Ask Rensselaer Head Coach Dan Fridgen, whose shoe print may be permanently etched into the plexi-glass on the RPI penalty box.

If the correct call had been made, the score would have been knotted at two, and RPI would have had the momentum. The game might have ended differently. Colgate would not be tied for the ECACHL regular season championship and would have received a lower seed in the playoffs. RPI would have jumped up a ranking and would be playing a Yale team who has lost six in a row, including an embarrassing 6-0 loss to Quinnipiac this weekend—the team that RPI will now host.

How did almost 4,000 people, including Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan, know that the puck went into the net, but the officials didn’t?

At first my reaction was to immediately blame the referees, and start up the appropriate chants. But was it really their fault?

Ultimately yes, part of the blame must fall upon their shoulders. When a play that close occurs and no official makes a signal, and neither light flashes behind the net, then it’s obvious that there was a lack of communication. They should have gotten together and sorted it out.

However, hockey is widely recognized as the fastest game in the world, and maybe it’s time the refs got some help. Hopefully this debacle will wake up some of the administrators in the ECACHL, and the NCAA in general. Some form of instant replay needs to be implemented.

Replay has been successful in the NFL to the point where most major D-I conferences now use some form of it in football. The NBA and NCAA have always used replays to determine if last second shots should be counted. Even the professional counterpart of the sport in question has cameras placed in the nets to help with calls such as this.

No one likes stoppages in play. They’re boring—think of the TV timeouts during a few of the recent Freakouts!—but I wouldn’t mind a short delay if it means the correct call is made on such an important play.

Maybe something that elaborate doesn’t even need to be used. It might be as simple as putting cameras in the nets and streaming the footage to the officials sitting behind the glass so if they aren’t sure about a shot, they can double check the monitor.

What if this were to happen in the tournament, where there are no second chances? The ECACHL has an opportunity to make sure this never happens again, and I hope someone realizes that.

What happened is done, and cannot be rectified. Regardless, there’s still a team, a coach, and 3,700 fans that would sure like that one back.