Crease rule may be changed Damon-type goal will count

Derek Damon’s disallowed goal in the NCAA Div. I men’s hockey championship game, waved off because teammate Mike Hamilton had his skate in the crease, would be allowed next season if the NCAA’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee approves a change requested by the coaches at their annual meeting in Naples, Fla., recently.

Denver defeated Maine 1-0.

Maine coach Tim Whitehead said that if the change is approved, it will be similar to the “no harm, no foul” adaptation of the rule used in the NHL.

That is, if the player in the crease doesn’t affect the goaltender’s ability to stop the puck, the goal will be allowed.

Maine coach Tim Whitehead said the coaches were overwhelmingly in favor of the change.

“I didn’t even bring it up. I didn’t want it to seem like sour grapes,” said Whitehead, who added that the replay official made the right call in the Denver game because that was the way the rule was written.

Whitehead did make two other proposals, but both were voted down by the coaches.

One was to implement four-on-four (skaters) in the five-minute overtime like the NHL and the other was to go to a two-referees-two-linesmen system rather than the current one-referee-one assistant referee-one linesman system.

He said the four-on-four overtime “seems like a drastic move when actually it isn’t. It creates more offense and excitement for the fans and the players. There’s more open ice.”

Whitehead added that there would be a better chance of getting a winner.

“Why play the game if you aren’t trying to win?” posed Whitehead.

In the NHL, each team is awarded a point if a game is tied after regulation. If a team scores in overtime, it receives an extra point.

Whitehead had proposed two points for an overtime win and none for an overtime loss, “but I would be fine with either system.”

Whitehead prefers the 2-2 officiating system because he said it ensures better coverage around the creases in case there is a disputed goal and it gives more opportunities for young officials to break into the game.

That, in turn, would increase the referee pool.

He also pointed out that each referee and linesman would have to cover only half the ice.

Two other proposals that were approved included limiting the size of the goaltenders’ equipment and eliminating the stick curvature rule so players don’t have to worry about having too much of a curve.

“There hasn’t been any evidence that the bigger curve helps you,” said Whitehead.

Policing the goaltender equipment is designed to “increase scoring,” as were several of the proposals, according to Whitehead.

Again, the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee will have to approve the changes.

An idea that was discussed but wasn’t proposed was eliminating the blue lines. The red line would be used for icing, as it is now, and it would also be used for offsides.

“I think that’s very intriguing,” said Whitehead.