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Hockey loses to referees again

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Also by Tyler Mason:

Loss forces UW to sit, wait (March 3, 2008)
Badger careers winding down (February 27, 2008)

by Tyler Mason

Monday, March 3, 2008

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — It seems like deja vu to be writing about the Wisconsin hockey team getting screwed over by questionable officiating. It’s happened once already this season — in early January against Denver — and on Saturday, it happened again.

Three times, actually.

The first came with just under three minutes to play in the second period. Wisconsin was leading St. Cloud State 2-1 and looked to be in command of the game. But UW defenseman and team captain Davis Drewiske was whistled for a questionable interference call after he stepped in the path of a Husky player trying to chase down the puck.

Just 21 seconds later, Wisconsin was penalized again.

A hooking call on senior Josh Engel with 2:43 to play in the second period gave St. Cloud an extended five-on-three advantage. And as a team that converts on 22.6 percent of its power plays — tied for fourth in the nation and tops in the WCHA — the Huskies had no trouble turning the Badgers’ pain into their gain.

Garrett Roe scored a minute and 25 seconds after Engel’s penalty, tying the game at 2-2. And in a span of 35 seconds, St. Cloud struck again when Matt Hartman’s goal put his team up for good.

Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves was clearly upset with how the penalties unfolded Saturday, and understandably so.

“If you’re going to put us down five-on-three, in my book, it better be a hell of a call,” Eaves said.

In my book, it certainly wasn’t a “hell of a call.”

Despite those two calls going against them, the Badgers still had an opportunity to tie things up. But once again, referee Derek Shepherd kept the comeback attempt at bay.

With just under six minutes remaining, it appeared as if Wisconsin had tied things up. UW had its fourth line on the ice when Andy Bombach — who has yet to score a goal on the season — tipped in a loose puck past St. Cloud goaltender Jase Weslosky.

The players celebrated, as did the Wisconsin fans who made the trip up to St. Cloud.

But it was a false celebration. The goal was waved off.

Shepherd had blown the play dead after he thought Weslosky had the puck under control in his glove. Replays clearly showed, however, that the Husky netminder never had it.

It was obvious that Shepherd wasn’t in the proper position to make the right call. I knew it. Eaves knew it. Heck, even Shepherd probably knew it.

“The issue about that is, where is the referee when he makes the call?” Eaves stated after the game. “Refereeing’s a tough job, I understand that. But to me, I thought he was an awful long way from the net when he blew his whistle, and that’s the frustrating part of that.”

Indeed, it was a frustrating juncture in the game, but the implications of the no-goal may have been greater than the 3-2 loss. With the win Saturday, St. Cloud could now move ahead of Wisconsin in the standings.

I’m not here to sound whiny and complain that the entire loss can be pinned on the referees. As Eaves said, refereeing is tough. I’ve never tried it and would probably fail miserably if I did.

But it’s their job to make the right call, and if they’re not in proper position to do so, they need to keep the whistles quiet.

The other thing I have a problem with is the fact that these calls came in both teams’ biggest game of the season. Both were fighting for their playoff lives, and each goal was crucial in such a closely played matchup.

In such instances, officiating should never hinder the importance of each minute or disrupt the flow of the game.

As much as anyone can complain about the officials in the game, though, I realize that nothing will come of it. With the situation in Denver two months ago, the WCHA admitted the ref had made a mistake on a no-goal that would have tied things up, yet Wisconsin never reaped the benefits of this admission.

It did, however, seem to spark a fire in Eaves’ squad, as they went unbeaten in their next six games after the officiating error.

Just like Denver, the game Saturday will stand as a loss. The Badgers will not earn the point (or potentially two) they deserved.

Wisconsin fans can only hope that the no-call will trigger another unbeaten streak. With the playoffs coming around, it would be perfect timing to catch fire.

Thanks, Shepherd.

Tyler is a junior majoring in journalism. If you’ve got a beef with hockey refs, let him know at tmason@badgerherald.com.

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