Make This The Norm

I'm not one to drop praise on the NHL or any other hockey league unless they're doing or have done something right, but I have to hand it to all the leagues out there that use overhead goal cameras and in-net goal cameras to help determine whether goals have been scored or not. Besides being good television when officials are conferring and watching replays, the very fact that the game is committed to getting the main purpose of the game right - scoring goals - is why these leagues deserve praise. So why doesn't U SPORTS hockey have these cameras?

I understand that there is a significant technological investment that each school and arena would need to make to implement this addition, but it's pretty clear that this technology works when it comes to determining goals in the various leagues where it's used. We've often seen plays where a goal appears to be scored, but the only people who have the power to award said goal at this time are the two referees on the ice. While I appreciate hockey history, not using this technology seems archaic and outdated.

I ask this because it was announced this summer that SDHL would implement goal camera technology for the first time in its history, and this should go a long way in helping the league make correct calls when it comes to goals. According their news release in June, "(f)or many years there has been a demand and discussion about target cameras" in the SDHL, and they will proceed with the technology this season. Cameras have already been installed, and testing is happening during the preseason with all teams getting ready to use them in regular season games on September 13.

If you're like me, the ten-minute reviews of plays should be outlawed when it comes to determining goals, but getting a scoring play right could change the outcome of a season hypothetically. I've been witness to shots that have gone under the crossbar that go off the back post or the crossbar inside the net only to ricochet out and be waved off by the officials. At this point, there's no review on those players other than the officials discussing what was seen, but a lot of those plays have been ruled as "no goal" because none of the on-ice officials saw the puck enter the net.

I'm not here to disparage the officials' work - they're vitally important to the game and they are incredible at what they do already. I hold them in the highest regard after having watched many games where their knowledge and management of the game were essential for order on the ice, so why can't the schools and U SPORTS help them be even better by giving them a tool they can use when there's any doubt whether a goal was scored or not. If the answer is simply "it costs too much", it might be time to admit that U SPORTS is nothing more than glorified adult recreational hockey.

If U SPORTS is going to use Hockey Canada-certified officials for games and its National Championship tournament, it should be adhering to Hockey Canada's standards of providing the officials with the same tools they'd be offered if they were skating in an IIHF-sanctioned event. Getting calls right when it comes to goals shouldn't be a question of costs when the cost of missing one of those goals might be a team missing the playoffs or missing out on the national championship tournament.

Video review has entered every sport in an effort to get calls right. Whether it be the VAR in soccer, the video review booth with the tarp in football, or the iPads and monitors in baseball, basketball, and hockey, it seems that every sport is using video technology to ensure that the calls on the playing surface are correct. It's not there to take away the officials' abilities to make calls, but rather to enhance their vision of the game when they may have missed something.

To err is to be human, and there's nothing wrong with an official admitting that they missed something or didn't see something. U SPORTS should be looking to support the officials they employ by giving them the tools they need to make the right calls. If virtually every organized, high-level hockey league on the planet can do that, including the NCAA, U SPORTS should be doing the same.

There's no review needed on this decision. Make it happen.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!