Any thoughts on tonight's officiating?

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I've been lurking at the Hawks board the last few days and I must say they are just besides themselves with the officiating. They truly believe the "fix" was in for Sunday's game. I think they have at least 3 threads complaining about how they got shafted by the refs.

My question here is does anybody think Quenville's post game ranting about officiating will have any bearing on how tonight's game is called?

PS: If you don't want to be bored don't bother reading the rest of this post and just comment on whether or not you think coach Q's rant will do any good for the Hawks tonight.

Out of curiosity I checked the penalties called against the Hawks on Sunday and here's what I found.

Wings were called for 7 minors and 14 penalty minutes

Hawks were called for 13 minors for 26 minutes and 3 misconducts for 20 minutes.

On the surface that's fairly typical when the road team is trouncing the home team. It's also typical of a team with a huge lead for the majority of play, they tend not to take penalties.

Anyway, looking more closely at the penalties you can start to whittle away at some of them.

1st period

Pahlsson 2 minutes for blatant elbow in front of the crease to Flip, puck nowhere near the

area

Seabrook 2 minutes for roughing offset by Franzen rough

Buff 2 minutes for roughing by the Holmstrom rough

2nd period

Versteeg 2 minutes for roughing for elbow shot to the back of Hudler's head if I recall

Eager 10 minute misconduct for mouthing off to the official

3rd period

Versteeg 10 minute misconduct for mouthing off to the official

Eager, game misconduct for taking a run at Wings player well after whistle blew the play dead. The ref was watching him the entire time and like all good, retard enforcers, he played his role to a tee.

Brouwer 2 minutes for slyly sticking his leg out to trip up a Wing, too bad ref was standing right there to see it

Barker 2 minutes for roughing evened out by the Ericsson rough

Burish 4 minutes for roughing at the 20 minute mark of the game so it had no bearing on the game whatsoever

of 46 minutes in pims to the Hawks, 6 minutes were offsetting penalties, 20 minutes were misconducts for mouthing off to officials, 6 minutes were for 2 blatant elbows to the head and a trip in front of the official and 4 minutes to Burish at the end of regulation. That's a total of 36 minutes.

So they had 10 other minutes in penalties. Or the equivalent of 5 minor penalties. Take out the 3 offsetting roughing calls the Wings got and they got called for 4 other penalties, including the first 2 of the game. Taking out all of the blatant, easy calls, the Hawks ended up with 1 more minor penalty than the Wings (in a sense). Hardly a reason to scream conspiracy, no?

[esteef 2,679]

My head hurts.

esteef

Oh, and the team down in the series will probably get a bunch of calls.

Edited May 27, 2009 by esteef

[Theophany 110]

I can't really see it. There were some calls I didn't really see, but I think that for the most part, the refs try to call a tighter game after people create a big *****-fit about calls.

In the end, IMO that will benefit us, as we're not pissed about last game, and they are. They'll lose their composure, we won't.

[Glubki 17]

Bill McCreary and Eric Furlatt are reffing tonight. I don't know much about Furlatt but McCreary is an even them up kind of ref and likes to make call from center ice...

I don't think Q's statements will have much of an effect.

[mjlegend 155]

Conspiracy! The NHL made the Hawks hire an oaf like Joel Quenneville because they wanted a Stanley Cup rematch! Shenanigans!

[MidMichSteve 1,115]

If the situations were reversed there would be a lot more then 3 threads about it here. Besides, it's our duty to complain about the officials.

******* zebras anyways.

[hooon 1,089]

my thoughts on officiating tonight? It will be piss poor. Not because the hawks and their incessant whining, but because thats what NHL officiating is; piss poor.

[esteef 2,679]

Conspiracy! The NHL made the Hawks hire an oaf like Joel Quenneville because they wanted a Stanley Cup rematch! Shenanigans!

AND they want it to start early so the Wings can't rest up!!!! :battle:

esteef

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

My head hurts.

esteef

Oh, and the team down in the series will probably get a bunch of calls.

It's cause of all those blows to the head you goon.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

my thoughts on officiating tonight? It will be piss poor. Not because the hawks and their incessant whining, but because thats what NHL officiating is; piss poor.

I am most definitely in the minority when it comes to the opinion on officiating.

Personally, I find NHL officials to be pretty good on the whole.

Why?

I have a tendency to watch games as objectively as possible so I see alot of s*** that we get away with that others might miss.

If you objectively watch 2 teams you have no vested interest in, and the game is not a lopsided one with the other team running around like Gino Odjick on roids, I think the games are called pretty well.

