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ANCHORAGE HOCKEY OFFICIALS |
POWELL The AAHL has almost doubled in the number of league teams since Powell was hired, growing from about 50–60 teams in the early 1990s to 96 teams today. The AAHL, with more than 1,500 registered players, is the 6th largest adult league in the U.S. (the San Jose, Calif., Sharks adult league is the largest). Managing all those teams and players means managing a lot of personalities who aren’t always happy with Powell’s decisions. “Players gripe because of game times. Some want it early, some want it late, some don’t want to be at Boeke on nights the Aces play, some don’t want to play on Valentine’s Day. With 1,500 players, you get told 1,500 ways of being told how to schedule.” And those 1,500 players have 1,500 ways they think referees should make calls, said Powell. Referee judgment in gray areas and consistency with calls generate many of the complaints. “The referees don’t see everything the same. They aren’t robots.” she said. Some officials have better judgment, for instance, at what might warrant a tripping call, she explained. One official may be rigid and call any stumble as a trip, whereas another may realize that a player caught a bad edge instead of being tripped. “Ninety percent of the ref issues are the players because (a team has) more penalties and they think it’s not being called fair,” said Powell. “In the players’ minds it’s not fair if the penalties aren’t even. They gripe most usually when they’re losing or their guy gets kicked out. It’s because they’re being stupid. That’s not how games go. Bottom line at the end of the day is it’s a game and the (professional)scouts aren’t in the bleachers.” Complaints about the lack of parity of teams in the given divisions also run high, said Powell. Placing teams into the appropriate divisions is a difficult chore. She ranks teams based on their previous season record and her knowledge of players on the roster. If she finds that two or three players on a team are making the difference in most of a team’s wins, she’s inclined to move them up a level. “The problem is the 18–year–olds who come on the ice to play against 40–year–olds and they want to play,” said Powell. “You have these kids out of high school who need a place to play. The 30– to 40–year–olds get a little frustrated with that 18–year–old buzzing around like a bee.” Some players have asked Powell to do player evaluations, but she says players probably wouldn’t like her decisions. “Who am I to evaluate?” she asked. Overall, team placement works okay, she said. Powell oversees the upkeep of the rinks and hires the crews that maintain them. Asked about the occasional referee complaints about facilities, Powell says it’s important that officials call her directly about boards that grab sticks and other safety concerns. “We check a lot of stuff, but you don’t always see it,” she said. Maintaining rinks that are more than two decades years old, creates some occasional nightmares. The refrigeration system on the Boeke 2 rink died mid–season in 2001, forcing Powell to reschedule and find open rink time for three months of games. “It was absolutely horrible. A scheduling nightmare,” she said. Overall, however, Powell says she enjoys being around the rinks and working with people she’s known for several years. She’s on the ice after work and plays on two AAHL teams and an Anchorage Women’s Hockey League Team. Her husband and one son play on teams as well. Her other son gave up hockey for snowmachining. Powell said she looks forward to summer and hanging out at the family’s cabin in Talkeetna. But first she has to schedule ice times for the Labatt's Tournament — one of the nation's largest. “It’s fun, there’s never a dull moment,” she said. |