The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
Gonna have to disagree with this take.
If you're gonna be pushing the angle that Calvert was so close to a new stick, you kinda have to look at why he would even need to in the first place. Calvert gets checked by Green and goes to the boards, and no fewer than 3 separate Red Wings grab his stick to obstruct him from getting back to the play. That was what set off this whole situation to begin with.
If anything, that should be a bench penalty on the Wings. It's annoying as hell when other teams do it, so it's not right when the Wings do it either. And if a bench minor isn't enough of a deterrent, make it a bench major and teams can go on the PK for 5 mins and risk several goals against to discourage the behaviour.
If you're not on the ice, leave the players who are, and their equipment, the **** alone.
If you're on the ice don't spear people off the ice. Just don't spear people it is always illegal.
That was absolutely two minutes for interference on Rasmussen. Calvert goes back into the bench. If you cannot touch players on the ice, you cannot do a five and a gate penalty to guys sitting on the bench.
The league has now mandated taking a glove off during these, which is something I have seen several times in my life is a thing. Okay I understand that, I will repeat my mantra whenever the league makes **** up on the fly, I would like them to put in their rulebook before we agree to play the games during the season as has always been the agreed to custom sans Avery vs Brodeur which strangely enough the only time I can think of that kind of change in season.... But in any event Bert got what Bert got. The next instance of this I expect the same two games.
That the league still doesn't take spearing more seriously really does bother me. It cost us a cup in 09 in my opinion. It is crap I want out of the game. Still serious, Ericsson should rearrange Calvert's face in Colorado. People can be upset about that, but spearing isn't something I am okay with or slew-footing. If you did it to one of my teammates in beer league I would earhole sucker you and keep going until somebody pulled me off you before you knew I had even witnessed it... Though I will say be careful there, I know guys that have been charged for going too far in beer league. But still, it is something almost no team ever puts up with, it is one of those things that engages anybody that plays a lot of hockey. Spearing is never okay and before somebody qualifies it, even the action of attempting to drive your stick into opposition without connecting is spearing and if you have ever seen the after result of one that had landed, you would likely know why all these guys throw down in an instant over it.
Last edited: