It’s that time of year again. College hockey season is upon us and the NCAA is going to emphasize rules that will open the game up.

Again.

The NCAA wrote an open letter to the hockey community saying, in a nutshell, the “let-them-play” philosophy is out and the point of emphasis for the 2004-2005 season will be “proper rules enforcement.”

The NCAA wants referees to crack down on players impeding offensive players coming through the neutral zone who try to make a legitimate attempt to get open for a pass or are in pursuit of a loose puck.

They also want refs to call penalties on defensive players who are restraining offensive players along the boards, whether the offensive player has the puck or not.

If an offensive player gains a positional advantage and the defensive player negates the advantage through the illegal use of his hands, arms, or stick, it is going to be called this season (wink, wink, nod, nod).

No more clutching and grabbing. No more “picks.”

And the old stick-between-the-opponent’s-legs trick?

Nope, nada.

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee, the NCAA commissioner, and the supervisors of officials do not want their game to go the way of the NHL.

They don’t want games without flow. Good scoring chances are few and far between in the NHL because every team gets numbers on the defensive side of the puck and they clutch, grab, and hook.

TV ratings for NHL games are virtually nonexistent in the United States. Did you even know there’s a lockout?

This is an admirable attempt by the NCAA and the various ice hockey administrators to create a more exciting game.

They insist that that they aren’t asking referees to call more penalties, they just want the players and coaches to conform to the rulebook.

If they don’t, they expect more penalties to be called.

What will happen is referees will call it according to the new edict for the first couple of months. But games will turn into penalty-fests that will last three-plus hours.

Coaches and players will complain and so will the media, particularly the ones on deadline.

You simply can’t expect players to change their style of play overnight.

Eventually, the referees will revert back to calling the game the way they always have.

The college game will still be a much better product than the NHL, and if the players can conform to this new edict and the referees stick to it, it will become an even better product with more end-to-end action and flow.

Ideally, the best we can hope for is a happy medium. And that would be fine.

I don’t want everything called, but I would like more penalties called that involve impeding the offensive player.

An offensive player chasing a puck shouldn’t be held up.

Period.

Denver and Maine put on a defensive clinic in their NCAA championship game a year ago. But Denver’s 1-0 triumph was tough on the eyes, even for defensive-minded purists.

Good scoring chances were rare.

There was no flow.

It was like an NHL game.

Denver fans enjoyed it, but it was a bore to everyone else. That’s not to take anything away from the Pioneers. They earned the title.

Hopefully, games like that will be uncommon, especially if the NCAA edict is followed.

Just don’t hold your breath.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.