It was a goal.
The overtime game-winner in Friday’s Nebraska-Omaha-Michigan NCAA West Regional semifinal is a goal—regardless of what you or I or Dean Blais or MGoBlog or @RedArmyUNO or that goofy Michigan fan in the ESPNU replay standing up pointing to the center of the ice thinks—because Harry Dumas and Chip McDonald, who officiated the game, said it was a goal.
The referees, according to the postgame comment issued by NCAA rules secretary Steve Piotrowski, were 100 percent sure that it was goal. Later, during an ESPNU interview, Piotrowski said the overhead replay provided the on-ice officials with conclusive evidence.
Mike Eidelbes, independent observer who doesn’t care who wins, still ain’t buying what they’re selling. After all, I’ve seen a ton of replays, still captures of live video, you name it. And if you look close enough, you can sort of see the puck and kind of make out the goal line. But there are also photos where, if you look close enough, you can see the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. It probably was a goal. But probably, in this instance, isn’t good enough. It definitely has to be a goal.
But then I got to thinking, maybe I want the doubts to be there. If I come in with a preconceived notion that it wasn’t a goal, I’m going to see what I want to me. Maybe that’s the difference between the refs and me. I’m looking for what I think I saw. They’re just looking.
Listen, being an official has got to be one of the worst jobs ever. You’re never seen Mike Rowe tackle it, have you? No one’s rooting for you. Under the best circumstances, half the people watching you are unhappy with how you’re doing your job. When I make a mistake at work, I don’t have thousands of observers making instant judgments about my capabilities.*
* Unless it’s commandeering the @inch Twitter account and abusing my privileges without thinking things through first. That happened Friday night. It was a lot like Ferris and Cameron taking the Ferrari in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”—it was a hell of a lot of fun at first, but there came a point where I wanted to roll the odometer back and couldn’t. My sincere and profuse apologies to all, especially MGoBlog, which I read regularly and thoroughly enjoy.
Also, thanks to Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski for the asterisk-as-a-sidebar method. He’s the best writer out there, and this is as close as I’ll get to emulating him.
Some people claim that it had to be a goal because Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais didn’t complain following the game. But, honestly, what’s Blais to do? If he complains, it comes off looking like sour grapes. When it comes to things like this, there’s no appellate process. Blais should be commended for taking the high road, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he agrees with the decision.
College hockey fans will debate this one forever. No one wants to see a game that way. But it was a goal, because they said it was.
