Report: IIHF officials looking at ways to avoid medal-deciding shootout
Everybody hates the shootout. Especially when it decides who wins gold.
After the U.S. defeated Canada via the shootout in the gold-medal game at the world juniors, change may be on the horizon - it's at least being discussed.
"(International) officials from both Canada and the United States are at least investigating some potential scenarios" in order to have shootouts be an ultimate last resort in order to decide an important game, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.
"They'd look at that 20-minute overtime period," Dreger said on "Insider Trading." "Is it better to start five-on-five, play for 10 minutes, shift to three-on-three or 10 minutes. Maybe start with four-on-four for 10 minutes, shift to three-on-three for 10 minutes, to avoid the shootout, or at least curb away from it."
"But again, all of this is very preliminary," he concluded.
Here are the international overtime rules:
| Game type | OT format |
|---|---|
| Preliminary round | 5 min @ 3-on-3 plus shootout (3 attempts) |
| Playoff/bronze medal game | 10 min @ 4-on-4 plus shootout (5 attempts) |
| Gold medal game | 20 min @ 5-on-5 plus shootout (5 attempts) |
After a wild gold-medal game between Canada and the U.S., many decried the clash - one of the best finals in recent world juniors history - being decided by a skills competition.
The Americans won 5-4, scoring once in the shootout. Canada was unable to find the back of the net in five attempts.