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, 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? Andre Roberson Jersey . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. Terrance Ferguson Jersey . Last July, F1 teams held in-season testing sessions at Silverstone to assess new tires provided by Pirelli after several blowouts on the same circuit at the British Grand Prix in June prompted a furious response from drivers and even a boycott threat the following week. http://www.cheapthunderjerseyschina.com/ . Alina Fodorova of Ukraine took third place. Broersen based her gold-medal performance on great high jumping, and finished with 4,830 points, while Theisen-Eaton, from Humboldt, Sask., set a national record of 4,768. Carmelo Anthony Jersey . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Patrick Patterson Jersey . Jets head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement Saturday following the morning skate and confirmed Al Montoya will start in goal against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.SOCHI, Russia - According to head coach Mike Babcock, Team Canada came to Russia with a plan of how it would employ the goaltending duties at these Olympics, namely who, between Roberto Luongo and Carey Price, would be the guy. "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Luongo bettered his efforts a day later, stopping all 23 shots versus the Austrians. But which of the two deserves to start against the Finns, the most challenging opponent of the tournament to date and an indicator of which direction the brass is leaning, is a matter of some debate. On purely NHL terms, for this season, Price has been the better goaltender. He owns a .925 save percentage after 48 starts - ninth-best in the NHL - keeping the Montreal Canadiens afloat through good times and bad. He also entered the Olympics on a sterling five-game run that saw him stop 167 of 174 shots - .960 save percentage - banking one shutout in the process. Luongo has been steady meanwhile, boasting a .917 save percentage in Vancouver this season, a number about in line with his career average. But unlike Price, he and the Canucks have stumbled into the break, losing five straight. And though his struggling team managed to score just eight goals during the five-game slide, Luongo himself wasnt much better, allowing 17 goals in the process (.880 save percentage). If not better than Price at the moment, Luongo does have history on his side. Initially the backup to Martin Brodeur at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Luongo grabbed the net against Germany in the pre-qualificationn round and didnt let go (albeit with a few hiccups) en route to the gold medal.dddddddddddd Price last starred on the international stage at the 2007 World Junior Championships. Sparkling with a 1.14 goals against average, he was named the tournament MVP. But unlike American starter Jonathan Quick, who has a stranglehold on the no. 1 gig due in large part to an unbelievable recent playoff track record, the 26-year-old Price has been just so-so in the postseason for the Canadiens. He had an .894 save percentage in falling to the Ottawa Senators in the first round last spring. Price did, however, steer the Hamilton Bulldogs to a Calder Cup championship during that brilliant 07 run. Back in 2010, Babcock started the Olympic tournament with Luongo against the Norwegians - they won 8-0 - but apparently had his mind set on Brodeur all along. The future Hall of Fame netminder started games two and three against the Swiss and Americans, but lost his job to Luongo after four goals passed on 22 shots in a 5-3 loss to the U.S. All of which goes to show that whatever may seem certain for even a moment in a tournament that extends for just days can change in an instant or two. Asked of his process for determining who would be the guy, Babcock pointed to the NHL season and said that he and the Team Canada brass had been closely monitoring who was doing what. If he favours the present then Price would seem to be the obvious choice, but if he has a sentimental spot for what Luongo managed on this stage last time around then the embattled Canucks keeper may just be the guy. The two netminders were to be informed of the decision on Saturday evening. "We did the same thing last time," said Babcock of 2010. "We had a plan. We understand and I said this a number of times you get oneball Jerseys[/url] ' ' '