Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Ryan Allen Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, I was timekeeping a AAA minor midget game last week when the following happened. A player was skating down the wing and then wound up to take a huge slap shot. When he took the shot, the puck actually split into two pieces with both halves of the puck entering the net for a score. Should the goal be allowed or not? Has anything weird like that ever happened to you in the pros during your career? One ref at the game actually thought a goal should be allowed but after all three officials got together, there was a ruling of no goal with the faceoff inside the zone. Thought maybe a weird situation would put a bit of a change of pace to your column. Cheers,Edward Sherr Edward: As weird as it sounds, I do recall a hard shot ring off the goal post in an NHL game I worked that caused the puck to break in half. Neither chunk of vulcanized rubber entered the net but instead split off in different directions. One piece travelled toward the end zone corner while the other portion found its way into the slot. Players scrambled in both directions, instinctively chasing the black disc that was nearest their position. I recall the look of shock on each players face after recognizing only half a puck existed in two different locations on the ice. I blew my whistle to halted play for this unusual situation. A discussion then ensued as to who caused the stoppage of play with regard to the resulting face-off location. The defending team protested that the attacking team had caused the stoppage with a shot that broke the puck. They rationalized their position no differently than shooting or deflecting the puck over the boards. I settled on the claim that it wasnt "who" (which team) but "what" (a faulty puck) that caused the stoppage and the resulting face-off was taken in the end zone corner where half the puck had come to rest. The fact is, Edward, that the entire puck must completely cross the goal line to count as a legal goal. Half a puck just doesnt cut it. The officials in the AAA Midget game, therefore, made the correct call; including the resulting end zone face-off location. Amendment/Addition: You have correctly noted from Edwards question that both halves of the broken puck entered the net. While there is nothing presently in the NHL Officiating Case book or anything that I could find in the Canadian Hockey Case Book or playing rules on the subject, we need to look at rule 13 - Puck. The puck shall be made of vulcanized rubber, or other approved material, one inch (1") thick and three inches (3") in diameter and shall weigh between five and one-half ounces (5 1/2 oz.) and six ounces (6 oz.). All pucks used in competition must be approved by the League. A puck that has broken in half does not conform to this rule in specified size or weight, nor is it approved for legal play. No goal would result should a puck that was broken in half and therefore deemed unfit for play (illegal) enter the net. This would include the case where separated halves found their way into the net. During the season, I had the puck split in half. Inglasco (the official puck supplier to the NHL) was having some quality control issues. You might recall that routine shots were causing the protective glass behind the goal to break at an unprecedented rate. I was told that there was a component in the puck that was causing this to occur. While that problem was quickly rectified, it brought special attention to the puck and particularly the inconsistency with which it settled or bounced on the ice. A study, conducted by an NHL-hired consultant with a PHD specializing in the field of rubber, revealed the ideal temperature at which frozen vulcanized rubber provided the optimum density to slide across the ice and minimize the bounce effect. Following the study, game puck supplies were to be kept in a special temperature controlled freezer that were installed in every NHL arena. Pucks that previously were kept cool in a bucket of ice at the penalty timekeeper bench were secured in a mini-freezer by an off-ice crew member that was in charge of pucks. Memos were sent to the head of each Off-Ice Crew on the new puck handling policy and optimum temperature that must be maintained. Linesmen were instructed to change out the pucks on a frequent basis. I will tell you first hand that the density of the frozen puck was noticeable when on occasion I was struck by one. Even a glancing blow provided an extra sting not previously experienced! With all this hoopla of information being circulated over the ideal puck temperature, Jeff Weintraub, head of the NY Islanders Off-Ice Crew (and a dear friend of all the NHL Officials) decided to have a little fun with us. Prior to a game I worked in Nassau Coliseum, Jeff entered our dressing room with a very serious look on his face and asked me if I would check the temperature of the game puck. Confused, I asked how the heck he expected me to do that. From behind Jeffs back he exposed a NY Islander puck with a hole drilled in it. Inserted in the hole was a "rectal thermometer!" What a ball-buster Jeff was. The bouncing puck also led to snow buildup being scrapped from the goal crease and around the dasher boards during commercial time-outs. Very quickly through the scraping process guys in sweat suits were replaced by scantily clad "Ice Girls." Its truly amazing the progress I witnessed during my 30 years as an NHL referee. If were lucky, we might even see the results of a study that can stop players from hitting each other in the head? Tedy Bruschi Jersey . Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko. Duke Dawson Jersey . "Im proud, obviously. Its been a long day, but now Im a Crystal Palace player, Im very happy," Bannan said. "The seasons been started now for a couple of weeks and Ive not featured at Villa. http://www.patriotsauthenticshop.com/Patriots-Adrian-Clayborn-Draft-Jersey/ . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos.ORLANDO, Fla. - Adam Scott didnt have to look as far down the leaderboard to find players who suddenly are a real threat to win at Bay Hill. He described them as players who are "hungry to win," and Scott served them up an appetizer Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Staked to a seven-shot lead at the start of the third round, the Masters champion hit enough loose shots and missed just enough par putts to lose more than half his lead and turn his quest to be No. 1 in the world into a bigger battle that he would have preferred. Scott made a 7-foot par putt on the final hole for a 1-under 71, giving him a three-shot lead over Keegan Bradley going into Sunday. "I think Ive got to go out and try to win the golf tournament (Sunday)," Scott said. "Im not trying to win the No. 1 ranking. Ive got a bunch of guys breathing down my neck who all have had nice rounds today and are feeling pretty good about the way theyre playing going into tomorrow. So Im going to have to play a pretty sharp round of golf and not open the door at all." Scott was at 15-under 201. Bradley birdied his last three holes, taking on the flag at the 18th with a 9-iron from 167 yards that narrowly cleared the rocks framing the lake and settled 4 feet from the flag. That was the final touch on an eight-birdie round of 66 that put him in the final group. "I just kind of like that underdog role," Bradley said. "I like knowing that Ive got to go out there and play well. It really gets me excited. And playing in the final group with one of the best players in the world at Arnold Palmers tournament is what we all dream to do. Tomorrow is going to be a really fun day." Any other year at Bay Hill, he might have been referring to Tiger Woods. Woods, the two-time defending champion at Bay Hill and No. 1 in the world, withdrew before the tournament because of recurring back pain. Scott has a chance to replace him at No. 1 in the world with a victory, though he wouldnt take over at the top until the week before the Masters. But theres too much golf, and now too many players, for Scott to think that far ahead. Matt Every (66) and Jason Kokrak (67) were four shots behind, both with a chance to win on the PGA Tour for the first time. Chesson Hadley and Francesco Molinari of Italy each had a 69 and were another shot behind. Hadley, who won the Puerto Rico Open two weeks ago, caan qualify for the Masters with a high finish. Isaiah Wynn Jersey. He likely would need to be in sixth place or better to be solidly inside the top 50 in the world. Scott was never satisfied with the seven-shot lead, and he still felt comfortable with a three-shot advantage going to Sunday. "When youve got the lead, you have to work for it," he said. "Im still in good shape." Five holes into the third round, his seven-shot lead already had been trimmed to one. Scott three-putted from 60 feet on the opening hole, an indication of how fast the greens have become at Bay Hill, and he hit a poor chip to 12 feet on the fifth hole to drop another shot. Hadley applied the early pressure with four birdies through the sixth hole to get within one shot. Scott wasnt aware of this. He doesnt sound as though he would have been surprised, anyway. "When you dont start birdie-birdie today, then you know the other guys have got nothing to lose and theyre going for it," he said. "Theyve got to close the gap. It doesnt surprise me at all. You think seven is a lot, but its not really, especially over 36 holes. If I was seven back at any other tournament, I would think I could still win." Scott laid up on the par-5 sixth and hit wedge to 2 feet. And after a few long birdie putts on the 10th and 15th holes restored the cushion, he two-putted from 60 feet for birdie on the par-5 16th to bring his lead back to five shots. Bradley birdied the 18th. Scott missed a 5-foot par putt on the 17th, and then the 33-year-old Australian nearly had one more wobble. His birdie putt on the 18th slid about 7 feet by the hole. Scott made that coming back for par, which he hopes will be a small measure of momentum he can carry into the final round. "I missed two par putts shorter than that," he said. "To miss another would have opened the door a little bit too much for my liking." Bradley made six birdies on the back nine, including the last three holes. He had a good look at eagle on the 16th and missed the 15-foot putt, made a putt just inside 25 feet for birdie on the 17th and then took on the flag on the 18th, even though caddie Steve "Pepsi" Hale was wanting him to play slightly more conservatively. "I was going right at it," Bradley said of his 9-iron. "He was nervous. I knew the whole way it was going to cover and be perfect. But it worked out." Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys ' ' '