Statistically Speaking

For the past few seasons, the OUA's hockey statistics have been the envy of other OUA leagues, most notably football, which, for the most part, are inaccurate, uninformative and lack play-by-play. Hockey, meanwhile, has live scoring available, the stats are sortable and, most importantly, they are accurate — well, at least I thought they were.

I wanted to double check Guelph forward Thomas Kiriakou's stats from last season, 2009-2010. And, understandably, when you click the "Stats" menu on the hockey site, you're immediately brought to the most recent set, that being 2010-2011, which staff or computer program(s) at the OUA have started to populate.

One problem, the regular season doesn't begin until Friday, Oct. 1 when two games are scheduled to be played.

But, not according to the OUA. Apparently, the regular season got underway Thursday when Guelph beat Brock 3-0 in the opening game of the Steel Blade Tournament, a pre-season, exhibition tournament which Brock and Guelph are using to help determine their cuts.

But there's the game, listed as the first of the OUA regular season, complete with box score and stats being part of the regular-season scoring race.

Believe it or not, hockey is — or at least should be — a flagship sport for the OUA. The caliber of play is high and the players, a large majority of them former Major Junior in experience, are familair to hockey fans.

Instead, like many of its sports, a mistake like this makes the OUA appear bush league at best. And injustice and insult to the players, fans and media alike.

This has the potential, if not fixed, to affect the actual regular season statistics. Which, in turn, affect how stories and plot lines are reported and recounted in the media and during broadcasts.

"That's Eddie Gale's seventh goal of the season ... or is it? We're not sure. And neither is the league," said the play-by-play man.

I'm sure it's just a "glitch in the system." At least that's what the OUA will tell media — traditional, new and social alike — covering the conference. But, truth be told, it's symptom. A symptom of the apathy at the league office.

I say that because it's the third mistake disseminated by the OUA in two days. Thursday, the OUA called defensive end Vaughn Martin "a student-athlete." He's embarking on his second season with the San Diego Chargers. Unless he's a distance ed student at Western, where he last played in 2008, he's long gone from the OUA or a member school.  And, in the weekly "By the Numbers" media release, the OUA calls the Ottawa Gee-Gees the Ottawa Gee-Gee's. What, pray tell, is that singular Gee-Gee possessing?

Glaring mistakes like these encourage eyes to roll, not read on or return to the site.

I've been told by several members of OUA brass that accurate stats and the conference's website are priorities this season. The OUA even added staff to maintain a more accurate grasp on stats.

You could have fooled me this week.

Comments

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