Video replay won't be mandatory for all ECAC Hockey teams until the 2011-12 season. It would have been nice if you have been used in Saturday's Rensselaer Holiday Tournament championship game between Union and RPI.
Paul Kerins' buzzer-beating goal at the end of regulation that helped RPI tie Union, 4-4, could have been a bigger issue had the Dutchmen's Jason Walters not scored in overtime, giving the Dutchmen a 5-4 victory and the tournament title.
Still, it was topic of discussion after the game.
"It's tough to tell [if Kerins beat the buzzer]," Union coach Nate Leaman said. "That's why you need replay, bottom line. The only thing I questioned about it is the goal lights. If it's a goal, then the [goal] judge should be able to put the goal light on, and he couldn't even put it on. It was still green."
Baker, referee Peter Feola and linesmen Mike Emanatian, Justin Prusak met along the left wing boards, and were all in agreement that it was a goal.
"It was a close call," Leaman said. "I don't fault the referees. I just think that's why you need instant replay."
The goal light color is red. Watching the video I shot, and the game action from RPI TV, it appears the red light never came on. Referee Mike Baker, who was standing to the right of the net, signaled a goal, and that appeared to happen before the green light came on.
On the RPI TV video, the game clock is at :00.2 when the puck goes into the net. Now, that clock may not be in sync with the scoreboard clock. When replay is used in the NHL, the scoreboard clock is superimposed on the video.
To view my video, click here. The goal is about 2:40 into the video. The RPI TV video of the goal is on YouTube. Click here to see it and judge for yourself.
Naturally, RPI coach Seth Appert thought it was a good goal.
"I did live, and when we saw it on tape, it did," Appert said. "It wasn't even that close."
Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell and Yale are the only ECACH teams that use instant replay for all of its home games. RPI and Union use instant replay when their games are televised by Time Warner Cable Sports, and that will be the case this weekend when TWC-3 televises Cornell-RPI on Friday, and Cornell-Union on Saturday. Replay is used in the ECACH tournament final four.
It's too bad that replay won't be mandatory next year. With how tight league standings are every year, a disputed goal could dramatically affect a game and, possibly, a team's season.
Daily Gazette ECACH team of the week — Union
Winning the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament over its main rival would be good enough for Union to merit the honor.
Doing it with seven players serving one-game suspensions for a team rules violation makes it even more rewarding for the Dutchmen.
In Friday's 1-0 shootout win (0-0 for NCAA purposes), forwards Andrew Buote, Luke Cain and Jason Walters sat out. Saturday, the team's top four scorers entering the game — Adam Presziniuk, Mario Valery-Trabucco, John Simpson and Brian Yanovitch — watched from the stands.
So, for the Dutchmen to be able to win the tournament not at full strength is even more impressive.
Risky move
I thought Appert made a risky move by starting Allen York in goal against Union.
York hadn't practiced all week because of an upper-body injury. He didn't even dress for Friday's game against Bentley. Bryce Merriam started and played well in the Engineers' 5-2 win, making 15 saves.
From the moment York led RPI onto the ice for the pregame warmup, he didn't seem right. He didn't fly out of the runway leading to the ice. Instead, he skated slowly over to the far side to do his stretching exercises. But he looked like he was in pain as he bent down.
To have York start meant that Appert wanted his team to win the tournament title for the first time since 2001. But the ECACH games are a lot more important, especially with home games against Cornell, Colgate and Union coming up. If York got hurt worse Saturday, Appert would have been questioning himself. I know the USCHO.com message board would have been full of critics.
Walters' goal
Thanks to Union hockey sports information director Kevin Zalaznik, I have linked my video with Matt DuBrey's call of Jason Walters' game-winning overtime goal.
To view the goal, click here.
Spelling gaffe
On my blog and in my TV/Radio column, I am sometimes critical of something I don't like.
Well, I'm calling myself out for a spelling mistake I made when I was editing videos from Saturday's game.
As I was showing my son Steven the video of the championship trophy presentation to Union, I noticed that I spelled trophy "trohpy." I was mad.
Now, to be honest, I was putting the videos together when I got home, which was around 12:45 a.m. I didn't leave Houston Field House until 12:15. I was up until 4:30 a.m., and I just missed the misspelling. I did correct it.
Kelly on 'Slap Schotts'
Paul Kelly, who was named executive director of College Hockey Inc. last Tuesday, will be the guest on my "Slap Schotts" college hockey segment on "Big Board Sports" on WOFX-AM (980) at 11:05 a.m. Thursday.
Kelly, who was unceremoniously fired as executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association Aug. 31, will talk about what he will do to help promote college hockey to prospective student-athletes, and help grow the game.
