By John Lachmann
If the CCHA upholds the disqualification penalties assessed in Miami’s game against Michigan on Saturday, the league is out of touch with hockey and the NCAA’s place in it.
For those who didn’t see it or actually have lives and didn’t replay or slow-mo the skirmish with a minute to play, here’s what happened.
With 60 seconds remaining, Michigan’s Alex Guptill tapped Miami senior goalie Connor Knapp’s pads well after he had taken control of a loose puck (and Knapp got whacked on Friday and Michigan took a very late shot in the first period on Saturday). Miami senior defenseman Will Weber came skating across and cross-checked Guptill in the chest.
Guptill made a casting motion with his stick and grazed Weber’s helmet, then speared Weber in the side.
Meanwhile, Miami senior forward Patrick Tiesling facewashed Guptill and Weber punched Guptill in the bottom of the facemask.
Michigan’s Chris Brown skated in and punched Weber in the side of the head, then held his extended arm under Weber’s facemask, trying to pull it off or twist it (which, I’m told, is a common college tactic that is very painful for the recipient).
Knapp comes in because the number of players involved is uneven and the Wolverines’ Lee Moffie hits him in the neck area.
Brown and Weber succeed in removing each other's helmets and get each other in headlocks before Weber slams Brown to the ice.
Referee Brian Hill finally gets between them and they have their fists cocked but neither throws another punch.
Guptill’s stickwork is the worst infraction of the fracas. He hits Weber in the head with his stick and then spears him on national television.
Three things: 1) Good for junior defenseman Garrett Kennedy, Knapp and especially Tiesling for jumping in. 2) How do four officials not break up what’s essentially two players going at it when there are a total of nine players on the ice instead of the usual 12 (Hill doesn’t even come into the picture until well after Weber and Brown have removed their gloves and wrestled to the ice)?
Keith Sergott, the other referee, is easily the biggest official in the CCHA (probably not a coincidence he was assigned to both Miami-Michigan series this season). All four have to know Weber is a player to watch in the late minutes.
And most importantly, 3) suspending Weber and Brown is not justified, and I have a feeling we haven’t heard the end of this in terms of suspensions to both teams.
Weber is defending his teammate, and whacking a goalie after he has control of a puck is a no-no. Give them both 10-minute misconducts and call it a night. It sounds like the league and college hockey in general have taken away some of the discretion officials have in similar incidents, but officials don't give DQs for punches to the head all the time.
If you don't believe that, sit at ice level for a season.
If you took a poll of college hockey players I guarantee they would be in favor of allowing players to drop the gloves, and while that’s not realistic, officials have the option of not dishing out disqualification penalties under circumstances like these.
Officials and conference commissioners need to look at what’s happening to college hockey, and they need look no further than these two teams and Weber himself.
Miami lost a player a month before school started to the Ontario Hockey League. Michigan has had 10 recent commits poached by Canadian juniors, including RedHawks’ freshman Austin Czarnik’s brother a year into his Wolverines career.
Weber is a second-round draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. And a senior.
Weber could’ve bolted for juniors. He didn’t. Weber could’ve left Miami early in favor of the AHL to begin his acclimation to professional hockey. He didn’t.
College hockey needs players like Weber, and too many like him are not playing college hockey because of the allure of juniors, and, to a lesser degree, incidents like this.
Weber sticks up for his goalie who was whacked twice this weekend after he had control of the puck and also had a puck shot at him well after the whistle, and he had just taken a stick off the head and another chop to the ribs.
In junior hockey, he would be commended for sticking up for his teammate. In all levels of pro hockey he would be commended for sticking up for his teammate. But in the short-sighted world of college hockey, he is issued a fighting major and suspended for his team’s next game.
Even though Brown and Weber connected on one punch each that the cameras caught.
If upheld (and not only is that likely but there’s a chance more and/or longer suspensions could come from this incident – read here: Guptill), what message does that send to other players on Miami’s roster?
What message does that send to freshman Tyler Biggs, a first-round pick who nearly decided to go the juniors route at the last minute, and may still do so after this season?
To Czarnik, who is undrafted but could still take the same path as his brother and bolt after this season to play a
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