BIG RAPIDS - The Michigan hockey team arrived in Big Rapids during the day Friday for Saturday night's game against Ferris State.
Around 11:30 Friday night, when the team returned to the hotel for the night, Michigan coach Red Berenson had a message to call CCHA Coordinator of Officials Dave Fisher.
Much to Berenson's surprise, Fisher informed him that defenseman Blake Sloan wouldn't be able to play against the Bulldogs.
Sloan had been suspended for a hit from behind into the boards during the second period of Wednesday's game against Western Michigan. At the time, Sloan received a two-minute penalty, but Fisher said the penalty was not enough.
"It's an automatic game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty, and it wasn't issued," Fisher said.
While Berenson did not disagree with the suspension, he was upset with the situation he and his team had suddenly been placed in.
"I was completely surprised, completely caught off guard," Berenson said.
Because this weekend's road trip involved one game instead of the usual two, the Wolverines travelled with fewer players than normal.
Suddenly, Michigan was missing three defenseman instead of two - Bubba Berenzweig, who was left back in Ann Arbor, and an injured Peter Bourke.
While the Wolverines' situation may seem unfair, the process followed current CCHA and NCAA rules.
The infraction occurred Wednesday night and the suspension was issued Friday night. The rule states that such infractions must be brought to the league's attention within 72 hours of the infraction. Any suspension is then required to take effect for the next game.
"(That's) assuming that you're playing the next Friday, not a Wednesday-Saturday (schedule)," Berenson said. "So typically by Tuesday you'd know if a player's going to miss a game and you'd have some time to prepare."
Clearly this rule needs to be changed to allow for special circumstances. While supplemental discipline is called for in the NCAA rulebook, implementation is up to each individual league.
But this is not the only rule that needs amending. This incident is just one of several this season that should serve as a wake-up call to the CCHA and NCAA.
The most prevalent problem this season, at least for Michigan, is that there is no instigator penalty in college hockey.
Too often, those who start a fight have received the exact same penalty as those who retaliate.
In a game against Bowling Green earlier in the season, Michigan's Bubba Berenzweig took six punches from Bowling Green's Dan Price before fighting back. Both received fighting majors and game disqualifications.
A problem requiring more than rewriting the rulebooks, is one that may have the most impact on any one game.
In another game between Michigan and Bowling Green earlier this season, replay showed that Michigan's Brendan Morrison scored what could have been a game-winning goal. But the hometown goal judge did not turn on the light and the referee did not have a clear view.
The solution is easy - set up replay capability at all 10 CCHA stadiums. Unfortunately, the technology would require dollars.
Nevertheless, the CCHA is one of the top conferences in college hockey. Like any successful operation, it must invest in the future and change with the times.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan defenseman Blake Sloan was forced to sit out Saturday's game against Ferris State. League officials decided that a hit from Sloan during last Wednesday's 3-1 Michigan victory over Western Michigan was illegal and merited a one-game suspension.