As the overtime clock struck 15 seconds, Boston University sophomore forward Alex Chiasson collected a bouncing puck along the right boards for one last potential rush into the University of Massachusetts zone. Chiasson looked up ice to see a streaking Matt Nieto flying through the neutral zone. The sophomore veteran, playing in his first game of the season following the conclusion of a three-game suspension, threaded a perfect pass to the freshman right at the Minutemen’s blue line, and it was off to the races.
With nothing in front of him but shaved ice and UMass goaltender Jeff Teglia, Nieto began to cut toward the net in an attempt to break the game’s 2-2 draw with a line of Minutemen speeding to catch him.
But just as Nieto entered the slot, UMass defenseman Conor Allen took a whack from behind him as if he were a lumberjack cutting down a redwood. The penalty arm went up, but Nieto continued anyway, firing just wide left of the target. Soon after the shot wildly struck the back boards, the cries of dismay by the 5,920 in attendance at Agganis Arena soon turned into calls for a penalty shot.
“On the breakaway, our whole bench was yelling “Penalty shot!’ because we thought it was from directly behind,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “If it’s from directly from behind and it causes the penalty, it’s supposed to be a penalty shot.”
However, the Terriers received no such reward.
Allen was sent to the penalty box on a slashing call for the game’s remaining nine seconds, but the man advantage &- short-lived as it was &- proved fruitless. Senior defenseman David Warsofsky took a slapshot from the right point off the ensuing faceoff, but that found Teglia’s left leg pad. The game ended deadlocked at two, but many exiting the seats and the press box were still left scratching their heads about why the penalty shot &- described by some as the most exciting play in sports &- was never called.
The NCAA 2010-12 rules and interpretations handbook (Rule 6, Section 29f) states, “A player controlling the puck on the opponent’s side of the center red line and having no opponent to pass other than the goalkeeper shall not be interfered with by a stick or part thereof or any other object thrown or shot by any member of the defending team.” The rule lists the resulting penalty for such a situation as “penalty shot/optional minor.”
Despite the clarity of the rule, neither John Gravallese nor Justin Greene &- the evening’s referees &- made the motion toward center ice to signal the penalty shot. However, one of the two most influential players in scarlet-and-white didn’t take too much offense to the no-call.
“To me, it looked like it should have been,” said BU captain Chris Connolly. “But ref’s discretion so you can’t really argue it.”
Parker noted that he didn’t get a great look at the breakaway, but that didn’t stop the 38-year coach from having an opinion on what should have happened.
“It appears to me he was in alone and he got chopped from behind,” Parker said. “If he was directly in alone and not a sideways chop, then it should be a penalty shot. But I don’t know where he chopped him from. He chopped him pretty good.”
UMass coach Don “Toot” Cahoon also admitted that he didn’t have a good look at the call from his spot on the left side of the ice, but for a completely different reason than his former coach.
“In fact, I was so happy the kid shot wide that I wasn’t even aware there was a penalty,” Cahoon said. “I think I buried my head when I saw the puck hit the back.”
Furthering the complexity of the no-call was the fact that the resulting Nieto shot even occurred in the first place. According to NHL rules, penalty shots cannot occur if the interfered player is still able to make an attempt to score following the infraction. That is not the case in college hockey, meaning that the potential for a penalty shot remained despite the Nieto wrist shot.
Penalty shot or not, the Terriers found themselves tied with a team that was predicted to finish ninth in Hockey East by the conference’s coaches in the preseason. Whether or not BU would have been able to capitalize on any potential reward could be argued both ways, but what is not debatable is that the team that benefitted most from the no-call was the Minutemen, the team that caused the infraction in the first place.
“We escaped there for sure,” said Cahoon.
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