On Sat, 28 Jan 1995, Indulis R Rutks wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Jan 1995, David Parter wrote:
>
> > Towards the end of the second, however, there was a major scuffle in
> > front of the Badger net. Shepard and Schmidt just watched, but by the
> > time a Minnesota player had wrapped around the net, the whistle had
> > blown. One ref signalled goal, but the other waved it off.
>
> SOUR GRAPE ALERT --- SOUR GRAPE ALERT --- SOUR GRAPE ALERT
>
> Actually, the TV replay showed that the puck was clearly in the net a
> full second or two *before* the whistle. Shoulda been a goal, shoulda
> been a tie at the end of regulation, dang it all!
>
 
SMUG BADGER FAN ALERT --- SMUG BADGER FAN ALERT
 
ACTUALLY, the goal was able to be scored because Minnesota's Hankinson
RAN the Badger defender in front of the net (Mickey Ellick I believe).
No accident, this!  Hankinson lowered his shoulder and let Ellick have
it right in the chest.  The puck was still behind the net on the near
side (to the camera's eye).  Elick retailiated by striking at
Hankinson's head and then as they mixed it up he delivered a cross-
check to the Gopher.
 
ONLY ABOUNT THEN was the puck wrapped around to the FAR side of the net
and scored.  Hankinson's actions should have drawn a penalty and the
play should have been stopped at that instant.  As the play happened, it
appeared that the rest of the defense reacted to this obvious penalty
and failed to follow the puck, which allowed the goal to be scored
anyway.
 
As was discussed on the list recently, there sometimes isn't time for
the whistle to actually be blown to stop play before other things can
occur.  Though Hankinson only was given a double-minor for roughing for
the entire incident (no call for interference or something else!?) and
it wasn't clearly explained on the broadcast I watched, I believe that
this has to be the reason for the way things were ruled and that the
refs made the right call.
 
I don't know what Gopher fans could POSSIBLY have to complain about in
this case because in the ensuing scuffle, the Goats ended up with a
power play.  Not only that, but 20 seconds into the penalty time,
Wisconsin's Mako Balkovic took another cross-checking penalty, giving
the Goats a 5 on 3 power play advantage.  AND the Gophers converted BOTH
power play opportunities, fer goodness sake!!!
 
As it turned out, Hankinson's shenanigans and the Badgers inability to
control themselves really paid off, as it put Minnesota back on top 5-3
after Bucky had taken it to 'em and scored 3 straight to tie the game!!
(Man, I was really worried when the Gophers scored in the first 9
seconds...)
 
Sour grapes, indeed...     :-)
 
Fortunately, the Badgers did what few other have done this year, and
outscored the Gophers in the 3rd period (3-0, no less) to pull out the
win.  Minnesota has outscored their opponents by a *major* amount this
season in the last frame.
 
Minnesota's defense looked tired at the end of the game.  I understand
that a Gopher defenseman was lost last night due to a deep thigh bruise.
Any comments on how big a factor this was?