IIHF makes a change for the semifinals after the controversial goal against Canada
Hockey Patrol has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL or NHLPA
Photo credit: Marton Monus/Reuters via Imagn Images
Olympic referees are expected to have stricter due diligence after the major blunder between Canada and Czechia.
The apparent blown call in the quarterfinals that nearly gave Czechia the win, and set Canada home, is one that is being discussed avoiding letting it happen again.
Canada nearly lost in what is well known now to have been a goal scored by Czechia’s Ondrej Palat that was not called back by the referees at the time, not noticed that Czechia had six skaters on the ice.With no one recognizing the extra skater, neither the teams nor the staff, a major error in the game had transpired, and had the score counted, which was 3-2, it would have eliminated Canada from the tournament.
A goal cannot be called back even if a penalty is to happen while in play, as it would have to be called by the referees to whistle a play dead before a goal is scored.
Despite this, the IIHF is working to avoid another incident such as this one, but aren’t pushing now for any new rules to be put in place right away.
IIHF not signaling plans to establish new rules for this Olympics
If the IIHF is planning to enhance their ability to not miss clear penalties at the Olympic games, it won’t be happening right away this year.
A report from Pierre LeBrun suggests that while IIHF officials spoke to those involved in the Canada-Czechia game, no plans have been made to change things in terms of quality control ahead of Canada’s semifinals match against Finland.
The IIHF admitted that a mistake was made in the missed call, and that indeed it should have been called as a penalty, but noted that referees are not perfect, and focus remains on the tournament.
It’s unclear if going forward if there will be any changes made for potential future games, including a coaches ability to ask for penalty reviews in the case of challenging possible missed calls.
The rest of the Olympics will be hoped by the IIHF not to repeat the mistake made in the quarterfinals, but believing that a repeat is hopeful not to happen again.
Previously on Hockey Patrol
POLL
21 HOURS AGO|611 ANSWERS
IIHF makes a change for the semifinals after the controversial goal against Canada
Should the IIHF allow for the review of potential missed penalties in play?