St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko didn’t see the hit live. Neither, apparently, did any of the four men in stripes on the ice. At least not very clearly.

With North Dakota star defenseman Chay Genoway laying on the ice, obviously injured after getting hit from behind against the end boards, the officials had seen enough to know that the infraction warranted a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. They just were a little fuzzy on who did it.

So with 2:33 to play in the second period of what would end up as a 4-2 Fighting Sioux win last Friday, referees Tim Walsh and Don Adam informed Huskies junior defenseman Chris Hepp that he was out of the game. According to Motzko, that’s when he first learned there was something wrong with the call.

“Chris went to (assistant coach) Eric Rud and said, ‘Why am I being tossed? I didn’t hit anybody!’” Motzko said. Hepp, who wears sweater number 18, had been confused with Aaron Marvin, who wears 17, and who had delivered what his coach called a “careless hit” on Genoway.

During the ensuing break between periods WCHA supervisor of officials Greg Shepherd, who was in attendance in Grand Forks that night, went over view of the play with the on-ice officials.

“We wanted to get it right, because we weren’t sure of the number,” Shepherd said.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door of the Huskies locker room, and officials informed the team that Marvin, not Hepp, was out of the game. Hepp, who was out of uniform and headed for the shower, quickly geared up and played the third period. Marvin got a one-game suspension from the league and did not play in Saturday’s 3-2 St. Cloud State win.

According to Shepherd, the goal is to get the call right on the ice, but they can and do use video to ensure that the right players are penalized.

“You can’t go back and change penalties, but you can change the numbers,” Shepherd said.

Motzko said that in the confusion, mistakes happen, and he’s happy they took the time to eventually make the correct call, using the tools they have.

“One of the great things about video is that they can get it right,” Motzko said.

As for the hypothetical question about what would have happened had Marvin scored a goal during that 153-second span where he skated a shift for the Huskies when he should have been out of the game, Shepherd refused to speculate.

“I don’t even want to go there,” he said. “It worked out fine, and it’s over with.”