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Friday, April 14, 2006 From: Tim Bauman To: CHSHL “B” Division Captains, Players and Committee Members Subject: Use of an unapproved goalie by the Green team 4-10-2006 As the only CHSHL committee member not involved in any way with the "B" division competition I have been tasked with making a ruling on the use of a substitute goalie that was unapproved by the hockey committee by Green during the Gold vs. Green game played on 4-10-2006. Rule #18 posted on the website and emailed to all league captains at the beginning of the season is as follows: 18. Any goalie on the roster of any team in the league can be a substitute goalie for a team whose goalie is unable to play for legitimate reasons. In addition, the Hockey Committee will register two or more official substitute goalies, who may substitute on any team. NO OTHER GOALIE CAN BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE. After consulting with the appropriate people involved in the situation, I can find no reasonable evidence that would allow me to preclude this rule from the final decision. Some of the key information used to make the decision is as follows: A) There was a CHSHL “B” Division Goalie available to play the game. B) The goalie brought in to play was unapproved by the CHSHL committee. The only thing that could possibly call this into question is that there is evidence that the captain was told by a member of the hockey committee that he could recruit any goalie from the East Side Hockey League of Shaker Heights. This is because the East Side League has been deemed a "B" skills league by the CHSHL committee and use of a goalie from that league would not constitute an unfair advantage. The goalie brought into play on the 4-10-2006 was not from the East Side Hockey League. Thus I must rule that the goalie was unapproved by the hockey committee. It has been suggested by persons on both sides of the situation that the game be replayed. Unfortunately this would set a precedent that when the rules are broken we replay the game. This is not an option. Additionally I feel it would be unfair to all of the other players in the league and would undermine the efforts of the hockey committee to do what is right in the spirit of fair competition. I must rule the game a forfeit by Green for the use of an unapproved goalie. There is little doubt in my mind that this goalie was brought in with the intention of gaining an advantage. This is exactly what rule #18 was designed to eliminate. I feel that the use of this goalie showed a significant lapse in good judgment with little consideration for what is the right and fair thing to do. Respectfully, Tim Bauman CHSHL Committee Member