John T. Whelan wrote...
 
>         The strange thing to me is that I've never heard of an
> instance where this fails.  That would imply that a whole lot of
> people are using illegal sticks, even late in the game, or coaches are
> just *very* good about telling when their challenges will be
> successful.  Remind me never to play Scrabble with Mike Schafer. :-)
 
True there are probably many players using illegal sticks but you also
make sure you do your homework before you call for a measurement by
examining the opposition's sticks and seeing which ones without a
question look illegal. This can be done during faceoffs when you can
get a good close look at the blade of the player you're lined up against.
 
You notify your coach if one is suspected and if it's not crucial to
make the call at that moment, then someone (trainer) keeps close tabs
on the other bench to see that the stick is not swapped for a legal
one (which is common procedure late in a game). Then when the player
comes out on the ice with the stick in question you nab him.
 
MC
--
Mike Collingridge
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