The NCAA hockey season kicked off this past weekend with
a series of exhibition games and three regular season games. The newly founded
National Collegiate Hockey Conference is set to begin play this season. The NCHC
will use the shootout to break ties during conference match-ups, if the game is
tied after a standard five-minute overtime period.
Like I mentioned in an earlier article, while this move
is going to be a controversial to some NCHC hockey
fans, I think it’s a smart move by the NCHC to adopt the shootout.
Why not? To me, it seems like a no-brainer. According to College
Hockey Inc., Division I College hockey is responsible for providing and
supplying about 30
percent of the players that play in the NHL. If Division I college hockey
is going to continue to be a top development league and a route to the NHL,
College hockey rules “should” closely mirror those of the NHL. I believe this
is a move in the right direction.
Last night during the exhibition game the Manitoba Bison,
at the end of the game, the two teams had a shootout. It was a practice run for
UND. UND outscored the Bison 2-0 with UND goalie Zane Gothberg stopping both
Bison shooters that he faced.
In interviewing some of the players on the UND Hockey
team, they do seem excited about the prospects of the NCHC using the shootout
to break ties. This past week, UND goalie Zane Gothberg was asked about the new
league and unsolicited he brought up the shootout.
“I am looking forward to it, especially with the
shootouts that they’ll have at the end of the game, if there’s a tie,” Zane Gothberg
said. That will be kind of cool.
Junior forward Michal Parks was asked about his thoughts
on the shootout and this is what he had to say.
“I like it,” Parks said. “It will make our game more like
the NHL game.”
To be honest with you, I am excited about the shootout as
well. I think it’s going to be an exciting feature of the NCHC. I also believe
the fans, for the most part, will embrace them.
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