WCHA Commissioner Going To Check The Tape

From: Rocky Mountain News
by Pat Rooney


Not that he wouldn't have reviewed the video anyway, but University of Denver's melee against North Dakota on Friday did not go unnoticed by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, who watched the fights unfold live on television from the World Arena press box during CC's tie against St. Cloud.

McLeod said any disciplinary action resulting from the episodes, including coach George Gwozdecky's ejection from the game Saturday, wouldn't be determined until he receives a review from Greg Shepherd, the WCHA's supervisor of officials.

44 comments:

Jordan said...

I'm guessing we won't be seeing George on the bench this weekend.

msbdu said...

I have to disagree, I would think that a the ejection Saturday would be adequate punishment for the crime, although looking at it, it doesn't seem that bad.

As I recall, they didn't do anything against Hakstol when he gave the one finger salute.

dggoddard said...

I'd be shocked if it was a two game suspension.

The ref was too quick with the hook and blew the call in the first place.

Suspend the refs and name Gwozdecky "WCHA Coach of the Week." :-)

msbdu said...

You can always count on Anderson make a "bonehead" call or not make a call.

I think he probably felt he was losing control of the game and this was his way of getting it back.

SIOUX 7 said...

msbdu,

It's true the WCHA didn't do anything to Hakstol for the "Bird Incident" but the University suspended him for 2 games.

My guess was the league didn't do anything since the U hit him with a that 2 games suspension, the U works faster than the WCHA...

Anonymous said...

I bet Gwoz is suspended for Friday but back for Saturday.

Anonymous said...

Looking at the You Tube, it seems like Anderson over-reacted with the ejection, but Gwoz should never have walked out on the ice after that point.

Given DU got the benefit of the Mike Schmidt UW point last year, I could see Brucy maybe giving Gwoz a game as a deterrent.

Twister said...

I'm guessing Gwoz will get some sort of punishment or suspension. I'm sure the league doesn't want coaches on the ice before, during, or after they have been ejected, and the league may use this incident as an example to establish some type of precedent. It doesn't really matter what Gwoz's intentions were--if the league feels he was showing up the officials the league will dole out something.

Two other points: I like the fact that Gwoz emphatically backed his players in a hostile environment. Also, this incident further diminishes the credibility (if there is any left) of Anderson. He really is a moron and should be replaced. If I remember correctly he reffed the NC game here last year between BC and Notre Dame. How he was chosen for that is ludicrous.

Jordan said...

According to a couple of players, Hextall was attempting to razz Gwozdecky with lines ranging from strange obscene insults (loving Georges's wife, etc.) to asking if he ripped is outfits off from GQ. They said he had the weirdest trash talk. I guess George didn't have any response but "How's Ron?"

Ridiculous.

I guess the thing that set the bench off (the DU player allegedly grabbing Hextall after the no-call takedown, and George's ) was Hextall skating up to the bench and asking "anyone else?"

dggoddard said...

Wow.

Jordan thanks for the info.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, Todd Anderson is in way too tight with Greg Sheperd. Anderson is basically on the same level with G-Shep as D-Shep is. Sorry guys, but I am afraid that Toddy is here to stay.

I fuckin' hate TA but (always have) but the man in charge fuckin' loves him...

Jordan said...

My girlfriend is convinced Anderson looks like a woman. MagnessMan and I have yet to decide if he is pre or post-op.

LetsGoMavs said...

Did DU suspend Gwoz the last time he was tossed from a game?

LetsGoMavs said...

Also, I'm curious if anyone knows of some sort of "guidelines" that the refs are to use to decide to eject a coach or not? Is it just at their discretion? (I'm guessing probably).

I'm still just amazed at all of this, being a MSU fan and watching Jutting in action all the time and he's never been booted. Granted he hasn't stood up on the board, but his mouth and actions (though not the finger) have been bad. Just doesn't seem to add up.

Or, was Hakstol ejected for the finger on TV? I don't think so...so I'm just curious if there's some sort of "standard" in deciding who to eject.

While I think Gwoz was unprofessional in his actions, I do like that he's getting the league to look at stuff.

Also, the video is priceless. If only we could hear what was being said! It's time to "mike up" college hockey, like they do for Twins games sometimes:)

Anonymous said...

How does anybody take this guy seriously as a coach. What a fricken joke!

Jordan said...

Back to back national championships make a coach a joke?

dggoddard said...

