Penalties killing them

NCAA cracks down on cheap infractions

On Oct. 19, there was a much-anticipated Hockey East matchup between Boston University and New Hampshire in Durham. It was close, as the Wildcats edged the Terriers, 2-1. But instead of being a great game, it was highlighted (lowlighted?) by a parade to the penalty box. There were 17 power plays, and because of the number of penalties, the game lacked flow.

That is certainly not the only game that has been bogged down by a myriad of infractions. In Michigan's visit to BU Saturday night, there were 82 minutes in penalties.

Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna said there is an NCAA initiative to protect the puck carrier and give the skilled players a chance to showcase their talents. He believes that as the season moves along, players will get used to the new directives and adjust accordingly. "There are two things in play," said Bertagna. "No. 1, the NCAA over the summer recognized that they wanted to provide more protection for the player with the puck. In a very specific way, they've identified protection of the puck carrier as something they want to focus on."

Bertagna said that means the puck carrier can't get hooked or held as in the past, which should produce more and better scoring chances and a better product.

The second dynamic is the change to a two-referee, two-linesman system from the one-referee system. The extra set of eyes allows a greater possibility of infractions being caught.

"I think the players are not yet adjusting to the fact that they are getting caught doing things that a year ago they would've gotten away with," said Bertagna. "We've had three weekends now and we're thinking four or five weeks into it, if we're still having some problems, we might have to adjust it. Going to the two-referee system, we've got some new people officiating who haven't reffed before. If you look at it on a given Friday or Saturday, ECAC hockey, Atlantic Hockey, and Hockey East all need twice as many refs than they needed last year. The only way we've been able to pull this off is find new referees and elevate linesmen to referee status, and in some cases, our newer refs are still feeling their way around in establishing their standard and feeling comfortable."

Bertagna expects the number of penalties to drop as players recognize what will be called.

"In my experience, the players do adjust," he said. "After a while, they realize it's not going to be a game of chicken. We are telling the referees, 'Know what a penalty is in your mind, and if you see it, call it. Don't be swayed by the situation.' I think some of the refs do get in trouble if they try to handicap a game, trying to make a game come out even. You can't get into that. We're on solid ground with what we're trying to do."

Donato honored

Harvard coach Ted Donato is among 11 inductees into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame. The 14th annual induction ceremony and dinner will be held Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Lombardo's in Randolph. Donato is part of an outstanding induction class that features Bruins Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt, former NHL linesman Kevin Collins, longtime hockey broadcaster Dave Shea, legendary hockey patron and former Bruins president Walter Brown, and former US women's national team standout Stephanie O'Sullivan. The other five are builders Allen Wright, Gordon Blaney, and Gerry Bartholomew, 1952 Olympic silver medalist Joe Czarnota, and Billerica coach Paul Barber. Bernie Corbett, the radio voice of Harvard football and BU men's hockey, will serve as master of ceremonies . . . UMass-Lowell freshman center David Vallorani is making a difference. His 5 points in four games mark the quickest offensive start for a River Hawks freshman since Greg Koehler had 6 points in four games to start the 1996-97 season. Vallorani has factored in 55.6 percent of the team's offense, assisting on five of the nine goals. In addition, he has won more than 50 percent of his faceoffs twice - including 8 of 13 in his debut at Colgate Oct. 11 - and has won 47.7 percent overall . . . UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald heads into tonight's game against Quinnipiac needing one victory to reach 200 for his career. MacDonald, in his eighth year behind the River Hawks' bench, is 199-181-49 in his 13 years as a coach . . . Northeastern keeps on rolling. The Huskies are coming off a weekend series sweep of host Maine at Alfond Arena in Orono for the first time since Jan. 28-29, 1994. Goaltender Brad Thiessen set a school record with his eighth career shutout in Friday's 5-0 victory, breaking Keni Gibson's mark set from 2001-05. Thiessen stopped all but one of the 56 shots he faced in the two victories. NU, now 5-0-1, is off to its second-best start in history. The Huskies' 4-0-0 Hockey East record is their best since league play began in 1984-85.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.