Some people look at the early whistle against the Ducks as proof positive the refs suck. What I saw is a ref who was in the right position until Scott Niedermayer coughed up the puck. Who expected that to happen? Just one of those things.

Probably the only beef I have with the officials is the ticky-tack hooking calls. They make too many of them. Also, the diving. There's far too much diving going on in the league, much of it perpetrated by our beloved Wings and personally, I hate it more than most things on this Earth. I wish they would call diving at every opportunity because it's unsporstmanlike and not the way you should play the game.

Other than that, I think the refs are pretty good considering they are reffing a violent game, played at breakneck speed and have to skate their asses off every night just like the players.

I'd like to see NBA refs do a better job. I'd like to see NFL refs get it right without the benefit of instant replay, coach's challenges and 20 man crews. Seriously, how many friggin referees are there on the football field? It's like there's a 3rd team out there.

MLB umpires are pretty good I think.

[betterREDthandead 58]

McCreary's usually a fair ref.

[hooon 1,089]

AND they want it to start early so the Wings can't rest up!!!! :battle:

esteef

And they want FEWER games cause all of that potential revenue is just so annoooyying to get

[Dabura 12,207]

McStache is just about the only official I respect. So I'm not overly worried.

[esteef 2,679]

It's cause of all those blows to the head you goon.

:hockeysmile:

Cheers!

esteef

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

As long as McCreary is reffing, it doesn't matter what Quenneville said. The guy is as fair as they come.

I'd take McCreary the rest of the playoffs if I was given the choice.

[zata20 4]

my thoughts on officiating tonight? It will be piss poor. Not because the hawks and their incessant whining, but because thats what NHL officiating is; piss poor.

Ya I agree. I don't know why all the hockey "experts" say that NHL officiating is the best in all sports. Sure it is one of the hardest to officiate cuz the speed of the game, but it is no coincidence all the fans complain about the refs. This playoffs I've seen terrible call after terrible call. I wouldn't have a problem if they were consistent. Sometimes they call all the chinsy crap, and sometimes they let things go. Call it one way, please!!

[GoWings1905 2,694]

McCreary is the best ref in the league by far.

I would be more than pleased if he officiated every Red Wings game.

[C20lw 0]

I think it will be decent tonight. Ive noticed some of the games have been getting a little more "fair and consistent." Considering the Wings have been able to kill off a few 5-3's already, they may want to re-think how they respond to the officiating. Cant be taking stupid penalties when playing against a team like the Wings.

[Jake Ryan 1]

I've been lurking at the Hawks board the last few days and I must say they are just besides themselves with the officiating. They truly believe the "fix" was in for Sunday's game. I think they have at least 3 threads complaining about how they got shafted by the refs.

My question here is does anybody think Quenville's post game ranting about officiating will have any bearing on how tonight's game is called?

PS: If you don't want to be bored don't bother reading the rest of this post and just comment on whether or not you think coach Q's rant will do any good for the Hawks tonight.

Out of curiosity I checked the penalties called against the Hawks on Sunday and here's what I found.

Wings were called for 7 minors and 14 penalty minutes

Hawks were called for 13 minors for 26 minutes and 3 misconducts for 20 minutes.

On the surface that's fairly typical when the road team is trouncing the home team. It's also typical of a team with a huge lead for the majority of play, they tend not to take penalties.

Anyway, looking more closely at the penalties you can start to whittle away at some of them.

1st period

Pahlsson 2 minutes for blatant elbow in front of the crease to Flip, puck nowhere near the

area

Seabrook 2 minutes for roughing offset by Franzen rough

Buff 2 minutes for roughing by the Holmstrom rough

2nd period

Versteeg 2 minutes for roughing for elbow shot to the back of Hudler's head if I recall

Eager 10 minute misconduct for mouthing off to the official

3rd period

Versteeg 10 minute misconduct for mouthing off to the official

Eager, game misconduct for taking a run at Wings player well after whistle blew the play dead. The ref was watching him the entire time and like all good, retard enforcers, he played his role to a tee.

Brouwer 2 minutes for slyly sticking his leg out to trip up a Wing, too bad ref was standing right there to see it

Barker 2 minutes for roughing evened out by the Ericsson rough

Burish 4 minutes for roughing at the 20 minute mark of the game so it had no bearing on the game whatsoever

of 46 minutes in pims to the Hawks, 6 minutes were offsetting penalties, 20 minutes were misconducts for mouthing off to officials, 6 minutes were for 2 blatant elbows to the head and a trip in front of the official and 4 minutes to Burish at the end of regulation. That's a total of 36 minutes.

