OFF THE ICE WITH PETE GIACOMINI.(SPORTS) - The Capital Times

Byline: Todd Milewski

When the goals and assists get tallied at University of Wisconsin men's hockey home games, that's Pete Giacomini at work. Giacomini is in his sixth season as the Kohl Center's official scorer. He's also the chief operating officer of AgSource Cooperative Services, a Verona-based company that specializes in dairy information management, and is an assistant coach for the Madison Metro Lynx, a cooperative high school girls hockey program.

In baseball, the official scorer has all sorts of data to report to the league after a game. What kind of information do you have to turn in?

It's very much a team effort on the stats crew even though mine is the only name on the score sheet. My responsibility is awarding points after a goal is scored. In addition, we have a five- to six-person crew under the direction of hockey (sports information director) Paul Capobianco. This group charts shots, counts saves, records penalties and plus-minuses, and enters everything as it happens into the computer system that feeds the scoreboard shot totals, online stats, between-period summaries and the official score sheet.

When you're behind the bench for the Metro Lynx, do you ever find yourself watching plays for potential assists like you might during a UW game?

No, if anything it can happen in reverse at a Badger game. I coach goaltenders and still play in nets with the old guys -- at least I try to -- so I like to watch a game as a fan from the goalie's perspective. My wife, who knows the game pretty well, hates to watch a game with me because she'll ask what happened on a certain play and I'll have been watching the goalkeeper. When I first started working UW games I had to break those habits to keep focused on the puck. It's not a good job if you're distracted easily.

If there's a questionable call on an assist, would you rather give a player the point or not?

It was a surprise when I first started doing this that there was a lot more subjectivity and judgment than I expected. You try to do what is right by the rules, but benevolence wins out in a close call. You err on the side of the player. These guys work hard for what they do and if a second assist is the reward, so be it.

Your first game as scorer was the Badgers' 9-6 win over Massachusetts to start the 2000-01 season. What kind of experience was that in trying to keep up with all the goals?

Six years ago and still the most total goals in any game I've ever worked! The replay system didn't work the first period. No one told me I could overrule the referee on who got a goal. On one Badger goal the UMass defenseman cleared the puck from the corner, hit his partner in the low slot and deflected it into his own net. Rule says the last player to touch the puck gets the goal with no assists. The ref awarded it to a guy who never touched it. Being my first game with no training, no replay and little experience, I assumed I missed something and awarded assists to the other two forwards. After the game, when (Dany) Heatley was asked what the strangest thing about that goal was, he said it was the fact we gave two assists. I saw coaches (Jeff) Sauer and (Mark) Johnson after the game and asked them what they had gotten me into.

Have you ever had to make any particularly controversial decisions in regard to who gets a goal?

My most controversial decision was getting Luke Kohtala his only save in his Badger career -- it was legit. Nothing serious with goals. Third-period game-winners when media is on deadline are important to get right as quickly as possible. It can change how they write about the game. Goals are pretty obvious most of the time -- player reactions will tell you even if you miss it. It's the helpers that get tricky. Luckily for me, most people pay less attention to them. My objective is to have scoring decisions be non-controversial, and the scorer be as anonymous as possible.

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MICHELLE STOCKER/THE CAPITAL TIMES

Pete Giacomini, the official scorer at UW men's hockey games at the Kohl Center, is also an assistant coach for the Madison Lynx girls hockey team.