From: Denver Post 1/13/2008by Mark Kiszla
We're not sure how LetsGoDU's Quality Control Coordinator missed this article last week, but better late than never...
Sorry. But an apology doesn't cut it.
.
The premier college hockey league in America looked stupid, the integrity of an important WCHA game was compromised and referee Randy Schmidt was put in a no-win situation.
.
The Denver Pioneers lost 7-2 to Wisconsin on Saturday night.
From the start, this game was such a joke it felt like one big make-up call by the red-faced Schmidt, who handed DU a victory it didn't deserve one night earlier.
Hey, Schmidt happens.
What was a humiliated ref doing on the ice 24 hours after such a bad mistake that the WCHA issued an apology?
That is precisely what angry Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves wanted to know.
Before the puck dropped in the second game of this weekend series, the league made Schmidt look like a buffoon and destroyed his credibility by admitting a 3-2 DU victory on Friday evening was one big blunder.
"It was a complete fiasco," Eaves said.
In a statement, the WCHA acknowledged "an error occurred on a Wisconsin goal that was disallowed" as time expired.
The league was forced to confess that the apparent tying score by Wisconsin's Matthew Ford was incorrectly waved off by Schmidt when the video he looked at showed the puck in the crease as the game clock struck zero "but the game tape showed the puck was in the net and back out of the net prior to 0:00."
This is why I find the proliferation and reliance on instant replay throughout sports a waste of everyone's time as a ref stares endlessly at a television monitor. What good is technology without the brains to harness it?
A bad official doesn't acquire good judgment no matter how many times you show him he's wrong.
"People can say the official had a rough night. But I think our league office put that official in a no-win situation, especially having released that press release apologizing for his error (Friday) night, then putting him right back into the spotlight. That's just not fair. I apologize on behalf of our league office for doing that, because that wasn't right. I was shocked," said DU coach George Gwozdecky, who didn't expect to see Schmidt, after originally being told by the WCHA he would not work Saturday as the ref.
How bankrupt Schmidt was of credibility became evident early in the opening period, when Wisconsin's Podge Turnbull broke a 1-1 tie by poking the puck past sprawling DU goalie Peter Mannino after the play had clearly been whistled dead.
But, after consulting the replay, it was ruled a goal.
Can you say make-up call?
And, thereafter, the game went from sad to worse.
Things got so out of hand as DU's frustration bubbled over with a scrum late in the second period that Schmidt could not hand out penalties to the Pioneers and Badgers fast enough.
The home team's penalty box was as crammed full of mischief as a clown car at the circus. How did six Denver players squeeze in there? It was the most trouble one team has been in since the movie "Slap Shot." This was pure slapstick.
The lopsided loss could eventually be a good lesson in adversity for the Pioneers, ranked No. 2 in the nation but painfully young and maybe a little too full of themselves.
They will face tougher circumstances than a bungling referee if DU wants to reach the Frozen Four, scheduled for the school's hometown in April. The Pioneers should be embarrassed.
But not nearly as ashamed as Schmidt, who should wonder if he has the authority to ever make a critical call in a game involving Denver and Wisconsin again.
Schmidt will get cracked for being incompetent.
It's the WCHA, however, that has egg on its face.
.
The premier college hockey league in America looked stupid, the integrity of an important WCHA game was compromised and referee Randy Schmidt was put in a no-win situation.
.
The Denver Pioneers lost 7-2 to Wisconsin on Saturday night.
From the start, this game was such a joke it felt like one big make-up call by the red-faced Schmidt, who handed DU a victory it didn't deserve one night earlier.
Hey, Schmidt happens.
What was a humiliated ref doing on the ice 24 hours after such a bad mistake that the WCHA issued an apology?
That is precisely what angry Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves wanted to know.
Before the puck dropped in the second game of this weekend series, the league made Schmidt look like a buffoon and destroyed his credibility by admitting a 3-2 DU victory on Friday evening was one big blunder.
"It was a complete fiasco," Eaves said.
In a statement, the WCHA acknowledged "an error occurred on a Wisconsin goal that was disallowed" as time expired.
The league was forced to confess that the apparent tying score by Wisconsin's Matthew Ford was incorrectly waved off by Schmidt when the video he looked at showed the puck in the crease as the game clock struck zero "but the game tape showed the puck was in the net and back out of the net prior to 0:00."
This is why I find the proliferation and reliance on instant replay throughout sports a waste of everyone's time as a ref stares endlessly at a television monitor. What good is technology without the brains to harness it?
A bad official doesn't acquire good judgment no matter how many times you show him he's wrong.
"People can say the official had a rough night. But I think our league office put that official in a no-win situation, especially having released that press release apologizing for his error (Friday) night, then putting him right back into the spotlight. That's just not fair. I apologize on behalf of our league office for doing that, because that wasn't right. I was shocked," said DU coach George Gwozdecky, who didn't expect to see Schmidt, after originally being told by the WCHA he would not work Saturday as the ref.
How bankrupt Schmidt was of credibility became evident early in the opening period, when Wisconsin's Podge Turnbull broke a 1-1 tie by poking the puck past sprawling DU goalie Peter Mannino after the play had clearly been whistled dead.
But, after consulting the replay, it was ruled a goal.
Can you say make-up call?
And, thereafter, the game went from sad to worse.
Things got so out of hand as DU's frustration bubbled over with a scrum late in the second period that Schmidt could not hand out penalties to the Pioneers and Badgers fast enough.
The home team's penalty box was as crammed full of mischief as a clown car at the circus. How did six Denver players squeeze in there? It was the most trouble one team has been in since the movie "Slap Shot." This was pure slapstick.
The lopsided loss could eventually be a good lesson in adversity for the Pioneers, ranked No. 2 in the nation but painfully young and maybe a little too full of themselves.
They will face tougher circumstances than a bungling referee if DU wants to reach the Frozen Four, scheduled for the school's hometown in April. The Pioneers should be embarrassed.
But not nearly as ashamed as Schmidt, who should wonder if he has the authority to ever make a critical call in a game involving Denver and Wisconsin again.
Schmidt will get cracked for being incompetent.
It's the WCHA, however, that has egg on its face.
2 comments:
The top league in college hockey should have the top officials. The WCHA does not. Adam called a pretty good game (except for a completely bogus checking from behind call) last Saturday, but I cringe whenever I see Shepherd, Anderson, or now Schmidt on the ice. Shepherd always alternates calls, Anderson doesn't pay attention and gets in the way, and Schmidt...well we'll just leave it there.
Because he was sick of reading about Schmidt and all the hullabaloo surrounding him.
Your Quality Control Coordinator :)
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