With the aim of improving the quality of play and "cleaning up the game," the 2004-05 NCAA ice hockey season began with an increased emphasis on proper rules enforcement. The initiative has been a lightning rod for media attention and criticism, though no changes were made to the rules book and no directives to call more penalties were issued.

For months, the state of the game had been a topic of concern for those involved at all levels -- professional, collegiate, club, high-school and youth leagues. Some recent developments in the game, including advancements in technology, coaching, equipment, talent and officiating, have produced fewer scoring opportunities during the course of a contest.

Conference commissioners at the NCAA level knew a change had to start somewhere, and they decided to provide leadership.

With that in mind, several conference commissioners, led by Tom Anastos of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, proposed the following "target areas" of rules enforcement that would make penalties more consistent and standard across the board.

• Offensive players coming through the neutral or offensive zones being unfairly/illegally held up while they make a legitimate attempt to get or remain open for a pass from a puck-controlling teammate.

• Offensive players coming through the neutral or offensive zones being unfairly/illegally held up while they attempt the legitimate pursuit of a loose puck.

• Players along the boards, on or away from the puck, being unfairly/illegally restrained.

"It should definitely be noted that there aren't any new rules here, there's just an increased emphasis on enforcing them," said Ty Halpin, NCAA associate director of playing rules administration. "We've asked our officials to do that."

Often, officials would allow the situations to play out without calling a penalty, especially if the offensive player was able to play through the defensive player's illegal maneuvering.

The issue has received a barrage of media attention, with critics suggesting the emphasis on enforcement has slowed down the game and resulted in more penalties. According to an NCAA analysis of penalties and penalty minutes comparing the first 121 games of the 2003-04 season to the first 111 games of this season, both figures are up significantly (see accompanying chart).

However, Anastos said he believes the increase is natural and will dissipate with time.

"Penalties are being called because infractions are taking place on the ice. I know, without being an official myself, that officials don't want to call penalties if they don't have to call penalties," he said. "Without question, players are adjusting and very much adapting with play along the boards. You can see players approaching and covering players in the neutral zone and in the slot area in a different way without wrapping arms and sticks around."

No backing down

Joe Bertagna, commissioner of Hockey East Association, said eventually players and coaches will understand that the enforcement of existing rules has become the new standard and will adjust their play and instruction accordingly.

"The players and coaches will have more to say about how many penalties are called than the referees will," he said. "If they want to make a game of chicken out of this and think that we'll back down, the penalties are going to be called and will continue to be called."

Bertagna said that while most coaches and players have been supportive, some have expressed frustration with the way the game is called. That frustration was expected, he said, because players had been committing penalties without getting called for them for quite some time.

The new standard will remain in place for the foreseeable future, including during championship play. Halpin said the leagues and the NCAA are committed to upholding the new emphasis.

"It's the conferences' charge right now to carry this out for us, but at the same time, we supply and select the officials for these championships," he said. "It's based on the regular season, so our selections have to be in line with what we've said all year. We want everybody to understand that we're strongly behind this, and we do understand there is some concern, some nervousness out there. We are looking long-term, for the benefit of the game."

Bertagna said that while the number of penalties might be up, he doesn't believe players are being called for behaviors that aren't illegal or unfair, and that players need to learn to play the game more cleanly to avoid being sent to the box.

"Almost everything I've seen that's been called a penalty is a penalty. What we're experiencing here is more of a statement on where we let the game go. Guys have been so used to doing so many things that are illegal and getting away with it because of the flow of the game, the score, or who the ref was that the rules book became just a bunch of suggestions some nights as opposed to hard and fast rules," he said. "If you hit somebody clean, you're not going to get a penalty."

More offense the goal

Ice Hockey Rules Committee Chair Rico Blasi, head hockey coach at Miami University (Ohio), said that while he isn't surprised by the media attention given to the issue, he doesn't believe that players, coaches and even fans are complaining too loudly about the changes.

He sees players adjusting with each game, and coaches are reinforcing the need for change at their level, even though it's been difficult.

"The things I hear (from fans) are usually when the home team loses, and so they're going to complain anyway," he said. "If the home team wins, you don't hear anything. I think this is an adjustment period for everybody involved, including the fans. I think we've tried to do a good job of educating everybody on why we're doing it."

Those involved with the initiative acknowledge that the emphasis on three specific areas of the rules book will not immediately change the nature of the game, because factors such as improved equipment and the talent of defensive players are strong contributors to the decline in offense at all levels of the game.

While the immediate goal of the initiative is merely to make the game more attractive, officials do hope that eventually it will lead to more offense.

"Offense is down. This isn't going to bring back offense (by itself)," Bertagna said, pointing out that in the 2004 national-championship game, the University of Denver scored only one goal to beat the University of Maine, Orono. "It's going to hopefully open up the game a little bit and be a step forward."

The initiative isn't the end of the road for changes in the collegiate hockey game, either. Officials predict a wider range of situations will be brought under the stringent enforcement umbrella by the start of the 2005-06 season. However, while commissioners and other officials were able to reach a consensus on the issues presented this season, no agreement has been reached on what the next step will be.

Blasi said he doesn't see any major changes ahead for the rules book, a document he considers to be accurate and complete.

"The goal of the whole initiative is to make our game the best it can be and show off the skill and intensity and the tempo that it has," he said.