Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.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. Günstige Air Max 95 Schweiz . The Union looked to have grabbed a big win in the 88th minute when Amobi Okugo finally put the hosts in front. But a terrible giveaway by Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi handed Earnshaw the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time, keeping the Union two points back of fifth-place Red Bull New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Air Max 95 Günstig Kaufen .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. http://www.airmax95schweiz.ch/ . 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Davis set career highs with 40 points and 21 rebounds, and Eric Gordon made two crucial free throws in overtime to lead the Pelicans to a 121-120 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. "My teammates tell me that they feed off my energy and they want me to be great so I cant be timid and do what it takes to help my team win," said Davis, who also blocked three shots, making him the eight player in NBA history with at least 40 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks in a game. "Were trying to do a better job of making me comfortable down the stretch." Tyreke Evans added 26 points and Gordon had 19 for the Pelicans (27-39), who had lost two consecutive games. Gordons foul shots with 9.4 seconds remaining gave the Pelicans a 121-117 lead. "In overtime we did enough to squeak out a one-point win," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. Jeff Green, who led Boston with 39 points, answered Gordons free throws in overtime with a three-point play that trimmed New Orleans lead to 121-120 with 5.7 seconds remaining. But the Celtics were unable to foul on the inbounds play and New Orleans ran out the clock. "At least we played with better poise at the end of regulation and overtime," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who blamed a defensive miscommunication for Boston not committing the late foul. "We gave ourselves a chance to win on the offensive end. Guys got a couple of stops, just not enough at the end." Davis did not score in overtime but controlled the middle by grabbing six rebounds. He became the first player in franchise history to have at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game. He is averaging 32.3 points in his last six games. His previous high for points was Friday night when he scored 36 in a loss against Portland. Davis 21 rebounds erased his previous career high of 19 against Orlanddo on Jan.dddddddddddd 26. "I think he can do this 10 to 15 times a year just because he is so gifted and does things for the right reason," Williams said. "Obviously, he has great athletic ability but some of that stuff is just him. We try to put him in a position where he can be a dominant player." Green made three big free throws late in regulation, tying it at 110. Davis answered with a jumper for New Orleans, but Kris Humphries, who scored 16 points, sent the game into overtime on a long jumper from the right corner. "Thats a tough one to swallow," said Celtics forward Jared Sullinger, who scored 14 points. "(Humphries) hitting that big shot to send it into overtime, we thought we could win. In the end we came up short." Avery Bradley had 12 points for the Celtics, who lost their fourth consecutive game. Evans layup with 5:33 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Pelicans a 102-89 lead. Boston then closed with a 23-10 surge to force the extra period. It was similar to the past two games when the Pelicans blew leads against Memphis and Portland. "We played defence in the fourth quarter and in overtime and got stops when we needed it," Davis said. "We came up with the rebounds and made free throws." The Celtics, who attempted to push the pace against the defence-minded Pelicans, closed the first half on a 17-8 run to take a 64-57 halftime lead. Boston scored 39 points in the second period. Green had 20 points at the break. He had a tying dunk with 4:11 left and a 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining, giving Boston a 54-49 lead. NOTES: The Pelicans finished 24 of 28 from the free-throw line, after making their only two foul shots in the first half. ... Davis was 12 of 12 from the line, and has not missed an attempt in his past three games. ... The Pelicans have won their past five games that have gone into overtime. ... New Orleans scored a season-high 70 points in the paint, and held Boston to 46. ' ' '