Spring Break
Extra official on ice doesn't affect game
Pat Murray
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Sports
The high of 21 penalties has been reached twice, as has the low of 15.
Last season, in all the games that Miami played, there was an average of 16.2 penalties per game. So that is an increase right?
In a sense, yes, but looking at the first six games of last season, we see that there was an average of 20.5 penalties per game in those contests.
It is my contention that the increase in the first six games of this season over the last full season is due primarily to the fact that it is early in the season and teams are probably playing somewhat sloppier hockey than will be played in the second semester.
I believe that over the course of the season, the penalty rate will decline to what it was last year.
Obviously, this data will need to be examined on a larger scale and over a longer time period at the end of the season. To this point in the season, it seems that two effects roughly cancel each other out-players cut back a bit on borderline maneuvers and the extra referee catches a few things that the one referee would have missed.
In the end, penalties stay about the same as they were in the past-this resonates with what Levitt observed in the NHL.
Last season, in all the games that Miami played, there was an average of 16.2 penalties per game. So that is an increase right?
In a sense, yes, but looking at the first six games of last season, we see that there was an average of 20.5 penalties per game in those contests.
It is my contention that the increase in the first six games of this season over the last full season is due primarily to the fact that it is early in the season and teams are probably playing somewhat sloppier hockey than will be played in the second semester.
I believe that over the course of the season, the penalty rate will decline to what it was last year.
Obviously, this data will need to be examined on a larger scale and over a longer time period at the end of the season. To this point in the season, it seems that two effects roughly cancel each other out-players cut back a bit on borderline maneuvers and the extra referee catches a few things that the one referee would have missed.
In the end, penalties stay about the same as they were in the past-this resonates with what Levitt observed in the NHL.
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