I think I might be getting old. Back when I played midget and junior female hockey in the late 90’s, I can honestly say I maybe saw three or four punches thrown in an entire season. Even when I was playing in the elite women’s leagues, I only saw three fights over the course of 6 years.
So I’m not really sure how to explain why over the past two weekends, in the 20+ bantam, midget and junior games I’ve watched, I have seen at least 7 “fights”. And while no gloves or helmets came off, punches were definitely thrown.
My question is: WHY?
Is girls’ hockey more aggressive than it was 10 years ago? Not a chance. Are the players faster and stronger than they were a decade ago? Maybe slightly. But the best players from the late 90’s would still be great players today.
I would actually argue that the rule changes in girls’ hockey that happened a few years ago, when we adopted the NHL rules of no interference have actually created a breeding ground for violence in the female game.
Let me explain what I mean.
Back when I was playing midget, junior and women’s college hockey, obstruction and interference were still allowed in the women’s game.
There was a lot more contact on a regular basis out on the ice and we, as players, came to expect the fact that things were going to
get physical in the corners, on the boards and in front of the net.
But now that the rules have changed, girls aren’t expecting as much contact out on the ice. And when someone pushes them or gets in their way, they take exception to it. And unfortunately, that sometimes boils over into punches being thrown.
Let me be very clear about this.
If my players ever throw a punch, I bench them. Period. Sometimes I even kick them out of the game myself.
I don’t care if they were punched first and I don’t care if they are defending a teammate. There is NEVER a good reason to throw a punch out on the ice. I want my players to defend their teammates. But there is a big difference between pushing a player out of the way and clocking them in the side of the head. There is a big difference between being aggressive and being stupid.
Just a little something I had to get off my chest as we head into the holiday season.
Work Hard, Dream BIG and Be Smart.
~ Coach Kim
Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS?
Director, Total Female Hockey
Girls Hockey Director, PEAC School For Elite Athletes
In our league, the refereeing has been very inconsistent and I believe it has led to a lot of frustration on the ice. No one knows how the game is going to be called. When we were in a tournament recently, we actually had one ref ask our coaches “How do you want me to call the game because I am old school and like to let things go”. It looked like a boys hockey game with full body checking out there. I have seen a lot of interference, stick holding, etc. this year. Some refs are calling everything and some hardly call a penalty. In our last game we had a girl get crushed into the boards, I watched interference and tripping penalties and the other team pushed our net on top of our goalie. Their team received zero penalties in the game. How can that happen? I’m not sure what is going on with the level of refereeing this year and who are they accountable to? I think this has lead to players getting really frustrated on the ice and they are taking it out on the other team. My own daughter has played for 7 years and has never had more than a 2 minute penalty in a game but I seen her frustration in our last game and it looked like she was going to grab a player and punch her. That’s not the kind of player she is.
Great article Kim. I hate to say it, but I am seeing it at the PeeWee level too. In a recent game, one of my players was punched in the head while making her way to the bench for a line change. I hauled her off before she could retaliate. Shockingly, or perhaps not so, the player who threw the punch also punched three or four of our players during the “handshake line”. Ridiculous.
At a recent tournament in Detroit I watched PeeWee players get punched in the face with absolutely no call made by the refs. It’s so frustrating to see refs turning their back on this.
In the end, I wish more coaches were like you: It is up to us to send a message to players about what will and will not be tolerated - - regardless of how a referee chooses to call game. I’ve made it cear to my players that if they engage in this sort of garbage, they will sit.
I believe that there are a number of factors causing this to happen. The NHL, which is most influential part of our game, is promoting fighting via the obviously staged fights you now see during games, actually being stupid enough to have a “who’s the best fighter in the NHL contest” and finally, only spanking guys like Bertussi after he attacked another player. Why is this guy not in jail? Why is he still playing in the $$$$ league?
Because this is what our sick society wants to see.
Now, a lot of our elite coaches are either directly from the NHL or were NHL “wanna be’s”. The increase in the “little jab in the ribs” when the ref isn’t looking, the extra little jab at the goalie before the whistle blows or the “casual bump” on the way to the bench is being promoted by this mentality that is being allowed to creep into the female league in order to do the one thing that these guys care about.
WIN AT ANY COST!
I would hope that the leaders of this incredible version of the sport would see this happening and put a stop to it. The game is getting faster and more aggresive. That’s terrific. But the stupid stuff has to be stopped.
One last comment regarding referees.
Quite honestly, with all the garbage coming from the people in the stands who probably have never had a hockey stick in their hands, why would anyone in their right mind want to officiate any hockey game nowadays. It is unbelievable, that foul trash that comes from the stands. Every official should stop and take the time during a game to have these foul mouthed people removed from the arenas. It is incredible the things that these few [parents????] are capable of yelling at the referees.
Our game has to start policing itself to remove the violence and the idiots in the stands before something really bad happens.
It is funny that I revieve this email as I have just spent the last two days trying to see of there is a formal way of addressing bad behaviour on the ice. In an ATOM GAME last weekend we had an opposing player tell our girls to F%%K off, Stepped on ur goailes hand, stepped on one of our forwards when she was down, issued 3 two hand slashes that were loud enough to be heard at the bench, and hit one of our smallest players in the helmet so hard she had to leave the game. For all of this she recieved one 2 minute penalty. Did I mention that these are 10 year old girls. This kid obviously has behavioural problems but scheeesh.
I am pretty much in step with Mr. Frasers comments. I, too, scratch my head wondering who in their right mind would want to ref a game at the 10 to 15 year old level (for what…$ 35 bucks a game?) and put up with what they have to put up with. But, that being said - a good, common sense referee needs to take control of a game that it teetering on the edge of getting out of control. A deliberate stop to the game, with a frank and direct comment to each bench saying: “either you knock it off or I will call EVERYTHING…”
However, I feel in the really rough games (like at my daughters U14 game last weekend) when their is clear intent to injure (the dreaded hits/pushes from behind at high speeds and in close proximity to the boards) the blame can usually be traced back to A)The parents and B) The coach. You must remember: these are still young girls that are and can be influenced. Normally a passive observer of my daughters games - I was livid with the other team coaches that night as they continually allowed their players to make violent runs at their opponents in this particular game that could have seriously injured one of the girls on the ice. So, I see blame to be shared by all influencers (coaches, parents the refs and - yes - the players).
Girls hockey at the higher levels is such a fantastic game to watch. Fundamentally sound, fast paced and seemingly always competitive. And - to be honest - played with great sportsmanship and class 95% of the time.
My daughters played a team this weekend and a fight broke out at the end of the game. These are pee wee girls! This happened because the coach challenged the girls too be physical and dirty. The motivational speech on ice prior to the game was I want broken noses and bloody shirts. Can you imagine? Girls are fighting more because of unfair pressure from parents and poor coaching. Its as simple as that. Most coaches are good but there are the few like the coach mentioned that need to be removed and that’s where the officials come in to identify and write up. Parents? That’s a whole different story. They are usually misinformed and blinded by their own childs play. They put way too much pressure on their kids!
Everything I take from these blogs so far states that there are 2 major influences on the on-ice behavior. Hockey has evolved this way. If we want to stop girls from fighting, the penalties must be greater. Coaches and parents should therefore be penalized when violence is urged and used as a tactic. It is a sport, not a war. Penalize the coach, the parents and the club, including ejections and suspensions. Make them accountable and enforce it in the regulations, letting everyone, including the referees, know at the beginning of every year. Our club has done this. I will be glad to send the form that all parents and coaches must sign at the beginning of every season to any one who would like it.
PS. Even though I am against Bertuzzi’s tactics, he never gets credit for being a good skater, which he is.
I believe refs and coaches let the game go too far before reeling in their girls. In one of our games a girl was slew footed with 2 seconds left in a 4-0 game. the girl who did it said oops sorry after she did it. maybe some coaches think that rough play is what it is all about. elbows seem to be big too. Maybe the male coaches can step on the ice with Todd Bertuzzi for a game and see what it is like. Far fetched I know but come on if girls are trying to intentionally hurt some one then maybe they can join mma or ufc.
It appears that the Female game is being blue-printed to become self destructive; not by malicious intention, but by some short sighted administration. The concept of adhering to NHL rules,but without body checking, means that 10 players must skate with speed and passion…yet not touch each other. We all know that is an unrealistic precept. The question that needs to be addressed is why the Females are required to play in an environment that the Males would never consider as being appropriate. Keep body checking out, that’s fine. But you have to be able to slow teams down in the Neutral Zone and you have to be able to hold your positioning in the Defensive end. Hockey became the great game because it is consistent with the instincts of competitive athletes. In fact, what we are asking of the females players is counter-intuitive. It is a brand of hockey that has been written by someone who has memorized the lyrics, but does not understand the music.
In Alberta, there is definitely an attitude of applying “men’s hockey thinking” to the Female Game. Even incidental contact is called as “Body Checking” or “Interference”. With a little more ‘grey-area’ application, I believe there would be more latititude to let the girls just play the game. I also think there would be less reactionary-type behaviour after the fact. When we teach the girls how to absorb a check(for safety related to incidental body contact), defensively usher a player away from the puck on the back-check or pinch along the boards…and they follow all of this, how can these activities be called as penalties?
I find there is a lack of consistency in making the calls. My daughter plays on a boys Peewee travel team during the season and a for the first time this past summer played on a girls AAA team. She found that at the higher levels of girls hockey the players are much more aggressive then playing on a girls house or travel team then what she remembered. When I asked her about the NHL’s influence she felt there was none. Though she does feel that they should allow checking. She feels and sees no reason why not. I can’t say whether womens hockey has become more or less aggressive but I do believe that ALL sports competition has become more aggressive as has society and this is where you are seeing an increase in the improper behaviour.