A YouTube moment?
Maybe.
That's if anyone at Prospera Place had their cell phone video apps rolling as Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Rich Preston tossed water bottles and a clipboard onto the ice in disgust in the third period of a 5-3 loss Saturday night to the Kelowna Rockets.
The Hurricanes scored a power play goal to make it a one goal game only to have it called back after one of the linesman reported to the referee's that a spearing infraction by Hurricanes forward Graham Hood occurred before the goal was scored.
The penalty was reported to the referee's after the first stoppage of play, which was when Brody Sutter scored to make it 4-3. After a lengthy discussion, the officiating crew explained to Preston what had happened and that the goal was disallowed.
Frustrated, Preston began, calmly, rolling water bottles onto the ice before tossing - Frisbee style - a clipboard.
After being notified that he was ejected from the game, Preston again calmly, yet slowly, made his way off the bench towards the Hurricanes dressing room.
Preston clearly had harsh words for the linesman and referee's before his departure, but under the circumstances he could have taken it a lot further than he did.
Will he be fined?
No question.
Could he be suspended?
Maybe.
Was he disputing a questionable call that likely would have angered any coach into doing uncharacteristic things?
Absolutely.
Will Preston's theatrics always be remembered by those who attended Saturday's game at Prospera Place?
Without a doubt.
Other thoughts:
- I didn't see the spear.
- You have to question the penalty as neither of the two referee's saw it on the ice. I would hope the two are competent enough to notice something as sever as a spear.
- Hurricanes forward Graham Hood was on the bench when the goal was scored and the penalty was called.
- I am told the alleged infraction took place close to a minute and a half before the goal was scored.
3 comments:
There is no explanation, nor any reason for Preston to have tossed that stuff onto the ice. That was complete lack of class. Sure get mad, but don't act like a 3 year old who doesn't get his way. I can guarentee that Huska would not have acted this way. Sure every coach would get angry, But for Preston to act like a 3 year old child and throw a hissy fit tantrum is ridiculous and a complete joke. And for anyone to defend his actions.........well...you get the point.
The whole thing is bizarre. First of all how often does a Linesman go up to a ref and say there was a a penalty at the next stoppage of play? Especially when it apparently happened over a min before the stoppage. But then to have the next stoppage to be a goal just makes everything worse. I am sure the league is going to look into this more.
Also you think the league is going to look into the players? I saw some watter bottles being thrown on the ice at the end of the game. Plus according to castanet: Upon leaving the ice, goaltender Brandon Anderson appeared to swing his goalstick at some fans near the tunnel way.
Assuming there was an infraction, explaining why the linesman reported it after the next stoppage in play is simple. It’s because that’s the procedure. Had Stebner been injured and perhaps dropped to the ice, the play might have been blown down right away. The fact that the stoppage in play resulted from a goal being scored simply adds some drama.
The offender being on his team’s bench at the stoppage in play just adds more drama. But, the player doesn’t have to on the ice to be penalized in this case. Had he still been on the ice, it would have been just shy of a two-minute shift. How often do we see that these days?
Reading a rulebook usually helps make it easy to understand the procedure, in part because the rulebook doesn’t factor in any drama. But, what has me confused is why a double-minor was assessed?
The rules absolutely allow for input from the linesmen, but I was under the impression that a linesman could only be involved in a penalty call if the infraction results in a major or misconduct penalty.
Guess I have some homework to do…
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