CCHA will implement Shootouts

By now everyone knows that the CCHA announced that it will implement the NHL shootout style for the 2008-2009 season with no impact to the PWR. The key question - is this good or bad for college hockey? I think the answer is it will be fun to watch and let’s see how it works in the CCHA. My friend, Sioux Fan in Boston and I, have debated this issue over and over again. I have been on the side of - not sure if it will be good for hockey (ok I admit I am a purest) and she says bring it on! Don’t get me wrong, shootouts are an exciting part of hockey. I’m just not sure it’s fair for a team to play great for 65 minutes and then lose a point to an opponent because they can score without a defense in front of the goalie. But I will admit I do get caught up in watching shootouts in the NHL and I will be interested in seeing how this plays out in the CCHA.

I am curious how the stats will be implemented for the CCHA. How will the shootout win look in the CCHA standings, as a win, a tie or something else? In other words will the CCHA still show wins, losses and ties, with ties including both shootout wins and losses. If not, will a second set of CCHA team stats need to be tracked (including stats for possible non-conference teams playing a CCHA team that agrees to play a under the shootout format) so the PWR RPI can be calculated? How will individual stats be determined? Will shootout stats count towards a player’s individual records or will they be excluded?

At the end of the day I will concede my purest hat and consider that shootouts could be an exciting addition to college hockey. Can’t wait to see how it works in the CCHA.