallowed goal in Denver on Saturday night, to me that looked like a good goal. Then, I am watching game tape of Omaha and Western. A player plows into a goaltender, and the ref immediately says it’s no goal.

“They go to review and say it’s a goal. You don’t know what is and what isn’t (a goal). And again it’s not a knock on our league or college hockey. I think they have that problem at the NHL level. We try to do the best with the review. And I think it’s one of those things we should try to be more consistent if we have a chance to get it right.”

The Need for More Transparency

Here’s what I’d like to see happen. When the NCHC suspends a player, I’d like to see suspension video explaining why that player was suspended. The fans have the right to know. The NHL does this with every suspension.

Second, when an official makes a mistake, I think that the fans and teams have a right to know that an official was disciplined or suspended by the league. Own it. Fans shouldn’t have to pick through the box scores and wonder if official X, Y, or Z was suspended for his poor performance the preceding week.