Special note on the refereeing decision vs PIV

 SPECIAL NOTE ON THE DECISION NOT TO STOP PLAY WHEN ČERVENY WAS DOWN INJURED (WHICH LED TO A PIV GOAL)

The ICE league abides by the IIHF rules. The relevant one is set out below (my emphasis):

IIHF RULE 8.1

"When a Player is injured so that they cannot continue play or go to their Players’ Bench, the play shall not be stopped until the injured Player’s Team has secured control of the puck. If the Player’s Team is in “control of the puck” at the time of injury, play shall be stopped immediately unless their Team is in a scoring position. 

In the case where it is obvious that a Player has sustained a serious injury, the Referee and/or Linesperson may stop the play immediately. Where an injury has occurred to a Player and there is a stoppage of play, a Team Doctor (or other Medical Personnel) may go onto the ice to attend to the injured Player without waiting for the Referee’s consent."

So the refs had the ability to stop the game, but deemed Červeny's injury not to be "serious" enough to warrant immediate stoppage. I think regardless of the goal that it should have been immediate - hockey players are not footballers. If they are on the floor contorting and shouting in pain then it's fair to assume it's "serious". Now, it only says they "may stop the play immediately", so they don't have to, but surely it is the advisable course of action in that instance.

Yes, it's a judgment call in the moment - but they made a call which does not put player safety first, so it cannot be the right one. As the former NHL goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov said, "the solar system is so humongous big" - wait, not that one. "Is only game" - let's remember that. If we aren't putting the safety of the players first, what are we doing here?

Again, regardless of what happened next, Červeny was at risk of further injury when play was allowed to continue. Any situation, any team - stop the game if there is clearly a player on the ice who is on the floor and in considerable pain. Hockey culture guards against flopping and faking, so I am not concerned about that. I hope the team makes an official complaint about that incident through the proper channels, if they are able to do so. For us fans, it lets us wonder: did the fact that it was an Austrian team trailing a Slovenian one affect the referees' decision? I'll let you come to your own judgment on that one.