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Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Jay Bouwmeester Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, In the second period of the Senators/Devils game, Damien Brunner slashed the stick out of Jared Cowens hands and flipped it away, giving himself a clear break on the net. No call. And it resulted in a goal! This should be painfully obvious to call! Is there anything to suggest why this wasnt called? Thanks,Alex WilliamsOttawa, ON Alex: As Rule 61 (Slashing) suggests; any forceful or powerful chop with the stick on or near the opponents hands that, in the judgment of the Referee, is not an attempt to play the puck, shall be penalized as slashing. More specifically to the play you question, Rule 56.2 (Interference) clearly states that a minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who knocks a stick out of an opponents hand! It is an infraction that is routinely called by the refs and always expected by the players. As you suggest Alex, this should be a painfully obvious call; but only perhaps if its viewed from the open side or a correct angle. While Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean had a clear sightline and perfect angle from the bench to see Damien Brunner chop the stick out of Jared Cowens hand, referee Dennis LaRue was positioned on the opposite side of the ice and practically parallel to the play. From this disadvantaged position, one the referee was stuck in by not backpedaling quickly enough once the play developed, he was forced to look through the bodies of both Brunner and Cowen with no angle on the infraction. A lack of detection and reaction most likely resulted from this poor sightline. Perhaps the fact that Jared Cowen only had one hand on his stick and did not appear to maintain a position of strength in advance of a puck battle with Brunner gave LaRue the impression (from his perspective) that a penalty was unwarranted on the play. Whatever the reason, LaRues perception of the play became a reality when he did not raise his arm and assess an interference penalty to Damien Brunner. Paul MacLean also had a better sightline on another undetected infraction earlier in the game that resulted in Reid Boucher scoring his first NHL goal to give the Devils a 2-0 lead at 12:08 of the opening period. On a Devils breakout from deep inside their end zone, Michael Ryder tripped Joe Corvo from behind just inside the Devils blue line eliminating the Senator forward from the back-check. If you freeze the wide camera shot the instant Ryder took down Corvo, you will see young referee Trent Knorr standing in the corner and staring back behind the goal line. All five Devils skaters were in motion ahead of the referees fixed sightline back toward an area where no visual coverage was required. The perfectly executed trip by Michael Ryder went undetected by the rookie referee allowing Ryder to set up Bouchers first goal with an additional assist to Eric Gelinas. On these two missed infractions that resulted in goals, neither Referee adjusted their position, sightline or focus of attention quickly enough as the play develop. A referee must read the play in advance with his head on a swivel and utilize rapid eye movement to set the up chess board in anticipation of future moves. There is no doubt the great players develop an uncanny field of vision in spite of the speed of the game. The same skill can and must be developed by the refs. I often felt that a complaining coach had the absolute worst perspective on a play gained from standing behind his players bench. Coach Paul MacLean disproved my theory in last nights Sens loss to the Devils in what he would probably also describe as two painfully obvious missed calls! Brett Hull Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. Kevin Shattenkirk . The stadium gasped. Reliever Drew Storen, already with men on first and second with none out in the seventh inning of a tie game, was on the ropes. Then Storen threw Stanton a slider. Swing and a miss. Strike three. Momentum shifted. Two popouts later, the inning was over with no damage done, and the Washington Nationals scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Keegan Iverson scored the eventual winner as the Portland Winterhawks extended their win streak to 18 games by doubling up the visiting Kamloops Blazers 4-2 on Friday in Western Hockey League action. Iverson broke a 2-2 tie at 5:27 of the third period for the Winterhawks (44-12-5) while Brendan Leipsic, Taylor Leier and Chase De Leo also scored. Carson Bolduc and Matt Revel scored for the Blazers (12-44-5). Corbin Boes made 14 saves to improve to 9-0-0 with Portland. Bolton Pouliot turned aside 42-of-46 shots for Kamloops. The Winterhawks went 2 for 7 on the power play while the Blazers scored once on two chances with the man advantage. --- TIGERS 6 WARRIORS 0 MOOSE JAW, Alta. -- Marek Langhamer made 34 saves and Chad Butcher had a pair of goals as Medicine Hat blanked the Warriors. Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox each had a goal and two assists for the Tigers (37-21-3) while Miles Koules and Curtis Valk had a goal and an assist apiece. Brayden Point was a team-worst minus-3 for Moose Jaw (15-36-9). Zach Sawchenko started in net for the Warriors but was pulled after allowing five goals on 12 shots in 25 minutes of action. Justin Paulic stopped 11-of-12 shots in relief. --- PATS 3 ROYALS 2 REGINA -- Daniel Wapple made 31 saves as the Pats handed Victoria its first regulation-time loss in 15 outings. Chandler Stephenson and Dmitry Sinitsyn each had a goal and an assist for Regina (33-22-6), which led 3-0 after 40 minutes, and Colby Williams scored once. Brandon Magee and Austin Carroll responded for the Royals (42-17-4), who came into action 12-0-2 in their last 14 contests. Coleman Vollrath turned away 24-of-27 shots for Victoria. --- HITMEN 5 WHEAT KINGS 4 BRANDON -- Jake Virtanen scored once and set up two more as Calgary edged the Wheat Kings to extend its win streak to nine games. Kenton Hegelsen, Adam Tambellini, Connor Rankin and Elliott Peterson also scored for the Hitmen (41-15-6). Brandon (28-26-8) got goals from Quintin Lisoway, Jesse Gabrielle, Jayce Hawryluk and Ryan Pulock. Calgarys Chris Driedger made 25 saves for the win as Jordan Paprny stopped 39-of-44 shots for the Wheat Kings. --- OIL KINGS 4 BRONCOS 1 EDMONTON -- The Oil Kings gave up an early shorthanded goal, but responded with four unanswered goals en route to victory. Ashton Sautner, Riley Kieser, Lane Bauer and Curtis Lazar scored for Edmonton (43-14-2) while Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the win. Colby Cave scored for Swift Current (29-24-8). Eetu Laurikainen aallowed four goals on 20 shots for the Broncos, who turned to Landon Bow for the final 18 minutes of the game. Alex Pietrangelo. Bow made 15 saves in relief. --- ICE 3 CHIEFS 2 (SO) CRANBROOK, B.C. -- Rinat Valiev scored in regulation and then added the shootout winner as Kootenay slipped past Spokane. Jagger Dirk had a goal and an assist for the Ice (35-22-4), who picked up their fourth straight victory. Keanu Yamamoto scored both goals for the Chiefs (34-21-6) while Eric Williams made 40 saves in defeat. Kootenays Mackenzie Skapski made 25 saves through 65 minutes, and five more in the shootout to preserve the win. --- REBELS 5 GIANTS 3 RED DEER, Alta. -- Rhyse Dieno scored twice and added an assist as the Rebels downed Vancouver to avoid a four-game skid. Kayle Doetzel, Conner Bleackley and Wyatt Johnson also scored for Red Deer (29-29-4) while Haydn Fleury tacked on two assists. Cain Franson scored twice for the Giants (29-24-10), Joel Hamilton had a goal and Jackson Houck assisted on all three. Patrik Bartosak made 31 saves for the Rebels as Vancouvers Jared Rathjen turned away 20-of-24 shots in defeat. --- ROCKETS 4 COUGARS 2 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Jackson Whistle stopped 35 shots as Kelowna defeated the Cougars for its fifth win in a row. Justin Kirkland, Damon Severson and Marek Tvrdon each had a goal and an assist for the Rockets (48-8-4) and Ryan Olsen added a single goal. Marc McNulty and Todd Fiddler scored for Prince George (25-31-8) and Zach Pochiro assisted on both. Adam Beukeboom kicked out 40-of-44 shots for the Cougars. --- RAIDERS 6 AMERICANS 4 KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist as Prince Albert handed Tri-City its fifth straight defeat. Shane Danyluk, Collin Valcourt, Carson Perreaux and Gage Quinney also scored for the Raiders (28-28-4). Mitch Topping scored twice for the Americans (27-27-6) and Parker Bowes and Rodney Southam added the others. Cole Cheveldave made 22 saves for Prince Albert. Tri-Citys Eric Comrie stopped 29-of-34 shots in a losing effort. --- SILVERTIPS 2 THUNDERBIRDS 1 EVERETT, Wash. -- Mirco Mueller scored the eventual winner at 10:45 of the third period as the Silvertips held on to defeat Seattle. Dawson Leedhal also scored for Everett (28-23-8), which led 2-0 before giving up a late goal. Justin Hickan scored at 18:57 of the third for the Thunderbirds (37-18-5). Austin Lotz made 17 saves for the Silvertips. Seattles Taran Kozun stopped 26-of-28 shots in a losing cause. ' ' ' |
