wisely and not "threaten" the player with, "I

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. Its an "Ace" of a day here in South New Jersey and Im in a very happy mood. I recorded my first ever hole-in–one this morning on the par 3, 135 yard fourth hole at the Atlantic City Country Club with an eight iron into a stiff wind and drizzle off the Bay. As they say, even a blind squirrel (or ref) can find a nut once in a while! Enjoy the games tonight. - Kerry Hi Kerry, In seemingly all of his games since the playoffs have started, Brad Marchand has had a talking to by the referee for stick work after the whistle. The commentators keep referring to Marchand getting "a warning." But if this is happening every game, shouldnt these warnings turn into penalties at some point? Does the league allow or encourage officials to pass this type of information on from one game to the next? Thanks,JonathanToronto, ON Jonathan: NHL officials do share information with one another. The fastest lines of communication are the telephone, telegraph and tell a ref! The series supervisor updates each new crew at a game-day noon meeting as to what has taken place in previous games. There are no surprises; especially when it comes to certain hotspots the officials need to be aware of involving players from both teams. The referees want to do their very best to allow the players to play on the edge while maintaining an element of control; especially in a game seven. With regard to game control, the intelligent official will communicate with players and coaches when he deems it necessary to bring their negative emotions down a notch. I often noticed that player aggression could escalate during a shift or subsequent shifts. It was almost like a snowball rolling down a hill that gathered momentum. It was almost predictable as a player became less disciplined and likely to commit an infraction resulting in a penalty call. Im not referring to some spontaneous retaliation or foul but a tendency that players demonstrated to lose their discipline through a series of ragged play. Scrums and confrontations after the whistle are the most opportune time for player hostilities and paybacks to escalate. Scrums take the focus away from playing the game to instead administering punishment or getting even. When that occurs the refs have to take measures to get players refocused; usually with the fear that a penalty will be called to re-establish acceptable guidelines. The most successful refs are the one that get the players to play on their terms without having to continually lay the hammer down! The entertainment value of the game is maximized whenever that takes place. There comes a point though when the communication efforts have no effect and the refs arm must go up to call a penalty. I just dont want to single out Brad Marchand of the Bruins. Brendan Gallagher of the Habs is another pesky little guy that can really stir things up. Both are emotional players that bring plenty of energy to their game and can draw a crowd. Whether it is going hard to the net and making contact with the goalkeeper or initiating contact after the whistle in an effort to draw a foul, both players have earned the right to be on the refs radar screen. Officials develop a working relationship with all players. Throughout that relationship building process a player has to clearly know when a referee means business; when he has had enough and the hammer is about to fall! Speaking from personal experience, players didnt often mistake my piercing look and terse body language or tone for knowing when it was time to back off and take their foot off the gas pedal. When I issued a "warning" to a player I often told him I could be his best advocate or his worst friggin nightmare - the choice was his? A referee can also solicit the assistance of a respected team leader or captain that he has a good relationship with to get his teammate under control before the ref is forced to take action. I often used the coach in this capacity to instill some discipline in one of his players. When I had enough of the scrums (which was very quickly) I went to each coach and told them I had enough and was going to penalize one player only in a scrum. Since it might just be their player I asked them to take control before I was forced to put his team down a man! They usually cooperated; if not it only took one such penalty for them to understand I meant business. What the referees are attempting to do with a player like Brad Marchand is to establish some self-discipline through an element of reason. Reminding the player that taking a penalty will put his team in the hole can be one way to do that as I have described above. It is important for the ref to choose his words wisely and not "threaten" the player with, "If you do that one more time" routine. Game 7 is not the time for any player to test the referees resolve; nor is it the time for the referees to lay the hammer down without some fair warning. I think the message has been delivered and the pests will play their typical game but just on the edge. Talk is often cheap but everything is on the line for both teams tonight! Gio Gonzalez Jersey . