Well you have to go by the rule book in my
opinion. Just like the skate in the crease call.
“If the puck is thrown, a minor penalty shall be
assessed." :
is very clear. There is not room for interpretation that I can see.
The puck was thrown, therefore a minor. The ref should not have blown the
whistle as soon as he caught it because he is allowed the time to drop it. (If the puck
is caught and dropped immediately, play shall continue.) It doesn’t take much more time to
throw it than to drop it. The ref would have to have had the whistle
already in his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ref put
the whistle in his mouth when a player caught a puck. 999 times out of a
1000 the player drops the puck and plays it with his stick. By the
time he had held in long enough for a whistle he had thrown it. Therefore
a correct call. Just like the skate in the crease. And generally
consistent with the way the whole tournament was officiated. By the
book. I though that overall the officiating was quite good throughout the
tournament.
From: Matt Bigley
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Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 10:59
AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: throwing the puck
I agree. He held it long enough for the whistle and
the face off, which should have been the call.