~Why not finish D-1 hockey final on Sunday?~
-By Mike Moore-
PLYMOUTH - It began with the legs.
Once sturdy and dependable, they were now wobbly, weary, enduring the most extreme test the season had known.
Fatigue of the entire body wasn’t far behind.
Like an indiscriminate plague, it reached out and infected each and every person, transforming a once-raucous energy level to that of a choir practice.
And that was just the crowd.
On the ice, back-and-forth play, highlighting the best hockey Division 1 had to offer, had crippled to a game of dump and (kind of) chase, with a few scoring chances arbitrarily mixed in for affect.
In the end, it took three regulation periods and eight overtimes for the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Marquette High hockey teams to determine, well, nothing really.
With sweating — an act as much a part of hockey as skating itself — having stopped in some players all together, the MHSAA decided to declare co-champs, halting the longest game in Michigan high school hockey history in a 1-1 draw.
It was a decision made, according to MHSAA Assistant Director and Hockey Coordinator Randy Allen, for “the health, safety and welfare of the athletes.”
Now, with the game etched into the history books and the initial shock worn off, it remains, by all accounts, the wrong decision.
“The decision was made and I understand the logic. They did what they had to,” said St. Mary’s coach Brian Klanow, his tone revealing the overall opinion his words danced around.
“If the kids lives were at stake then they were right to halt the game,” said Grosse Pointe North coach Scott Lock, who attended the game after Marquette defeated his squad the day before. “But they should’ve finished it at some point. When you compete all season and do everything you can to put yourself in a spot to be a champion, you want to win it or lose it.”
Continuing the game that night was out of the question. As a matter of fact, halting it after four or five overtimes would have been a wise move, justified by the deteriorated play on the ice. The suggestion of a shootout was born in the moments and hours following, but, “we don’t allow shootouts,” Allen explained. “There’s very little support for that.”
Instead, the easy, but not necessarily simple, decision should have been resuming the game the following day. With the Detroit Ignition playing a home game the following afternoon, rescheduling at Compuware was out of the question. Also, as was seen in 2002 when a power outage in Flint forced games postponement to Monday, the MHSAA doesn’t allow games on Sundays.
“Maybe there should be some flexibility in that,” said Marquette coach Joe Papin, who when asked if he was in favor of playing Sunday, thundered, “Without a doubt.”
Scratch ‘maybe’ from Papins comment and there’s your answer.
Finding another location, at some point on a Sunday, would have required a phone call, maybe two, to rinks in the immediate area. And with St. Mary’s commuting to the games and Marquette already scheduled to stay in town win or lose (or draw), that night, well, “It wouldn’t have cost us anything more than planned,” Papin explained. “We’d let the kids get a good night sleep and get back at it the following morning. It’s kind of disappointing the state didn’t have a plan for this type of situation.”
Allen admitted, had this been a semifinal or quarterfinal game for example, “We would’ve found a way to determine a winner.”
He also pointed out a scenario like this would never happen, or be excepted, in any other sport, i.e. the 2007 St. Mary’s – East Grand Rapids five-overtime football final. “Hockey is unique in the physical demand it takes to play for an extended period of time.”
There were other factors, of course, in even allowing the game to get to eight overtimes. After eight penalties were called in the first two periods, one — too many men at 3:26 of the fourth overtime — was called in the final nine. The refs didn’t swallow their whistles; they buried them in the parking lot.
“There could’ve been some penalties,” Lock politely quipped.
The MHSAA could’ve extended the time between overtimes, allowing players to not only rest more, but also refuel their bodies with food.
Unfortunately, could’ves and should’ves will forever define a night that could’ve and should’ve included the greatest champion-determining game the MHSAA has ever seen.
“Maybe I’m old school,” Lock added. “But one team should win. One should lose.”
This column was originally published with C & G News on March 26.
Send questions or comments to mjm12@albion.edu
