2008 Woodie Awards
Extra official on ice doesn't affect game
Pat Murray
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Sports
When the Miami RedHawk hockey team takes to the ice against the Alaska Nanooks Friday night, the number of skaters on the ice will be one greater than it was the last time these two teams faced-off.
In the off season, the CCHA increased the number of referees on the ice from one to two. In hockey, only the referees (wearing orange armbands) typically call penalties while the linesmen enforce offsides, icing and the like.
For fans of the game, what effect this will have on the sport is a significant issue.
As my broadcast partner Mike Cohen and I were discussing both on and off the WMSR stream, the possible effects of such a change are multiple. One more man on the ice means less room for the players to maneuver, and an extra pair of skates for the puck to bounce off.
The primary function of the referee, however, is to call penalties.
Having four eyes looking for infractions instead of two could either lead to more penalties, and thus extra game stoppage, or conversely, to fewer violations by the players because of the increased probability they would be caught.
The NHL made the same decision before the 1999-2000 season. However, instead of making the change cold, the league decided to randomly vary between one and two the number of referees in games in the previous season.
This turned out to be a perfect laboratory for an economist, Steven Levitt of the University of Chicago, to analyze the penalty data from the season and determine what effect the extra whistle on the ice had on the game.
Levitt concluded that adding a second referee to the game had little effect on the number of penalties assessed during the contest.
An analysis of the data from last season and the beginning of this season would seem to indicate that his conclusion is valid in college as well as pro hockey.
In the six games that Miami has played this season, there has been an average of 18 penalties between the two teams.
In the off season, the CCHA increased the number of referees on the ice from one to two. In hockey, only the referees (wearing orange armbands) typically call penalties while the linesmen enforce offsides, icing and the like.
For fans of the game, what effect this will have on the sport is a significant issue.
As my broadcast partner Mike Cohen and I were discussing both on and off the WMSR stream, the possible effects of such a change are multiple. One more man on the ice means less room for the players to maneuver, and an extra pair of skates for the puck to bounce off.
The primary function of the referee, however, is to call penalties.
Having four eyes looking for infractions instead of two could either lead to more penalties, and thus extra game stoppage, or conversely, to fewer violations by the players because of the increased probability they would be caught.
The NHL made the same decision before the 1999-2000 season. However, instead of making the change cold, the league decided to randomly vary between one and two the number of referees in games in the previous season.
This turned out to be a perfect laboratory for an economist, Steven Levitt of the University of Chicago, to analyze the penalty data from the season and determine what effect the extra whistle on the ice had on the game.
Levitt concluded that adding a second referee to the game had little effect on the number of penalties assessed during the contest.
An analysis of the data from last season and the beginning of this season would seem to indicate that his conclusion is valid in college as well as pro hockey.
In the six games that Miami has played this season, there has been an average of 18 penalties between the two teams.
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