About tenons, holes and a skilled Norwegian

On Sunday evening and Monday, the range of comments on the Steinbach Black Wings’ two disallowed goals in their guest appearance in Graz ranged from “insolence” and “mess” to the insinuation of match-fixing. We spoke to rules experts and found out how this situation came about.

When is a goal considered postponed? Rule 78.4 of the IIHF rule book states that a goal is only considered moved when the pin, i.e. the connecting piece between the goal frame and the ice, is no longer in contact with the hole in the goal frame. “The goal frame may be slightly raised at one post (or both), but as long as the flexible pegs still extend into the holes in the ice and the goal posts, the goal frame is considered not moved,” the rules say. “What is relevant is the time at which the puck is released when the goal is shot. So if the puck is on the move and the goal is pushed out during this time, the hit counts,” says Referee in Chief (ÖEHV head of referees) Gerhard Schiffauer.
So why were the goals disallowed? Because for us this rule can only be applied in some halls. But not in Graz, Villach, Salzburg, Feldkirch and Linz. “This is our number one problem. Five halls in the league have not followed a rule that was decided in December 2022 and introduced this season. The IIHF rules speak of flexible pegs, the so-called goal pegs. There are usually eight Centimeters long. However, there is an infrastructure problem in the halls mentioned. Only shorter pins and shallower holes can be used there because the cooling hoses are underneath the holes. Logically, gates with short pins are much easier to get out of the – much shallower – anchoring,” says the Director of Hockey Operations, i.e. the top rule keeper of the ICE Hockey Leauge, Lyle Seitz, in the OÖN telephone call.

The statement from the ICE Hockey League in the video:

If in doubt, shouldn’t the original “Good Goal” decision have been retained? The “Call On The Ice”, i.e. the referees’ original decision before viewing the video images, was “Good Goal”, i.e. goal for Linz. But: Because the short pegs are not considered flexible, there are no gray areas in the ICE Hockey League, unlike the IIHF rule book. In the domestic league, either “goal is anchored” or “goal is moved” applies. And in both cases it could be seen that the goal was raised at least on one side and the crossbar was not parallel to the goal line from the above-goal perspective. But:
If you don’t give the goals, shouldn’t you at least call a penalty against the goalie? No. Because a penalty against the goalkeeper for tearing the goal out of its anchorage requires an intentional movement. In both situations, Graz goalie Lars Volden’s movement must be classified as normal and unintentional. If the Norwegian had done it on purpose, he would have done it very cleverly.

To (worth seeing) Press conference after the game

In this case, wouldn’t the referees have to reset the time on the clock to the point at which the goal was dislodged? No. “The IIHF rule book lists several cases in which the clock must be reset. And this case, when a goal is postponed, is not one of them,” says Seitz.
Do skillful goalies now have freedom in these halls? Will Sunday evening set a precedent? Probably not. The league’s goalie committee will meet tomorrow to discuss adjusting the rules. Jürgen Penker is also a member of this league committee.
Doesn’t this case damage the league’s reputation? Lyle Seitz answers this question like this: “It’s good if it’s now shown that the long pegs would make sense. Maybe this will change something at the five locations. Because if you want to have a professional league, you should also be professional in the implementation of it act on jointly decided guidelines.”

Conclusion: The league – and in this case Lyle Seitz – is raising the issue to a general discussion about the lack of implementation of the long goal pegs and is defending its referees. According to the IIHF interpretation, the goals would have been awarded in a World Cup game.

According to Seitz, Linz reacted professionally, even if emotions played a role at the beginning. That’s why he had a longer conversation with coach Philipp Lukas today.