Tighter officiating a qualified failure?

[RichH]

There was a good USCHO thread (I know...mythical beast) that had some discussion suggesting that the CCHA refs have been the most faithful to the officiating mandate.

[Q]
Penalty Minutes: Games PIM PIM/G
1 Alab-Huntsville 22 589 26.8
2 Ohio State 30 793 26.4
3 Mercyhurst 26 662 25.5
4 Sacred Heart 25 594 23.8
5 Bentley 23 543 23.6
6 Miami 30 699 23.3
7 Quinnipiac 25 579 23.2
8 Northern Michigan 28 631 22.5
9 Ferris State 30 674 22.5
10 Canisius 28 615 22.0
11 Nebraska-Omaha 28 604 21.6
12 Michigan 30 646 21.5
13 Wayne State 28 601 21.5
14 Western Michigan 26 538 20.7
15 Minnesota State 28 572 20.4
16 Minnesota-Duluth 30 599 20.0
17 Yale 23 445 19.3
18 Connecticut 29 555 19.1
19 Merrimack 30 570 19.0
20 Bowling Green 26 485 18.7
[/Q]

The data is at least a month old, but it's obvious that the top PIM/G teams are largely AHA and CCHA members.  Maybe those refs have always called it tight.  Maybe those leagues are full of cheap-shot Picassos.  But it is interesting that 7 CCHA teams check in before the first ECACHL, HEA, or WCHA teams appear.