Study Reveals Referees’ Home Bias
03/03/2009 01:47
Oilers buck NHL trend of more power plays on home ice
New research confirms what many NHL hockey fans have long suspected, that referees consistently call more penalties on visiting teams.
In a sampling of more than 2,300 power plays from Jan. 1 through mid-February, home teams had 11.5 per cent more man advantages than did visitors.
National Hockey League teams have won 55 per cent more points and games at home than on the road this year -- a statistic which fits nicely into the 54- to 56-per-cent advantage home teams have enjoyed throughout this decade.
Is it because of familiarity? Comfort? The last line change?
Perhaps. But there may be another more significant factor.
Research by the Edmonton Journal and Vancouver researcher Will Lockwood shows that referees consistently award more power plays to the home teams.
The 11.5-per-cent figure surprised everyone interviewed by The Journal, including former referees Lance Roberts and Mark Faucette, former linesman Swede Knox and coaches such as the Vancouver Canucks' Alain Vigneault.
"I'm surprised it's that much," Vigneault said when presented with the numbers.
He shouldn't be. Last year --according to statistics compiled by Lockwood -- Vancouver had the biggest home/away power-play advantage. The Canucks had an average of 5.17 power plays at home compared with an average of 3.83 power plays on the road.
The Oilers were near the bottom, receiving slightly more power plays on the road -- an average of 4.24 per game -- than at Rexall Place -- 4.15 per game.
Overall, it's not just this year or last year that NHL home teams got more power plays -- it has happened to every team throughout this decade.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Referees find it hard not to be swayed by 16,000 hockey fans.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Trust it to be the Oilers who would be the ones to buck the trend.