Shootouts in the GNASH regular season: Implement them fully, or dump them

The Thanksgiving break has arrived for the GNASH regular season. We have completed one-third of said regular season. A total of 40 games have been played, 20 for each division.

Of those 40 games, a mere four (10%) were tied at the end of regulation. Of those four, only one went to a shootout, Franklin's 4-3 win over Station Camp-Beech on November 13, the lone blip in an otherwise stellar first third for the Bison. In fact, the standings page on the GNASH website still hasn't been updated with the addition of a shootout losses (SOL) column; the Bison are shown as having played five games, but one of those results is missing. The other three ended in draws, being unable to be decided on penalty shots because there wasn't enough time.

The first of these, a 4-4 deadlock between Tennessee Outlaws and Pope John Paul II on November 4, suffered a long delay late in the third period, due to a loose pane of glass that had to be fixed for safety reasons. Following the JPII Hockey Twitter account that night, the game might have gone to a shootout if it hadn't been for that delay.

The second, a controversial 7-7 result between Outlaws and Hendersonville on November 13, ran out of time, simply because there were so many play stoppages, for penalties (especially in the second period), and, of course, for goals. As for how the game ended? That's for another discussion at another time.

The third, a 3-3 stalemate between Hendersonville and Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central this past Wednesday, looks like a normal game, from the box score. Only six total goals scored, nine total penalties. Was there a long delay? I'm not sure, because neither team has a Twitter account, nor did I see it in person.

Shootouts were introduced into GNASH regular season play in 2013-14. For a GNASH regular season game to go into a shootout, there must be at least eight minutes left in the time window of the game currently being played. That rule is not always followed, though. Remember that crazy game between Hendersonville and Centennial back in January? That went way over the time window, with constant stoppages for goals and penalties, and it still went into a shootout, where Centennial prevailed.

Of course, a game going into a shootout still doesn't mean someone will come out a winner. Shootouts in GNASH regular season games are limited to three rounds. If no one's ahead at the end of three rounds, the game is a draw.

Both of these rules pretty much render shootouts in the regular season meaningless. Tied at the end of regulation, but can't settle the score because there's no time? Sorry, guys. Here's a point for each of you. Good game, everybody. You go to a shootout, but nobody's ahead at the end of the three-round limit? Same response.

All of this to asking this question: Why do we have shootouts in regular season games if it truly doesn't matter whether or not someone wins the game? You obviously need shootouts in the playoffs (that is, if a 5-minute, sudden-death overtime period doesn't get the job done); someone absolutely has to win those games. But if shootouts in regular season games can be either/or, why bother?

This issue especially needs to be raised this season, when so much is at stake. No longer does being in the Gold Division guarantee you a spot in the Predators Cup. If you finish in the Bottom 2, you're on your way to the Hine Cup with the 3rd- and 4th-place finishers in the Blue Division, while the Top 2 in said Blue Division join the Top 6 from the Gold Division in the state tournament. A tied game failing to go to a shootout, or a shootout failing to decide a winner, could mean the difference between getting to play for the biggest prize in high school hockey in Tennessee, and ending up playing for GNASH's NIT equivalent. Same for determining the GNASH Cup champion, or ending up in the Mielnik Memorial, instead of the Hine Cup.

And in terms of time, I've noticed an anomaly with the schedule, particularly with the games at Ford Ice Center. Games on the North Rink are given a 90-minute window; games on the South Rink get 75. If you get a game on the North Rink, and it's tied at the end of regulation, you're pretty much guaranteed a shootout, unless there's a massive delay. On the South Rink, you'd probably have to have a minute amount of stoppages to get a shootout in a tied game. That is a major fairness issue.

I hope the board addresses this during the offseason; it's too late to do anything now. If you're going to have shootouts in the regular season, they need to be integrated fully. If any game is tied at the end of regulation, no matter how much time is left in the game window, you go to a shootout, and you don't stop playing until there is a winner and there is a loser. Otherwise, dump them, and go back to having drawn games when regulation ended tied. There should be no either/or here.

There's too much at stake; especially this season.

-Michael Hackney