2 NCAA Championships, Twice NCAA Coach of the Year, Three Time WCHA Coach of the Year, Twice CCHA Coach of the Year, 2 WCHA Championships & 4 WCHA Playoff Championships.

Another National Championship as an assistant coach at Michigan State.

NCAA Division III National Champiosnhip as head coach at WI-River Falls.

Won another National Championship as a player.

Former President of the American Collage Hockey Coaches Association.

LetsGoMavs said...

Just because he acted inappropriately (in my opinion) in this case doesn't make him a bad coach. In fact, I would argue that he's a much better coach than Hakstol any day.

Anonymous said...

...dresses and acts like a nancy boy, maybe he should be coaching in Minnesota.

Eric J. Burton said...

Yeah Gwoz is so bad he won two NCAA titles behind the bench.

Isn't George on the WCHA rule committee, if he is, can't he help affect change as far as getting refs removed or disciplined? I agree with DU fans Anderson sucks.

LetsGoMavs said...

The more I think of it, Gwoz does suck.

To settle this whole "Gwoz sucks" thing, I think the reasonable answer is that we should send Jutting to coach DU and we'll take Gwoz in return.

Sounds like a good solution to me;)

Seriously though...on Anderson, I don't think anyone can argue that he DOESN'T suck. That guy is a tool.

Oh, and for everyone ripping on Gwoz's attire on the internet...you're jealous he looks so good. You wish you had a wife or personal shopper to make you look so spiffy! The only thing he's missing is a Boone tie. Goddard, can't you get one made for him?!?

dggoddard said...

Boone Tie? Thats actually a pretty good idea. I'll my tailor whip some up. :-)

Eric J. Burton said...

George Gwozdecky is one of the slickest dressers in the WCHA.

LetsGoMavs said...

I do think the tie is a good idea. You could have the background be maroon and then have little Boone's on it. You could convince them to wear it and then sell them to Alumni and others on your blog.

Think of all the snazzy businessmen wearing Boone ties at work!

Anonymous said...

go seawolves!

Anonymous said...

Ya make a Boone tie I'll for sure buy one. :)

Anonymous said...

I see that DU athletics made a statement saying they do not support Coach G in this dispute.

http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=3654733

Will there be serious disciplinary action for our guy or did the athletics department just issue this as a hollow appeasement to the WCHA?

msbdu said...

It would appear that they are trying to keep the WCHA out of this and make it an internal situation.

I wonder if Gwoz will issue a public apology. I think his only mistake was going out on the ice, and not his reaction to the ineptness of Anderson.

Jordan said...

I was sitting on the light rail at last year's FF with 2 CC fans and a North Dakota fan, and we were ALL commiserating about how bad Shepherd and Anderson. That's when you know its bad.

Jordan said...

msbdu- its absolutely what they're trying to do. DU is very protective of its image, and goes to great lengths to keep things inside, which is why Campus Safety handles so much illegal activity without getting DPD involved and keeps bad things like Boone hush hush. See: Brock Trotter.

msbdu said...

Jordan, agreed. It would be nice to see the AD show a little support for their own. I just sent Ron Grahmae an eamil:

Ron:

I have just read your press release on the AD reaction to the incident on Saturday night at North Dakota. I applaud Gwoz for protecting his player, it is clear that Todd Anderson and his crew weren’t doing the job they were hired for. Perhaps George’s only fault is going out on the ice but he had a right to some clarification on the call. None of the officials bothered to come over to the bench and inform him of the call.

I was hoping a little more support from our Athletic Department.

Anonymous said...

The athletic dept was right in this instance, and the league or school would be right to suspend him for a game or two.

George is a great coach and normally, an excellent example for DU's student athletes. I don't mind him getting upset or even teetering on the dasher. But a coach just can't walk out on the ice like that during a game - it's dangerous, delaying and unsportsmanlike behavior, and Gwoz knows he was wrong.

msbdu said...

I partially agree with you Swami, but I still would like to know why Anderson and his crew didn't come over to the bench and explain the call to George, they owed that to him.

Anonymous said...

Agree that Anerson should have explained his decision to Gwoz. Anderson was obviously afraid to confront Gwozdecky, and he's clearly one of the poorer referees in the WCHA.

But Gwoz should have just left when he was ejected.

Eric J. Burton said...