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Stephen Strasburg Jersey . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. http://www.officialnationalsgearshop.com/Nationals-Jayson-Werth-Kids-Jersey/ . Starters, when they struggle, have to live with it for five days. For Sergio Santos and Steve Delabar, two of the three men who authored one of the ugliest pitched innings in Blue Jays franchise history on Thursday night, the bounce-back chance came right away. Brian Goodwin Jersey . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. Wilmer Difo Jersey . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal during a power play in the third period and Brandon Sutter got the deciding goal in a six-round shootout, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Defenceman Deryk Engelland scored in the first period for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for his league-leading 33rd victory, after the Penguins rallied twice from one-goal deficits in a showdown between the leaders of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Corey Perry scored twice for the Ducks and Ryan Getzlaf had two assists, but the Ducks captain missed a chance to extend the shootout with a shot over the net -- making him 0 for 6 this season in the tiebreaker. Jonas Hiller had 15 saves, one of them on a breakaway by Sidney Crosby in the first minute of overtime. The Penguins hold a three-point lead over Boston in the East. The Ducks have a three-point edge over St. Louis in the West and lead the overall standings with a 43-14-7 record. An SRO crowd of 17,518 squeezed into the 17,174-seat Honda Center, including a very loud contingent of Penguins fans, for Crosbys fourth game in Anaheim during his nine-year career. The NHLs leading scorer, a career-worst minus-5 in Thursdays 5-3 loss at San Jose, didnt have a shot on net until his breakaway. Malkin got the equalizer with 11:03 left in regulation, beating Hiller to the glove side with a 40-foot wrist shot for his 19th goal while Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri was penalized. The Ducks grabbed a 2-1 lead early in tthe second period thanks to some determined forechecking by Perry, who knocked defenceman Brooks Orpik off the puck behind the net.dddddddddddd Palmieri flipped it out in front to Getzlaf, who alertly set up Perry at the edge of the crease in heavy traffic. Perrys 34th goal lifted him to second place in the league, 10 behind Washingtons Alex Ovechkin. Perry opened the scoring 3:54 into the game, converting a rebound of Getzlafs 35-foot wrist shot. Engelland pulled the Penguins even at 7:47 with their first shot on net, beating a screened Hiller between the pads with a 45-foot slap shot. It was Engellands sixth goal, one fewer than he had in 187 games over his four previous NHL seasons. The Penguins had two shots go off the goalpost in the second period -- one by newly acquired Lee Stempniak, the other by James Neal off the crossbar. NOTES: Crosby and Perry, both league MVPs, 50-goal scorers in a season and Stanley Cup winners, had their seventh head-to-head meeting. Crosby has three goals and four assists, and Perry has six goals and three assists. The Penguins are 5-2 in those games. ... Crosby and Perry both scored in the shootout. ... Anaheim D Luca Sbisa played less than 3 minutes, leaving the game with a lower body injury. ... LW Chris Kunitz, who won Stanley Cups with Anaheim in 2007 and Pittsburgh in 2009, has no points in five games against the Ducks since they traded him to the Penguins in February 2006. ... The Penguins havent allowed a power play goal in their last six road games and 19 short-handed situations. Cheap Nike Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nike Nets Jerseys Cheap New York Knicks Jerseys Cheap Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys China Raptors Jerseys Wholesale Chicago Bulls Jerseys Wholesale Cleveland Cavaliers Jerseys China Pistons Jerseys Wholesale Indiana Pacers Jerseys Cheap Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys Atlanta Hawks Jerseys Online Cheap Nike Hornets Jerseys China Heat Jerseys Cheap Nike Magic Jerseys China Wizards Jerseys Cheap Nike Nuggets Jerseys China Timberwolves Jerseys China Thunder Jerseys China Blazers Jerseys Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys China Warriors Jerseys Cheap Nike Clippers Jerseys Discount Lakers Jerseys Phoenix Suns Jerseys Online Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Online Wholesale Houston Rockets Jerseys Wholesale Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys Online Discount Spurs Jerseys ' ' '