{"id":26754,"date":"2004-10-21T14:24:39","date_gmt":"2004-10-21T19:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2004\/10\/21\/ecac-commits-to-ncaa-points-of-emphasis\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:46","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:46","slug":"ecac-commits-to-ncaa-points-of-emphasis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2004\/10\/21\/ecac-commits-to-ncaa-points-of-emphasis\/","title":{"rendered":"ECAC Commits to NCAA Points of Emphasis"},"content":{"rendered":"
ECAC commissioner Phil Buttafuoco today confirmed his conference’s commitment to following the NCAA’s points of emphasis in its leagues and in the conferences for which it assigns officials.<\/p>\n
“We’re happy with the directive and we believe it’s going to lead to more exciting games, and, for the fans, shorter games,” said Buttafuoco in a conference call about the NCAA’s plan to open up the game. “We’re going to see the skilled players playing the game the way it was developed many years ago.”<\/p>\n
While the Division I ECAC Hockey League has separated from the ECAC hierarchy, the conference still houses three men’s Division III leagues, the ECAC East, Northeast and West, and two women’s Division III leagues, the ECAC East and West. The ECAC also assigns referees for the other D-III conferences in the northeast, the SUNYAC and the men’s and women’s NESCAC. That gives the ECAC responsibility for officiating at about two-thirds of all college hockey games at the Division II and III levels.<\/p>\n
Buttafuoco said that the goal is not to see more penalties. “We’re not asking the officials to make more calls; we’re basically asking the coaches and players to adapt.”<\/p>\n
Buttafuoco was joined on the call by Paul Duffy, director of the men’s and women’s ECAC West leagues, and by George Starr, director of the men’s East and Northeast and women’s East leagues and officiating coordinator for the men’s ECAC East and NESCAC. In addition, Duffy has been the NCAA’s secretary-rules editor for the ice hockey rules committee for 17 years. The two directors were named to their new positions in July<\/a>.<\/p>\n Duffy said that the NCAA rules committee had a strong directive from coaches and commissioners to change the culture in which the game was being played.<\/p>\n “In the last five years, the committee felt that hooking, holding, interference and impeding the progress of players had not only crept into the game, but was really taking over the game, and the skilled player was not able to get open and to score,” Duffy said.<\/p>\n