A O Behrend Beacon C T"\ I V March 26, 2010 |J IJ I mm\ www.thebehrendbeacon.com J/ NHL NHL implements new rule to cut back NICK BLAKE sports editor After a sudden increase in blind-side hits to the head, the NHL has implemented a new rule to help protect players on the ice. Debates began when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke cruised into the defen sive zone and landed a devas tating, shoulder-to-head hit on the Boston Bruins’ Marc Savard on March 7. Savard never saw the hit coming, and it gave him a grade II concussion that will force him to miss the rest of the sea son. No penalty was called on the ice, and after a meeting with league officials, Cooke was not MEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT Cinderellas take over NCAA tourney; No. 1 s go NICK BLAKE sports editor This year’s NCAA men’s bas ketball tournament has been a surprise to many, providing its fair share of Cinderellas and bracket busting contests. The bracket has been cut by more than half. There are some unexpected teams still playing, and some teams that were ex pected to be in are out. One of the biggest upsets of the tournament came when the ninth seeded Northern lowa Panthers knocked off the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the second round. Northern lowa defeated Kansas by a score of 69-67, eliminating one of the heavy fa vorites to win the national title. Northern lowa’s upset made them the first team to knock out a number one seed in the second round since Alabama at Birmingham took down Ken tucky in 2004. suspended. Seven days later in a game against the Chicago Black hawks, the Washington Capi tals’ Alex Ovechkin shoved Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell from behind, head first into the end boards. Campbell suffered a concus sion, a broken collarbone and broken ribs. Ovechkin was is sued a 5-minute boarding penalty, was given a game mis conduct and ejected from the match. Two days later, Ovechkin was suspended for two games be cause of the hit, while Cooke went unpunished. Three days after the Ovechkin hit, the Blackhawks lost another defenseman when Ducks’ defenseman James Wis niewski delivered a vicious hit Another major upset came back in the first round when the No. 14 Ohio Bobcats sent the No. 3 Georgetown Hoyas packing far earlier then antici pated. The win earned Ohio their first tournament victory in 27 years, and the win came easily as they controlled the flow of play throughout the entire con test. This year’s tournament has been defined by upsets, with eight double-digit seeds mak ing it out of the first round. Beacon Final Four Picks Four editors have made their Final Four Nick Alec Connor Shannon predictions. Ohio State Michigan State Tennessee Tennessee The editors’ picks for ... ... ... .... the champion are Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky shown behind the Kansas State . Butler Butler Kansas State pj na i Four p i c k s . Duke Purdue Duke Baylor to the head of Brent Seabrook. Wisniewski’s hit was retalia tory in nature and Seabrook did not possess the puck. Seabrook was injured on the play and Wisniewski was given a 2- minute minor penalty for charging in the game. The next day, Wisniewski was suspended for eight games without pay for the hit. With such inconsistency re garding the penalization of hits to the head, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL general managers held multiple meet ings to come up with a solution. On March 24, Bettman and the NHL passed a new rule, prohibiting “a lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is tar geted and/or the principal point of contact.” A Cinderella story of the tournament is that of the Cor nell Big Red. No. 12 seed Cor nell earned its first tournament win in team history when it de feated the No. 5 Temple Owls by a score of 78-65. The victory ended a 12-game losing streak at the NCAAs for Ivy League schools, but the Big Red was not happy with a first round victory. Cornell marched on to the second round where they thumped the fourth seeded Wisconsin Badgers by a score The rule took effect on March 25, and it gives the NHL Hockey Operations Depart ment the power to review any such hit for the purpose of sup plementary discipline. Bettman said that the rule, which passed unanimously, closes the loophole for shoulder hits to the head. Under the new rule, a penalty does not have to be called on the ice for the NHL to take dis ciplinary action on an infrac tion. “A minor or major can’t be managed properly right now,” Bettman said, according to nhl.com. “We don’t want to change the outcome of a game or the playoffs [with on-ice penalties, while still protecting players].” The NHL hopes that the new of 87-69. Playing dominating basketball, the Big Red punched their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen. The Big Red’s fairy tale run was cut short in the Sweet Six teen round with a loss to No. 1 Kentucky. Cornell could not steal all of the attention, though, because No. 11 Washington Huskies are making a name for themselves as well. The Huskies first round matchup came against the Mar quette Golden Eagles, and on hits to head thepensblog.com Boston Bruin Marc Savard suffered a Grade II concussion after taking a shoulder to the head from Matt Cooke on March 7in Pittsburgh. The NHL hopes their new rule will eliminate these hits. rule will reduce blindside hits and hits to the head, and keep players safe while on the ice. “It is a clear statement to Washington won the game in the finals seconds by a score of 80-78. Washington forward Quincy Pondexter took the final shot with the game tied at 78-78, and banked it in with 1.7 seconds remaining to send the Huskies to the second round. Washington avoided a nail biter in their second round game, trouncing the No. 3 New Mexico Lobos by a score of 82- 64 and earned their spot in the Sweet Sixteen. The St. Mary’s (CA) Gaels orts players, teams and fans that we don’t want these hits in the game,” Bettman said. “This rule will help prevent concussions.” down are the third double-digit ranked team to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The 10th seeded Gaels cruised to an 80-71 victory in the first round, setting up a sec ond round matchup with the second seeded Villanova Wild cats. Senior center Omar Samhan put the Gaels on his back and tallied 32 points and seven re bounds as St. Mary’s elimi nated ‘Nova by a final of 75-68. The upsets continued in the Sweet Sixteen round, as the No. 5 Butler Bulldogs knocked off the No. 1 seed Syracuse Or ange. Syracuse is the second No. 1 seed to go down in this year’s tournament. Duke and Ken tucky are the only No. Is that remain. With two out of four No. 1 seeds eliminated, the nation could see an unexpected cham pion at the end of the tourna ment.
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