So they had 10 other minutes in penalties. Or the equivalent of 5 minor penalties. Take out the 3 offsetting roughing calls the Wings got and they got called for 4 other penalties, including the first 2 of the game. Taking out all of the blatant, easy calls, the Hawks ended up with 1 more minor penalty than the Wings (in a sense). Hardly a reason to scream conspiracy, no?

If only you could apply your dedication to your math homework the way you do your LGW topics!!!

You'd have passed Calculus.

[egroen 384]

I would not be suprised if the refs were particularly stringent with the Wings tonight.

Using the media to ***** about officiating quite frankly works, and I do get a sense the trailing team is given more leeway with calls.

EDIT: Though MCreary being there does make me feel better.

Edited May 27, 2009 by egroen

[Dabura 12,207]

I would not be suprised if the refs were particularly stringent with the Wings tonight.

Using the media to ***** about officiating quite frankly works, and I do get a sense the trailing team is given more leeway with calls.

I do expect a few calls to go their way. I also expect the PK-fail-streak to continue.

But we have to remember: the 'hawks are coming off one of the most unhinged, undisciplined performances in recent postseason history. I think Bill will have an eye out for that stuff, so the Wings should own at least one of his eyes. And seeing as how he only has two eyes (the freak), I think he'll call a pretty even game like he normally does.

[RoninJai 5]

I do expect a few calls to go their way. I also expect the PK-fail-streak to continue.

But we have to remember: the 'hawks are coming off one of the most unhinged, undisciplined performances in recent postseason history. I think Bill will have an eye out for that stuff, so the Wings should own at least one of his eyes. And seeing as how he only has two eyes (the freak), I think he'll call a pretty even game like he normally does.

Agreed. IIRC, the 'stache doesn't like a lot of that after-the-whistle cheap shot stuff. I'm sure he's been "instructed" to give the Hawks the benefit of the doubt if at all possible, but I don't think it's going to be out of control. Lets just hope the Wings score first, because it'll make all the difference in the world.

[Crodley1 0]

Personally, I find NHL officials to be pretty good on the whole.

...then...

I have a tendency to watch games as objectively as possible so I see alot of s*** that we get away with that others might miss.

Aren't those two things contradictions? If the NHL refs were pretty good, we wouldn't be getting away with that "stuff" would we?

[Nightfall 871]

Ya I agree. I don't know why all the hockey "experts" say that NHL officiating is the best in all sports. Sure it is one of the hardest to officiate cuz the speed of the game, but it is no coincidence all the fans of the losing team complain about the refs. This playoffs I've seen terrible call after terrible call. I wouldn't have a problem if they were consistent. Sometimes they call all the chinsy crap, and sometimes they let things go. Call it one way, please!!

Fixed it for you.

Seriously though, if you think about it, only the team that lost has the fans that are doing the vast majority of bitching. The Wings fans bitched about game 3 when Hossa's goal was called back. The Ducks fans rejoiced. On the flip side, the Ducks fans were crying when Cleary was in the crease and Helm put a shot home. The ducks fans bitched cause Cleary was "interfering with the goalie". The Wings fans rejoiced.

Really, there is no pleasing anyone when it comes to reffing. Could the game be called better? Absolutely. I say either call the small crap or don't call it.

In the end, the losing team's fans will be doing 95% of the complaining when the game is over.

I have to agree with an earlier poster when it comes to really evaluating games. I watch a lot of NHL hockey on my center ice package. A lot of games I don't have a vested interest in, but I enjoy the sport. That being said, the calls that are being made are good calls as I watch the play. Sure, when they show the slow motion replay, there is a player that may have dove or embellished a little. That is the way the game is reffed though, and its a shame people dive all over the place out there. Oh, and even the Red Wings do it so lets cut through it.

Years later, I watch the Wings but I don't ***** about the calls very much. I watch the games a little more objectively, but I am still a Wings fan. At the same time, I am a realist. If I see the Wings doing stupid stuff, I don't blame the refs, I blame the player.

So, I think the game will be officiated fairly just like it has been all series.

[Nightfall 871]

Aren't those two things contradictions? If the NHL refs were pretty good, we wouldn't be getting away with that "stuff" would we?

For being human, they are pretty good. Calling everything the right way involves a change to the system as a whole. Getting the refs off the ice, giving them access to every camera angle, slow motion replay, and so on. That also means a change to the game because each call would have to be evaluated quickly and fairly.