| Article ID: | iaor200971727 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 22 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Start Page Number: | 234 |
| End Page Number: | 243 |
| Publication Date: | Dec 2009 |
| Journal: | OR Insight |
| Authors: | Brimberg Jack, Hurley William J |
| Keywords: | markov processes |
The media and hockey fans have generally criticized National Hockey League (NHL) referees for two biases. One is that fewer penalties are called against the home team. The other is that some penalty calls tend to be ‘even-up’ calls. For instance, if one team receives the first two penalties of a game, it is highly unlikely that it will also receive the third penalty. In this article we find support for both claims, using data from the 2007–2008 NHL season.