Kinkaid honored
Union freshman Keith Kinkaid was named ECAC Hockey goalie of the week on Monday.
Kinkaid earned his first collegiate shutout Friday when he stopped 30 shots against Lake Superior State in the opening round of the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. He made three more saves in the shootout, which Union won, 1-0. Kinkaid made 25 saves in Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over RPI in the tournament championship game. He was named to the all-tournament team.
It's the second ECACH honor for Kinkaid. Two weeks ago, he was named rookie of the week.
The other men's winners were Brown were Jesse Fratkin and Harvard forward Conor Morrison.
Fratkin was named player of the week. He had three goals and an assist in Brown' 8-1 rout of Brown Saturday for its first win of the season. He also had a goal and an assist in last Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Bentley.
Morrison's four-goal effort against Boston University last Tuesday earned him rookie of the week.
Naslund top player
RPI forward Whitney Naslund was named ECACH women's player of the week. She had three goals and two assists in a weekend split at Robert Morris. She had two goals and two assists to lead RPI to a 5-2 win Friday.
St. Lawrence routed
St. Lawrence went a long way to get badly beaten.
The Saints played Maine in the Black Bears' home-away-from home, the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.
Robby Dee scored on the game's first shot, sparking a five-goal first period and leading Maine to a 10-1 rout of St. Lawrence.
"Coming out on the first shift to get a goal like that, any time you get the first goal like that, it's a huge momentum swing for your team," Tanner House told the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Maine scored five power-play goals, including three in the first. The Black Bears scored the first eight goals of the game.
Saints coach Joe Marsh used all three goalies. Alex Petizian allowed five goals on 11 shots in the first period. Kain Tisi gave up three goals on 11 shots in the second. Robby Moss stopped 10 of 12 shots in the third.
The polls
Quinnipiac's 5-4 overtime win over 10th-ranked Massachusetts moved the Bobcats up from ninth to fourth in the latest USCHO.com/CBS College Sports top-20 poll. The Bobcats also received seven first-place votes.
Union earned 19 points, while RPI got three points.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Miami (20) 9-2-5 934 1
2 Denver (14) 9-4-1 923 2
3 North Dakota ( 7) 8-4-2 900 4
4 Quinnipiac ( 7) 12-1-0 799 9
5 Bemidji State ( 2) 11-2-1 784 6
6 Colorado College 10-3-1 766 5
7 Cornell 6-2-1 708 7
8 Mass.-Lowell 8-4-1 647 3
9 Massachusetts 9-3-0 573 10
10 Yale 5-2-2 497 11
11 Michigan State 9-5-2 441 8
12 Alaska 8-3-3 426 12
12 Minnesota Duluth 9-4-1 426 14
14 Notre Dame 7-5-4 323 13
15 Boston College 6-3-2 321 16
16 Wisconsin 8-5-1 308 15
17 Ferris State 9-3-2 265 17
18 Nebraska-Omaha 7-4-3 146 19
19 Vermont 5-5-1 83 18
20 St. Cloud State 6-6-2 80 NR
Others receiving votes: Michigan 66, RIT 21, Colgate 20, Union 19, New Hampshire 9, Northern Michigan 7, RPI 3, Providence 2, Boston University 1, Minnesota 1, Princeton 1.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll #9
(first-place votes in parentheses)
Rank School Last Poll's Ranking 2009-10 Record Weeks in Top-15
1 Miami University, 483 (18) 1 9-2-5 9
2 University of Denver, 470 (10) 2 9-4-1 9
3 University of North Dakota, 448 (3) 4 8-4-2 9
4 Bemidji State University, 373 (1) 6 11-2-1 6
5 Colorado College, 366 (1) 5 10-3-1 6
6 Quinnipiac University, 353 (1) 10 12-1-0 3
7 Cornell University, 316 8 6-2-1 9
8 University of Massachusetts Lowell, 244 3 8-4-1 9
9 University of Massachusetts, 237 9 9-3-0 4
10 Yale University, 198 11 5-2-2 9
11 Michigan State University, 129 7 9-5-2 4
12 University of Minnesota Duluth, 128 13 9-4-1 3
13 University of Alaska, 114 12 8-3-3 5
14 Boston College, 57 15 6-3-2 6
15 University of Notre Dame, 49 14 7-5-4 9
Others receiving votes: Ferris State University, 45; University of Wisconsin, 44; University of Nebraska Omaha, 11; University of Vermont, 9; University of Michigan, 2; RIT, 2; Boston University, 1; Colgate University, 1.
If you have any comments, post them below, or e-mail them to me at schott@dailygazette.com.
