----- Original Message -----
From: "College Hockey Fanatics" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 11:02 PM
Subject: Puck off the Gopher's Skate


> Here's one for the rules gurus out there.  Just looking for a
clarification
> on a play.
>
> At around the 13 minute mark of the first period, Maine cleared the puck
> from their own end while they were shorthanded.  A Gopher player started
> crawling over the boards to jump on the ice.  The puck bounced off his
> skate.  He pulled his leg back to the bench.
>
> My first thought is that since the player's leg was over the boards and
> seemingly "in play" to me, this should be a "too many men" penalty.  At
> least, it should be a stoppage of play since it hit a player on the
> bench.  Or is this a non-call since Maine is shorthanded at the time.

If the officials deem that it was incidental contact, there is no call.
Otherwise, whenever a team went off on a change, the other side would throw
the puck into their midst in the hopes of hitting someone and getting a
power play.  On the play in question, it was pretty clear from where I was
sitting that the Gopher was coming on to the ice on a routine change and
wasn't even aware that the puck was going past him.  The non-call was the
correct one.

J. Michael Neal