This weekend after the second period of the first game Anderson had a long animated dicussion with Dave Hakstol at the end of the conversation Campion basically stuck his extended hand in Anderson face basically to say lets go you have lost the argument. It appears that Hak got the best of him. Anderson has got to go and I think UND, UMN, UW and DU fans can all agree.

LetsGoMavs said...

Goon- what are you bitching about?!? I think the Mavs have had Anderson more than anyone else this year. Seriously. I can think of 4 series for sure...maybe 5. I was starting to think that Jutts really pissed someone off that we kept getting him.

Just watch...our luck it'll be him and Adam reffing the MSU/UND series at the Ralph. Shoot me now.

On Gwoz, yes...he should have gone out on the ice and I think once he was halfway out he realized he was wrong. So, he should have upped up and just hopped in the penalty box!

DU did the right thing on the press release and now everyone can get back to business.

Jordan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yeah real class act; he let a 19 year old hockey player get under his skin to the degree that he threw a wobbler on national tv. Class I tell you, pure class.

Jordan said...

msbdu- great idea. I took your lead and hope some others on this board help out- Goon (for a comparative background) and DG (and other donors...) help us out! My issue is the officiating more than anything. Should Gwozdecky have gone out on the ice? No. But should the officials in the "top" league in college hockey be better at their jobs? Absolutely. Should a top program help address the issue? Yep.

---

Dear Mr. Grahame:
While I recognize that Coach Gwozdecky's actions last Saturday were out of line, I think it is sad that an athletic department would not back up a coach trying to protect his own players against no-calls and unsportsmanlike conduct by the other team. Perhaps DU should step up and address the issue of the quality of officiating in the league so incidents like this weekend don't have to happen. Fans have long been dismayed by Mr. Anderson's calling of games- this includes personal experience talking with CC, UND, MTU, and UW fans as well- it's not just DU fans or Coach Gwozdecky. Since DU is trying to position itself as a premier university, I feel that we should help our marquee sport better the top tier league in which we play by addressing the seriously inconsistent, often incompetent, and sometimes dangerous nature of its officials. If you truly respect the integrity of the WCHA, as you say you do, then help to make the product and game better.
I understand the need to protect the school's image, which DU guards very fiercely, but as a tuition-paying student and athletic supporter, I am disappointed to see that DU Athletics is more inclined to take the politically correct "high road" rather than address the real issue at hand. Just like the Boone issue, the true feelings of the DU community are being pushed aside to put on a good face for the outside world. Please do not forget that without tuition paying students and donating alumni, there would be no University of Denver when you consider your priorities as an organization.

Jordan Hahn '10
jordan.hahn@du.edu

Anonymous said...

Don't you find it funny that during the first half of the year there wasn't much bitching about UND's style of play. Here we are in the second half and everybody's crying like a bunch of weak bitches. I'd bet a lot that the guys in green are eating it up.

Eric J. Burton said...

Since I have been watching college hockey (1992 ish) the refs in this league have been God awful. I have only seen a coach go out on the ice once in my whole college hockey watching days. Dean Blais did it at SCSU one time but he only stepped out on to the ice IIRC this might have been the same day he slapped a stick on the side of the boards.

The league will not change until the member schools decide they have seen enough. Maybe Gwoz walking across the ice and not being suspended would leave me to believe that league is admitting fault to this matter.

Gandalf The Red said...

I think they should throw the whole lot out and find some officials that don't suck, if that is possible.

I watched saturday's game, I couldn't believe they tossed Gwoz, he deserved a bench minor but ejection, hell no! It would have been rather funny if he would have went to the box for two minutes and then left for the locker room. I would have applauded that.

When I visited Magness in October, the refs took 10 minutes to figure out the correct time at the end of the friday game (if only Randy Schmidt had taken 10 seconds last season...) and I turned to the DU fans to my right and said, "well we all agree that the WCHA officials are horrible" and everyone nodded.

msbdu said...

So how much do they get paid per game? How about we take up a collection and see about getting some professional referees! I believe it falls under the category you get what you pay for.

Donald Dunlop said...

OMG .. Gwoz took a stroll across the rink after he'd been ejected. That gave the UND fans extra minutes to berate him and his team. Which is probably exactly what was on his mind to do. Gwoz pulls strategic stunts ... this was a somewhat new variety incorporating some old thematic concepts along the way. There isn't a DU player on that bench that doesn't hate everything "sioux" now. 4 years of coaching wrapped up in a single act.

It wasn't in nearly the same league as flipping the bird.

Gwoz pwned Hakstol