I’ve been sitting on this post for the past week, wondering whether or not it was worthy of a blog post or not.
Last week the Blue Tongues were down in Melbourne taking on the Ice for back-to-back games. There was an incident during the Saturday game which had Blue Tongues forward Dallas Costanzo dive to allegedly block a shot and inadvertently trip an Ice player who went down and got injured. Costanzo was given a 2 minute minor for tripping and a game misconduct, meaning he would not be eligible to play on Sunday. As these games were “must-wins” for the Blue Tongues, losing Costanzo was a serious blow to the Tongues.
The Ice ended up winning both games, all but ending the Tongues playoffs hopes.
Back to that tripping penalty though, as that is the central point to this post. When it happened, the ref actually went and consulted with the AIHL rulebook before making the final ruling. This move has angered a few Blue Tongues fans, who believe a 2 minute tripping minor was all that was warranted. The ref, going out of his way to check the book ended Costanzo’s weekend, which had an impact on the Tongues playoffs hopes ending. This penalty has been discussed at length on Hockeypulse since those games.
Was it warranted? Did the ref go too far in making that call? As fans, we could argue this til the cows come home. Let me make it simple for you though. The AIHL rulebook clearly states under Rule 539 – Tripping:
b) A player who injures an opponent by tripping shall be assessed, at the discretion
of the Referee, a:
➤ Major penalty + Automatic Game Misconduct penalty (5’+GM)
or
➤ Match penalty (MP)
You can read the rules here: http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/rules_part_two.pdf
Regardless of what we as fans think, the ref was 100% correct in making that call. In fact, by going out of his way to read the rulebook, he did incredible justice to the AIHL. Over the last few seasons we have seen and heard of our fair share of bad reffing. In this case, when a ref actually does the right thing, and goes above and beyond to ensure he does the right thing, people jump on him. This doesn’t seem right.
As fans, our hearts get in the way of our minds at times. I plead with you all though, for the love of the league and the Blue Tongues, be a a fair fan and unbiased. Leave that to fans from other teams. The penalty, while not to our liking, was a good call.
In ice hockey there is a wonderful play which is “crashing the net”. For those who don’t know what crashing the net is, its when 3-4 of the skaters rush towards the offensive goal in the hope that if the shot on goal misses, one of the others can get the rebound. It can also be known as “picking up the trash”.
Now while this may sound like an awesome play to make, like any set play it has its risks. If the skaters don’t get the rebound, more than likely those 3-4 skaters will be trapped behind the net and the opposition will have the advantage with only one defenseman left to defend the neutral and defensive zone.
So, the question is, to crash the net or not to crash the net? Does the possible outcome outweigh the risk? This depends on which lines of the team do this and how much faith you have in your D core and, of course, your goaltender.
Perhaps it would be easier to send in one player to crash the net than the whole team. While in the offensive zone and passing the puck between the players, having 3 players on the blue line makes no sense at all, especially when the team on the offense is on the powerplay. It makes more sense to have a trashman (a power forward) set up in front of the goaltender and guarding the crease in this situation, not only to hopefully get a juicy rebound (“pick up the trash”), but also in the hopes of redirecting a shot on goal from the point.
Can a team crash the net in a 5 on 5 situation? Yes. Is it a wise move? That would certainly depend on the skaters. Ideally, the crashing players would need to be bigger than the opposition but also fast skaters to get back into position in the event of a turnover. The risk level is high, especially if there is a question mark over the stay at home player or the goaltender.
Can a team crash the net on a powerplay? Yes. Of course this would make much more sense as there is less risk and the offensive team can crash with 3 or 4 players with an advantage, giving more flexibility. If they crash with 3, then 2 defensemen would stay back, however this is probably more likely in a 5-on-3 powerplay rather than a 5-on-4 situation.
Should a team crash the net? Well, this is obviously not a question that can be answered with a blanket yes or no. Every situation is different in the game but one thing is for sure, crashing the net should always be an option.
Do you know that feeling of anxiety before a game of your favorite team on TV? When the thought of what might happen if your team beats the overwhelming favorite or if they advance to the next round of the playoffs sends shivers down your spine? And what if that team is managed by you yourself? When you know that any victory, any sort of success is the direct result of your management decisions.
The phenomenon of online manager sport games is currently spreading in the virtual world of internet. These manager games bring together sports fans from all over the world to compete for the unofficial crown of the best virtual manager. One of these games is also the hockey manager called PowerPlay Manager where we had the opportunity to feel the anxiety for the results of our team
PowerPlay Manager is a game which puts you into the chair of a manager of a hockey team which you yourself create. What is addictive about this game is the chance to follow the games of your team live, with commentary in the language of your choice and with graphic elements. The game will probably also be watched by your opponent. Every time you celebrate a goal could mean disappointment somewhere on the other hemisphere because this game is played in countries where you would think they never heard of hockey.
We were tensely watching every offensive play of the opponent hoping that the goalie will make the save, while on the other hand, every time we had a chance we were hoping that this would be the one that would end up in the net and swing the momentum our way. But the most anxious moments were, when we led by a goal and the opponent pulled the goalie with two minutes left to try and even the score. Fortunately, similar as in reality, this sort of a risk rarely pays off.
To see an example of this sort of a live broadcast, see the URL below:
http://pptv.powerplaymanager.com/en/hockey-broadcast.html?data=101004
This is a recording of a similar game with drama all the way to the end. If you have not managed to see the live game of your team, you can still see the recording and you can also simultaneously watch games of other teams who you are interested in, or who can influence your position in the standings.
Not everybody has the opportunity to become a hockey professional or a hockey manager in the real world. But you can experience similar emotions as they do. All you have to do is to create your own team at http://www.powerplaymanager.com/.
