WI team eliminated from post season

goldy313 · Post by **goldy313** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:53 pm

http://www.oregonobserver.com/main.asp? ... cleID=4200

In an effort to out do Minnesota's stance on checking from behind calls the WIAA has a rule in place where if a team gets 3 checking from behind penalties in a season they are then not eligible for post season play.

I watched a kid get called from checking from behind in the Rochester tourament that made no contact at all with the opponent, that will be one of their 3 for the entire year. A Wisconsin coach I talked to thought it is possible half of the 89 teams may be eliminated from sectional play prior to sections even starting.

Could you imagine nearly all of the top teams being eliminated from the playoffs in January?

starmvp · Post by **starmvp** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:16 pm

That is a bizarre rule. I feel bad for any team that gets a questionable checking from behind call that's forsure.

north_bear · Post by **north_bear** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:36 am

Hope this doesn't make its way across the border...

MHGr8ness · Post by **MHGr8ness** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:02 am

I feel like this might not have the effect that it's intended to have. I think that refs might call actual checks from behind less because they don't want to be responsible for eliminating a team's playoff hopes.

Not a fan of this rule...

Can you imagine being a significant player on a state championship contending team and not being even be able to go to playoffs because one kid on your team can't figure out that it's dangerous?

Oldtimehockeyguy23 · Post by **Oldtimehockeyguy23** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:48 am

in 50 years, we will all be chicks.

PuckRanger · Post by **PuckRanger** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 3:55 am

Good Lord... I have to vent after reading that!

I agree that flagrant checks from behind have no place in the game of hockey, but rules like these really irritate me and I'm sure quite a few others. Think this is just Wisconsin's problem? Just wait.... this rule could be coming to Minnesota and everywhere else when you see where it came from.

Some comments of note from the article from Tom Shafranski, the Assistant Director of the WIAA and the NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Committee Chairman:

In Minnesota, if a player receives two DQs, he is then removed for four games. But Shafranski doesn’t think that goes far enough.

“If you think about it, there is something fundamentally that isn’t quite right if three game-disqualification calls have to be issued to a team over the course of a season,” he explained. “I’m not sure that it’s safe to have a team like that participate in the state tournament series.”

“The boards today are stronger and extremely dangerous for kids because when that check from behind occurs into the shoulder blades, the attacker takes complete control of that skater and sends them uncontrollably into the boards in a very vulnerable situation where neck injuries can occur.”

Those statements to me are ignorant. The boards at most places have been in place for many, many years and many of the newer ones actually have MORE give to them. And that first statement can only be spoken by someone who has never watched hockey on a constant basis. Calling an entire team "unsafe" for state tournament play is just absurd.

Now, the real troubling part. Even if you don't agree with me on what I just said above, this should bother you if your concerned at all about U.S. hockey. This is what qualifies the guy to be ICE HOCKEY rules committee chair and lead the way to make these rules/decisions:

Tom Shafranski joined the WIAA staff in 2002. His responsibilities are the administration for the sports of golf, hockey, swimming and diving and tennis. He also oversees the prestigious WIAA Scholar-Athlete program.

In addition to his contributions at the State association level, he has been active in the national landscape with service on the NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Committee in 2003-04 and 2008-2011. He will serve as the chair of that committee in 2011 He has also served as a member of the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules from 2005-2009.

During his tenure on the staff, he has been honored as the 2009 Wisconsin High School Golf Coaches Association Friend of Golf recipient.

He brought a significant level of high school administrative experience with him to the WIAA. He has served as athletic director at Stevens Point Area High School for one year. Prior to his appointment at SPASH, he held an associate principal position at Wausau East High School for one year.

From 1996-2000, Shafranski was the activities director for grades 6-12 in the Rhinelander School District after serving as the associate principal and activities director for just the senior high school from 1993-96. Other high school administrative experience included a one-year stint as principal at Hortonville High School from 1992-93.

He taught business education classes at West Bend East from 1982-87 when he was named the district's AODA coordinator in 1987. He was chosen assistant principal in 1989, a position he held from 1989-1992. During his tenure at West Bend East, he served as head track and field coach from 1987-89 after serving as an assistant from 1980-86. He was an assistant coach in football and basketball from 1977-88.

In addition to his school responsibilities, Shafranski has also been active in state and conference affiliated activities. He has been an American Sport Coaches Education Program and a Program for Athletic Coaches Education instructor. He served on the WIAA Scholar-Athlete Selection Committee from 1998-2000 and was a mentor for new athletic directors for the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association. Since 1993, he has served as the chairman of the Wisconsin Valley Conference Sportsmanship Committee.

Shafranski received a bachelors degree in business education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1983. He earned a masters degree in education from National Louis University in Evanston, Ill., in 1986. In 1991, he received an Administrative Leadership Certificate in School Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The guy never played or coached hockey, and probably never stepped foot in a hockey arena. Most of his resume is business and administration (his actual hands-on athletic experience in bold)... real world experience is basically bouncing around from school to school as assistant principal/principal/athletic director and sitting on committees.

People like this SHOULD NOT be making rules for anything hockey related. They do not understand the game and try to put it on a level with sports such as golf and basketball. It just doesn't work. Pencil pushers have no business dictating rules for a sport they never played and, as a result, really do not understand correctly. The REALLY scary part of this is that this guy is the chair - yes, CHAIR - of the NFHS ice hockey rules committee, has been since 2011, and will be for at least 2 more years!

I'm guessing if you go through the entire list of committee members both at the WIAA and the NFHS, you will find similar qualifications. This doesn't serve well for any sport, especially hockey.

Something tells me that more crap like this is coming down the pipe for everyone as long as this guy stays NFHS chairman. Pretty soon they will be calling fouls like basketball and average final scores will be 35 to 30.

Tenoverpar · Post by **Tenoverpar** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:43 am

Oldtimehockeyguy23 wrote:in 50 years, we will all be chicks.

where is the LIKE button?

HShockeywatcher · Post by **HShockeywatcher** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:00 am

PuckRanger wrote:The guy never played or coached hockey, and probably never stepped foot in a hockey arena. Most of his resume is business and administration (his actual hands-on athletic experience in bold)... real world experience is basically bouncing around from school to school as assistant principal/principal/athletic director and sitting on committees.

While the article doesn't specifically talk about the sports he played as a child, you are likely right. That being said, there are people in all levels of administration from head coaches to athletic directors and principals and referees to owners of professional organizations who never played they sports they work in. How do they do this and make decisions about it?
It's simple; they learn. They have experiences around the game and talk to those who play/coach it.

I agree teams shouldn't be punished; players should. I don't know where we draw the line, but since refs have the opportunity to not call a major if it wasn't bad, then if a single player get multiple calls, there would be good reason to keep them off the ice indefinitely.

At the end of the day, we have no issues if kids stop shoving other kids from behind, which has no place in hockey at any level...