The Massachusetts hockey team defeated Clarkson 6-4 on Saturday night at the Mullins Center in a contest that shouldn’t be confused with a hockey game, because it just wasn’t hockey.

It closer resembled a group of guys skating around the rink with seemingly common goals while referees randomly stopped play to send a new person into the penalty box, over, and over and over again.

Sure, the win will still count for UMass and likewise the loss for Clarkson. All of the stats will be tallied, and Matt Anderson will still be the CCM Hockey Player of the Week for his three-goal and two-assist performance. But it still wasn’t hockey.

There were rarely five skaters on the ice for both teams at the same time due to the 28 penalties that were called during the 60-minute contest. Out of the 10 goals scored, seven were on the power play, one was short-handed, one was during a four-on-four and only one was during five-on-five play.

UMass clearly had the better special teams play as the scoreboard showed, but who was the best team at regular strength. The Minutemen had a 1-0 advantage in that department, but since less than half the game was played at even strength it’s tough to really give an answer to that.

And it may turn out to be that way for the entire season since the NCAA has told its referees to call much tighter games. The result has been ugly to this point in the very young college hockey season.

Penalties were way up over the weekend, and most of the games had a similar amount of residents in the penalty box as there were in Amherst on Saturday night.

“It’s a frustrating game when it’s played that way,” Clarkson coach George Roll said.

It’s frustrating for the players, but it’s just as frustrating for the fans who are trying to get into the game. There was never any rhythm established because of the ongoing sporadic whistles.

Alienating the fans should be the last thing the NCAA should want to do, especially with the NHL lockout still going strong.

College hockey has a tremendous chance to get on the national map since hockey fans will have little else to watch in the coming months. No one will want to tune into any games if they are going to be continually called like this.

And with television networks like ESPN already hesitant to sign any college hockey deals, the chances of making this game a mainstream event will diminish as the referees are set to determine the style of the game instead of letting the players play it out.

The calls weren’t swayed toward either side, with both teams being whistled 14 times. Individually, however, the penalties were confusing and very inconsistent.

“It’s frustrating for the players,” Roll said. “They’re not sure what they can or can’t do. You make a body check, and (the ref) calls you for a trip.”

The NCAA is supposedly trying to open the game up more for the skaters by minimizing clutching and grabbing in the corners and while skating up the ice. The governing body of college sports is saying that, as a result of the tight calls, the game will ultimately be more exciting.

For this to happen, players will have to go through a transitional phase to learn how to play a different game than the one they have been playing their entire lives.

Until everyone figures out which game that is, though, don’t call what you’re seeing, “hockey”.

Jeff Howe is a Collegian columnist.