Surprise Ice
Phew. 3 games(and wins) in three days for the Aeros... Stressful ones, too. And then straight to Austin for me after Sunday's game to take care of some work stuff.
As I mentioned last week, I thought I was not going to be playing at all this week but one of the women's league goalies was sick. So I got the call on the way home from Austin, right around Brenham, to come out.
No problem. Tired as shit, but hey, it's ice time and otherwise, I'd just be sitting around the house trying to stay awake until 9 or 10 anyway.
And then it turned out they wanted a goalie to shoot on for the women's clinic before league. So the hour I thought I had to relax when I got home turned into 30 minutes and a rush to get dressed and on the ice.
I forgot how much work it is to just take practice shots. Up and down, up and down. My knee sure felt it. I bailed when they started just taking regular shots on me from the hash marks. Doesn't do much for me and I wanted to save energy for the game.
Game went okay. There were a couple that I didn't feel like I had a lot of chance on. We took the lead late in the game and they pulled the goalie with 10 seconds left, but my team couldn't clear it and somehow it got right to a gaggle of gals on my back door and they got it in with like 2 seconds on the clock.
Honestly, I was so tired, I couldn't get all that worked up about it. Shootout. No big deal. I'd been stopping Captain Danglemitts all night, which I was very proud of and that had my confidence up. I let two in, neither of which were particularly embarrassing, stopped a good shot glove side. We could only get one in their net though, so we lost 5-4.
One weird thing though and I honestly felt bad for our ref, who really didn't seem to know how to handle the call and I'm still not sure what the right answer was:
The play was around my net and I'm scrambling and I guess I slid into my right post at one point and knocked it off the goal line a few inches behind it but didn't realize it. One of my D noticed it and starts yelling, "Net's off! Net's off!" looking for the whistle.
Well, for one, that was pretty distracting to me and while I know I should play to the whistle, I definitely let up. And Captain Danglemitts, who occasionally plays past the whistle a few beats because she's badass like that, converted on a wrap-around chance at the left post (which was in place).
So, my D is like, "Dude! No goal! Look, the net's off!" Ref looks, sees it's off, waves the goal off, and puts the net back in place.
Of course, the other team, primarily Capt. Danglemitts, goes apeshitbananas and gets up in his grill arguing her side.
Goal.
He fucking changed his mind, y'all.
You could see him struggling with it before he waved it off. He wasn't sold on his initial decision, so I wasn't surprised by the change. And honestly, the net being off didn't affect my ability to save or the validity (in spirit) of the goal. My D screaming about it while the play was going on and my letting up as a result was a 95% of the reason the puck went in.
Anyway, I don't know what the rule is, but if there's room for interpretation in the rules, then I'd say he got it right (ultimately). If the rule is black and white "if the net is unintentionally off its moorings, any goals scored don't count regardless of whether the ref knew the net was off during play" then, of course, he was wrong. I really don't know.
Of course, the whole thing pissed my team off so much, that they went down and rang up two goals in quick succession. Haha.
That deal on top of my team getting 8 or 10 minutes of PIM, plus at least one 5 on 3 (maybe two?)... it was kind of a clusterfuck. But they kill penalties like a boss, so the goonery didn't hurt us much other than having a short bench that was getting pretty tired by the end.
I came right home, threw back some Advil for my aches and Benedryl to short circuit the adrenaline and finally get some solid sleep. Thank god. I almost feel human today.
Tomorrow's another long one though. Busy busy day and then an Aeros game, after which I need to interview Hackett, so send the kid good goalie vibes because I hate interviewing goalies after bad games, but I really have no choice if I want to do the story.
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6 comments:
That's a pretty ugly sitch with the call/reverse call. Either way, the ref's got to have more conviction, I'd say.
"My D screaming about it while the play was going on and my letting up as a result was a 95% of the reason the puck went in."
if the wrap around was to the side that had been pushed behind the goal line, then the goalie part of me says, though, that the other 5% was because the net WAS off, though.
But, I would like to know about the rule. Does the fact of the net being off in and of itself render the play (and goal) dead? I would guess that it doesn't matter until/unless the ref blows the whistle. But I don't know. Hopefully someone else does.
How weird- I had the post thing happen to me Mon as well.
Score is 2-0, good guys. I give one up on a busted play and about a minute later, knock the net off while scrambling to regain my crease. Puck goes in and goal is (properly) disallowed. If the goal is dislodged "when the puck goes in", the correct call is no goal.
Many times, I have had a zebra push the net back into place if it's off by a couple of inches, and play carries on.
Screams go up that I should be given a DOG for knocking it off intentionally, and zebra says "He knows how to knock it off the right way if he wants, no goal"
We win 2-1, despite being shorthanded for the last 1:47 of the game.
Now, for the question. No matter what, GOALIES PLAY TO THE WHISTLE.
That said, it WAS a BS move by the Zeb to change his mind to what was the incorrect call. He'd be picking up pucks that I froze all night long for that one.
In reviewing the rule, officials are granted leeway in regards to intent.
If they feel that a defensive player intentionally displaced the net, a goal can be awarded if the puck would have entered the net if it was in place.
If they feel there is no intent, the play should be blown dead upon noticing that the goal is displaced.
A minor penalty shall be imposed on any player (including a
goalkeeper) who delays the game by deliberately displacing a
goal post from its normal position. The Referee or Linesmen
shall stop play immediately when a goal post has been
displaced.
If the defending team has deliberately displaced the goal
post, thereby depriving the attacking team of an immediate
and reasonable scoring opportunity, or if, during the course of
a break-away, the goalkeeper (all classifications) or player
(excluding Adults) deliberately removes his helmet/facemask,
a penalty shot/optional minor penalty shall be awarded to
the non-offending team, which shot shall be taken by the
player last in possession of the puck.
If a player of the defending team deliberately displaces the
goal and, in the opinion of the Referee, the puck would have
entered the goal had it not been displaced, or if the defending
team deliberately displaces the goal when the goalkeeper is
off the ice, thereby preventing an obvious and imminent
goal, a goal shall be awarded in lieu of a penalty shot.
Ha, yeah, I'm not nearly clever enough to think to dislodge my goal on purpose. I honestly had to look twice to even see that it WAS dislodged. It was back MAX 3" from its correct location. Not a big deal but off is off, right?
Funny, after the goal, the puck was way back in the back of the net and I waited until he waved the goal off to pull it out for him. I was gonna make him get it himself if he called it a goal. So he waves it off, I pull it out for him, he goes out to face the music from the other team, and then changes his mind. Shoulda left the damn thing in the net.
And yeah, if the play hadn't been so fast and furious at that moment, I'm sure he would have had time to acknowledge my d-man's yelling and just push it into place, but there was just too much going on. He probably didn't even have time to look, and you really did have to look to see it.
I agree with Nick in New York (I should call myself Nick in Colorado!), goal or no goal players now know that all they have to do with this ref is complain an there's an outside chance he'll reverse his call ... LAME. He's totally botched his rep for a good while.
That's too funny about pulling the puck out for the ref, I've totally done that. I had my d-man in the corner getting ready to break out and one of our opponents was closing in. My d-man spun around to get away and turned into the ref, only the ref made no attempt to get out of the way (see where this going?). Next thing I know the opposing forward has the puck and scores on me. As the ref came to get the puck, I pushed it back into the net. He was livid, but I think I was more so!
@Nick in CO....
I ask the zebras how they are doing and wish them a good game and always hand them the biscuit after I freeze it.
Except when one or both are having a less than stellar evening.
In that case, they can bend over and pick it up themselves.
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