Shot Clock
If you watched Johns Hopkins thrilling 10-9 triple overtime victory over Ohio State, some version of a shot clock is needed. The final two possession of regulation and all three overtimes were painful to watch with each team basically holding onto the ball for the last shot.
With a 60 second shot clock from gaining possession into the offensive zone, the pace of play would be dramatically different and bring more excitement to the game. In my opinion, the game can be drastically improved by a shot clock on both sides of the ball. Offenses can get back into games down by 3-5 goals with quick scoring and defense can be played more aggressively knowing a shot clock violation is imminent.
Video Review of Goals
Just like the College Basketball and Football, Men’s lacrosse should begin to look at limited video review of goals. The Loyola vs. Virginia game is a prime example of why video replay is needed. It appears by human eye that UVA’s Ryan Tucker’s game tying goal just beat the buzzer. With the ability of video review the officials can confirm if a goal beats the buzzer at the end of a quarter.
I would suggest that a coach has one challenge per game. This challenge can be an equipment check or a video review. A Video Review could be limited to scoring plays. So crease violations would be in play as well as goals that hit the net and rebound out quickly and of course buzzer beaters.
Scrimmage Results Mean Nothing
Last week I discussed my opinion on Scrimmages and low and behold, I was correct! Somewhere in cyber space, I read about Hopkins getting pasted by Penn State, a week later Hopkins upsets Ohio State. Down South, Twitter told me that Mercer lost to Division 2 Tampa in a scrimmage. What does Mercer do the next week? You guessed it, they beat Boston University 17-6. Scrimmages once again are not a good indicator of regular season’s results. Add Salt to the wound, I was wrong on both predictions of these games.
Game of the Weekend
Loyola at Penn State
This game is going to be played indoors at Penn State on Saturday. With Penn State not eligible for the AQ, this February matchup will have a playoff feel. I really like this Penn State team who took Michigan out behind the shed last Saturday by a score of 22-7. While Loyola lost in overtime to Virginia 13-12 last Thursday Night. Penn State’s TJ Sanders is the player to watch for the Nittany Lions while defenseman Joe Fletcher for Loyola will be charged with stopping him in my matchup to watch. In a competitive contest between two well coached teams, I’m going with PSU by three.
—Brendan Chamberlain
Follow me on twitter@bchambeaux15
