Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Cheap Air Max Plus Green .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? Nike Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Cheap .com) - Avery Bradley scored 21 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81. Cheap Nike Air Max Plus . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. http://www.cheapairmaxplusshoes.com/cheap-air-max-plus-all-white/ . Colton Sissons also scored for Milwaukee (19-12-8), which went ahead with a two-goal third period. Wade MacLeod and Greg McKegg replied for Toronto (23-12-4). CHICAGO -- Max Scherzer wasnt at his best Wednesday. But it was more than enough to beat the White Sox. Scherzer threw six scoreless innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 to finish a two-game sweep. Scherzer (3-1) won his third straight start, allowing four hits while striking out seven to become the first pitcher in team history with at least seven strikeouts in each of his first six starts. He also became the first in the majors to do it since Tim Lincecum began the 2010 season with at least six strikeouts in his first seven starts. But it was the three walks and 105 pitches that gnawed at the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. "They fought me all the way through the whole at-bat," Scherzer said. "I just thought I could have been a little more efficient so I could have pitched deeper into the game." Scherzer beat the White Sox for the second straight time, following up his April 24 win when he went six innings and allowed two runs in a 7-4 victory. He also helped Tigers win for the fourth time in five games, and shut down the powerful White Sox offence for the second straight day. "Yeah, we missed out on a couple of opportunities today and yesterday too, but those guys are pretty good pitchers and have been for a while," White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers said. "They do some good things in those situations and get the job done. We just have to find a way to battle through on some of those and get some runs across." On Tuesday, Justin Verlander and two relievers held the White Sox to seven hits in a 4-3 Detroit win. Scherzer and the Tigers continued that Wednesday against a team that started the day first in the American League in runs and second in home runs and slugging, coming within one out of a shutout. "Theres 29 other managers that would like to be able to do that," Detroits Brad Ausmus said of starting Verlander and Scherzer on consecutive days. Chicagos Robin Ventura is certainly one of those managers. As with Flowers, he heaped praise on Scherzer. "Hes great, hes always tough. You get some guys on, you get opportunities and thats when ggood pitchers really show their stuff. Cheap Air Max Plus All Black. He did that today," Ventura said. "We at least got him a high pitch count and he couldnt get eight or nine innings. But, hes just tough." The Tigers got all the runs they needed in a four-run fourth, when Detroit scored four times against Hector Noesi (0-2). Bryan Holaday capped the rally with a two-run double. Noesi, making a spot start for Chicago, went 3 2-3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits. He breezed through the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth in his first start of the season. "We dont know much about the guy, and I dont think he has been extended that far so it may have been a combination of the hitters getting a chance to see him a few times and also maybe because he hadnt been as deep into a game this year," Ausmus said. "He could have been getting a little tired as well." The White Sox challenged Scherzer as well, but left seven runners on against the Tigers righty. "Im very cognizant of what theyre able to do and always willing to give them credit," Scherzer said. "Today I thought they did a good job of battling me but when push came to shove I thought I was better." NOTES: The Tigers announced that left-hander Robbie Ray will make his major-league debut Tuesday in Detroit against the Astros. Ray, 22, was acquired this off-season from the Nationals as part of the trade that sent starter Doug Fister to Washington, and will start in place of injured starter Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez is on the disabled list with a laceration on his right middle finger and threw from flat ground prior to Wednesdays game. . C Alex Avila missed his second straight game with back spasms. . Robin Ventura said LHP Chris Sale is "feeling better" but a rehab start is a possibility if his recovery continues to be extended. Sale has been on the disabled list since April 22 -- retroactive to April 18 -- with a flexor muscle strain in his left arm. Ventura also said RHP Felipe Paulino (right rotator cuff inflammation) will have a rehab assignment coming up "pretty soon." Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '