from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

- During the USHL’s Fall Classic Week, the league activated a temporary rule. Teams were not allowed to ice the puck during a penalty kill. If they did, they were called for icing. The following faceoff would take place in their zone.

“I like it a lot,” said Eades, formerly an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota. “I hope there’s a lot more experimentation with it. With any change, there’s going to be people not liking it. But we’ve got to continue to look at ways to increase excitement, offensive chances, and eventually scoring in our game. It’s one I really, really like.”

The scenario has always underscored hockey’s double standard. If you needlessly rip the puck down the ice during even-strength play, good luck getting your coach to give you another shift, especially if your opponent scores off the following draw. Execute the same play when you’re killing a penalty, your coach will shower you with attaboys all the way to the bus.

- “In today’s game, everybody’s cycling in the corner,”(Brad) Park said. “Somebody asked me one day, ‘What would you do if they were cycling?’ I said, ‘Stand still.’ If the puck’s in the corner, I don’t have a problem, right? So what they do is they cycle, they look, then they go to the point shot. Guys go and stand right in the crease. Defensemen go out to the hash marks to block the shot. If it gets by them, the other team is right in front of the net for the rebound, and the defensemen are 6-7 feet away. A lot of this doesn’t make sense to me.”

If there is one thing the former Bruins legend questions, it is today’s commitment to collapsing and blocking shots in front of the net. Perhaps it’s because the equipment Park and his counterparts wore did little to prevent blocks from becoming bruises. Modern gear is like armor.

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