Editorial

It’s time for the NCAA to blow the whistle on the five-on-five hockey OT

Athletes and fans alike all have one thing in common when their team faces competition. They want to win. However, the NCAA has an ice hockey policy in place that is not conducive to winning . . . or losing. Let us explain.

One of the major differences between NHL and NCAA ice hockey is how overtime is handled during the regular season. In the NHL, if the score is tied after three periods of play, the game heads to a three-on-three (plus goaltender) sudden death five minute overtime period. (For those who are not hockey fans, non-overtime play is five-on-five plus goaltenders, barring penalties that could give a team a one or two skater advantage). This was changed from a four-on-four overtime, which was in place before the 2015-16 season.

If one of the teams breaks the tie, the game ends immediately and that team wins. If the score is still tied at the end of the extra frame, the game proceeds into a three-round shootout to decide the winner. The shootout becomes a sudden death if the two teams are still tied after three shots each, and the first team to break the tie wins.

In the NCAA however, games that are tied after three periods remain five-on-five (plus goaltenders) for a five minute sudden death overtime period. Like the NHL, the game ends immediately if either team scores. However if the score is still deadlocked at the end of overtime, then the game ends in a tie.

A loophole in this rule is that individual hockey conferences can choose to use the NHL’s overtime format, however most conferences, including the Northeast-10 and the New England Hockey Conference (the two conferences Saint Anselm men’s and women’s hockey play in), opt to use the five-on-five overtime with no shoot out .

To be clear, both the NHL and NCAA policies outlined above are for non-tournament/regular season play. In the postseason, both the NHL and the NCAA use 20-minute sudden death overtime periods that continue until one of the teams breaks the tie. Obviously someone has to win in a playoff or championship game, but why not in the regular season as well?

The NCAA’s current overtime rules cause a lot of games that extend beyond three periods of regulation to end in ties. The issue is that five minutes of five-on-five play is not conducive to goal scoring. The ice is crowded, and there is not a lot of time for scoring opportunities, especially when you consider that both teams have already been skating for 60 minutes. That is a very long and tiring stretch, even for college or professional athletes. A three-on-three or even a four-on-four overtime period would yield more scoring opportunities because there is a clearer path to the goal with less defensemen on the ice.

This is a rule that has affected both the Saint Anselm men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. Each have already tallied two ties so far this season, and the men’s ice hockey team had three last season.

This is a topic that has been discussed by high-ranking officials within the NCAA. In fact, a proposal to change the overtime policy was put forth in June of 2016, however the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee made the decision to “table” the proposal in July.

This proposal included a four-on-four sudden death overtime period, followed by a three-on-three sudden death overtime, and then a sudden death shootout if the game was still tied.

Whether down the road the NCAA decides to adopt this policy or go with the NHL’s overtime rules, the bottom line is that a change should be made the put an end to ties.