RedRidingHood

Regarding the posts about the Norwin-Sewickley Academy game: It’s very unfortunate when there is a lopsided game. It doesn’t benefit either team. But please don’t believe that this win by Norwin was the biggest lopsided game ever. Though it’s interesting to know that if this was a tournament game where goal differential mattered then this wouldn’t be an issue. Gotta love double standards. So by the reasoning pointed out so far, along with Norwin, the coaches of Meadville (a 17-0 win) Fox Chapel (17-2 win) TJ who’s had a few blowouts and others - all have no class and are poor sports??? I’m not saying anything about these coaches or teams, just pointing out that Norwin is not alone being in the uncomfortable position of dominating a game Its so easy for people to point the finger and call names. Look at the box scores. SA had 12 shots. Norwin had 58. Norwin could have had a lot more shots and more goals but they did draw back. 3 JV Call ups had considerable ice time. Top lines were rested and broken up. There was little to no cheering after the 5th goal except a little chatter for a player who had the opportunity to score his first goal of the season. The SA goalie made some great saves and played a heck of a game but it’s ignorant to think that Norwin played that game to run up the score. Could the coach have done more? Yes. He could have told two lines to go to the locker room or the snack bar after the first period. He could have told 5 of his skaters to go to the SA bench and play for them. Is this a hallmark movie or a hockey game? He could have played 5 on 3, but would probably still been criticized and called arrogant. And if passing the puck 15 times before a shot or playing with less players didn’t make a difference - way to bring the embattled opponent down even more. If a team shows up with 8 skaters - and if you look at their season they’ve played a few games with less than 2 full lines - I only hope they can get through this season and either co-op with another school or recruit or do something to put together a competitive team. It’s not comfortable to watch, win, or lose a lopsided game. Norwin parents and the coaches were not elated about that win. We felt sorry for the opponent, we hoped they had more scoring opportunities, and we hope that they are more competitive in their next matchup. But the structure that exists of - no schedule changes or you will be fined - and the pressure that is placed on teams to show up when they are not prepared to compete are major problems. And how about the running clock? How about after 2 periods - just end the game so this isn’t an issue. Its not fun to watch a WPIAL football blowout either and they are way more common. If team is winning by more than 10 goals after 2, cut the ice and call it quits and go home early. I hope the creepers, bullies, complainers, name callers, critics and all the decent people on this site can remember most games are good matchups. A few are ridiculously lopsided. What goal differential is acceptable and what goal differential is crossing the line? That’s a rhetorical question. Lastly, and the main reason for my post is that the character of any coach or team should NOT be labeled by the score of one game. Shame on anyone that feels they have the right to make that kind of judgement in a public forum.