Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your em

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Michael Conforto Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, In the Boston-Buffalo game on Wednesday night in the second period, Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers slashes Bruins forward Brad Marchand and then punches him in the head! How and why does Marchand get the penalty, with no call on Myers? He then scores a go-ahead goal! My question would be - does a supervising official between periods give the refs the talking down a player would get from his coach? This call could cost a team two points on very questionable officiating! Thanks,Ken MacAskill Ken: Both you and broadcast analyst Joe Micheletti made the correct call on this play. At the very least the Bruins and Sabres should have been playing four men aside as a result of the altercation between Tyler Myers and Brad Marchand. In a perfect world, Myers deserved an extra minor penalty as the aggressor in this incident following his slash and punch at Marchand. You asked how and why, only Brad Marchand received the penalty on this play. The trailing referee is responsible for all players behind the Sabres blue line. As the Sabres went on the attack from their end zone, Marchand cut across the ice toward his bench for a line change and in doing so skated directly in front of Myers. The altercation began when Marchand dropped his hip toward Myers who responded with a cross-check shove, a slash by each player and then the Myers punch. At this point play was stopped to assess a penalty. The camera picked up the trailing referee with his arm raised and approaching the two players on an angle back from the neutral zone toward Tyler Myers and Brad Marchand. From the referees angle of return it is apparent to me that he had vacated the Sabres end zone prior to players clearing that zone and failed to recognize and observe the hot spot between Marchand and Myers. I dont believe the ref saw the start of the altercation but picked it up when Brad Marchand jammed his stick into Myers midsection. He therefore deemed Marchand to be the instigator of the scrum. The easy call should have been to penalize both players for their actions. Unfortunately that didnt take place and resulted in a Tyler Myers power-play goal. Officiating managers (supervisors) very seldom enter the officials room between periods unless something extremely serious has gone afoul. Instead, the manager will review his observations and game report with the officials at the conclusion of the game. In certain cases, depending upon travel schedules or a perceived need, a follow-up telephone call or even breakfast meeting might take place with an official. Typically though any instruction/coaching will take place in the officials dressing room after the game. There was a time when supervisors entered the room between periods but team management objected to this practice when they felt the officials approach to the game changed to drastically following between period instructions. I dont agree with this practice in principle, but whenever the conversation does take place the supervisors proper approach and coaching techniques are vital in advancing the officials learning curve. When I observe a Division I College game for my former colleague and referee-in-chief of the ECAC Paul Stewart, I always visit the officials room between periods; if for no other reason but to be supportive and available should they have any questions. My approach is always to be positive and point out the good things they did but also to make them aware of any potential hot spots that might develop in addition to any positioning issues I feel the need to address. The game can certainly look different from the press box or the television monitor than it does at ice level. In a flash from the past, when I first signed a contract with the NHL there was a different and much more aggressive approach taken by the supervisors of that day which could be very intimidating for an official; especially a young one. Team general managers were not fined for approaching the officials room and shouting matches often took place in the hall outside the refs room. Supervisors were subjected to angry rants from team personnel in the press box which could result in a between period visit to the officials room by a supervisor. I can tell you there were trash cans kicked around the officials room and rolled up programs thrown at the wall in some of these "coaching" sessions. As you can imagine they werent very productive from a teaching perspective but could have a profound effect on how the next period was officiated! In todays fast paced game the two referee two linesman system is mandatory. An influx of younger officials has been hired to the staff when the veterans retire. Enhanced coaching and mentoring techniques are required to quicken the learning curve that takes place in addition to holding all the officials accountable to the expected standard. This is a work in progress. Wilmer Flores Jersey . "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement. Travis dArnaud Jersey .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. http://www.metsrookiestore.com/Customized/ .com) - Brad Stuart has yet to play a regular-season game for the Colorado Avalanche, but that didnt deter the club from signing the veteran defenseman to a two-year contract extension on Monday.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Roberto Luongo prevented the San Jose Sharks from moving into sole possession of first place. Luongo made 28 of his 52 saves in a frenzied third period to help the Florida Panthers snap San Joses six-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night. "We gave them the two points there," Sharks defenceman Jason Demers said. "Thats unacceptable." Marty Havlat and Brent Burns scored, but the Sharks were lackadaisical on defence in the second period and came up empty on four power plays in the third period to lose the game. That cost San Jose a chance to move past Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division. The teams are tied with 97 points heading into Thursdays showdown at the Shark Tank, but the Ducks have a game in hand. The Sharks came in with the best home winning percentage in the NHL, but four of their nine losses at home have come against the bottom four teams in the inferior Eastern Conference -- Carolina, the Islanders, Florida and Buffalo. "Weve talked about this lesson a lot of times this year already with teams that are maybe not in the playoffs and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot," coach Todd McLellan said. "Until we fix that, well probably end up with the same results." Brandon Pirri scored one goal and set up Quinton Howden for another in a 17-second span of the second period and Scottie Upshall also scored for the Panthers, who had lost seven of their previous eight road games. But Luongo was the biggest reason for the win, especially in the third period when Florida was outshot 29-2 had to kill off four power plays, including 51 seconds of a two-man advantage. San Jose had the extra skater for all but 27 seconds in a span of 7:36 during the middle of the period but couldnt get anything by Luongo. "I havent seen a performance like that in a while," Howden said. "That was impressive. It was tough taking those penalties but you have confidence with the guy back there. He was our best penalty killer tonight." Burns finally broke through on San Joses 26th shot of the period when he knocked a puck past Luongo aftter a faceoff win by Joe Thornton with 3:03 remaining. David Wright Jersey. . But Luongo robbed Joe Pavelski in the final minute to preserve the win. San Jose has failed to score on 34 of its past 35 power plays at home since Feb. 3, with the only goal coming early in the second period when Havlat beat Luongo with a slap shot from the high slot. "Its not good enough, simple as that," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "Its on us, the players who go out there and play the big power play minutes, myself included. It needs to be better, it needs to help win us games." The Panthers took over the game after Havlats goal and led 3-1 heading into the third. Pirri changed the tenor of the game on one shift. It started when he raced past Jason Demers and put a shot on goal that Niemi initially saved. But the puck popped in the air and landed behind Niemi, hit his skate and trickled into the net. "Its an opportunity here and, when you get those opportunities, you have to make them count," Pirri said. "We created some speed down the wings and maybe they didnt cover the gap as well as they would have liked. I just shot it." Just seconds later, Pirri got another shot on goal that trickled through Niemi and was sitting in the crease where Howden knocked it in for his third goal in four games this season. The Sharks put on heavy pressure in the closing minutes of the period, but Luongo was up to the task and the Panthers added an insurance goal with 14.8 seconds to play when Pavelski lost the puck near the boards and Joey Crabb slid a pass to Upshall, who beat Niemi with a one-timer. "In the second period, I dont think we used our head," Demers said. "We were working hard, but werent working smart." NOTES: F Jonathan Huberdeau (upper body) did not make the trip for the Panthers. ... Sam Tageson, a teenage hockey player with a life-threatening heart condition, practiced with the Sharks, skated through the shark head before the game and was introduced to a loud ovation before the game as part of a day arranged through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Sharks Foundation. ' ' '