Overtime | A mode that I don't like

The semi-finals of the IHL Serie A were actually supposed to begin on Wednesday. From a South Tyrolean perspective, many fans were looking forward to the duel between Rittner Buam and HC Gherdëina. Now the coronavirus is once again becoming a spoilsport. As the Italian ice sports association FISG announced on Monday, The final phase of the Scudetto was not only postponed to February, but also saw a drastic change in mode. Instead of a best-of-three series, a kind of group phase now takes place, at the end of which the first-placed team is crowned Italian champion. One thing first: Due to the busy schedule, the association was forced to come up with a format that is significantly shorter than two series, such as a semi-final and final. There will now only be three games per team instead of the six that would have been possible. But is a group stage really suitable for awarding the most important domestic ice hockey title? We think: No, she isn't. The Overtime editorial team has one major concern. Decision on the slide rule Imagine three teams winning two games each and ending up with the same number of points. Because the direct duels could not determine the winner in this case, the goal difference would have to be used. The very idea that a slide rule will be used to decide who will win the 88th Scudetto in history is surreal. While the scenario in question may seem unlikely, that is actually not the case. The differences between the four clubs are too small for that. To put it in perspective, it must be emphasized that the mode selected by the FISG is fair and offers all teams the same opportunity to win the cup. However, it is also true that the tension in particular suffers as a result. Teams could be out of the running after two games and only be playing for the golden pineapple in the third game. To prevent this, a knockout round with a single duel in the semi-finals and final would have been an alternative. This mode would have only taken two game days. Ultimately, however, the decision-makers made a different decision that does not increase the attractiveness of the final phases, on the contrary.

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Overtime | A mode that I don't like

Finding promoted and relegated teams for this week's SportNews overtime was a hopeless undertaking given the countless game cancellations. Instead, the editorial team comes up with a well-intentioned change to the rules, which, however, is not well received.

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