Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Chicago Bulls Gear .ca. Hi Kerry, In the Boston-Buffalo game on Wednesday night in the second period, Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers slashes Bruins forward Brad Marchand and then punches him in the head! How and why does Marchand get the penalty, with no call on Myers? He then scores a go-ahead goal! My question would be - does a supervising official between periods give the refs the talking down a player would get from his coach? This call could cost a team two points on very questionable officiating! Thanks,Ken MacAskill Ken: Both you and broadcast analyst Joe Micheletti made the correct call on this play. At the very least the Bruins and Sabres should have been playing four men aside as a result of the altercation between Tyler Myers and Brad Marchand. In a perfect world, Myers deserved an extra minor penalty as the aggressor in this incident following his slash and punch at Marchand. You asked how and why, only Brad Marchand received the penalty on this play. The trailing referee is responsible for all players behind the Sabres blue line. As the Sabres went on the attack from their end zone, Marchand cut across the ice toward his bench for a line change and in doing so skated directly in front of Myers. The altercation began when Marchand dropped his hip toward Myers who responded with a cross-check shove, a slash by each player and then the Myers punch. At this point play was stopped to assess a penalty. The camera picked up the trailing referee with his arm raised and approaching the two players on an angle back from the neutral zone toward Tyler Myers and Brad Marchand. From the referees angle of return it is apparent to me that he had vacated the Sabres end zone prior to players clearing that zone and failed to recognize and observe the hot spot between Marchand and Myers. I dont believe the ref saw the start of the altercation but picked it up when Brad Marchand jammed his stick into Myers midsection. He therefore deemed Marchand to be the instigator of the scrum. The easy call should have been to penalize both players for their actions. Unfortunately that didnt take place and resulted in a Tyler Myers power-play goal. Officiating managers (supervisors) very seldom enter the officials room between periods unless something extremely serious has gone afoul. Instead, the manager will review his observations and game report with the officials at the conclusion of the game. In certain cases, depending upon travel schedules or a perceived need, a follow-up telephone call or even breakfast meeting might take place with an official. Typically though any instruction/coaching will take place in the officials dressing room after the game. There was a time when supervisors entered the room between periods but team management objected to this practice when they felt the officials approach to the game changed to drastically following between period instructions. I dont agree with this practice in principle, but whenever the conversation does take place the supervisors proper approach and coaching techniques are vital in advancing the officials learning curve. When I observe a Division I College game for my former colleague and referee-in-chief of the ECAC Paul Stewart, I always visit the officials room between periods; if for no other reason but to be supportive and available should they have any questions. My approach is always to be positive and point out the good things they did but also to make them aware of any potential hot spots that might develop in addition to any positioning issues I feel the need to address. The game can certainly look different from the press box or the television monitor than it does at ice level. In a flash from the past, when I first signed a contract with the NHL there was a different and much more aggressive approach taken by the supervisors of that day which could be very intimidating for an official; especially a young one. Team general managers were not fined for approaching the officials room and shouting matches often took place in the hall outside the refs room. Supervisors were subjected to angry rants from team personnel in the press box which could result in a between period visit to the officials room by a supervisor. I can tell you there were trash cans kicked around the officials room and rolled up programs thrown at the wall in some of these "coaching" sessions. As you can imagine they werent very productive from a teaching perspective but could have a profound effect on how the next period was officiated! In todays fast paced game the two referee two linesman system is mandatory. An influx of younger officials has been hired to the staff when the veterans retire. Enhanced coaching and mentoring techniques are required to quicken the learning curve that takes place in addition to holding all the officials accountable to the expected standard. This is a work in progress. Chicago Bulls Pro Shop . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Chicago Bulls Store . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. https://www.cheapbulls.com/ . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury.Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews believes the weather rather than his side’s inexperience will be the tourists biggest challenge in their forthcoming Test series against England. Sri Lanka meet England in three Test matches, beginning at Yorkshires Headingley ground on Thursday, May 19, live on Sky Sports.But the Lions are no longer able to call upon Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene following the pairs retirement and have named uncapped duo Dasun Shanaka and Dhananjaya de Silva as part of their 17-man Test squad. The main challenge is going to be the weather for us initially. Were preparing ourselves as well as we possibly can, Mathews said.Yes we dont have Sangakkara and Mahela anymore, that we had in 2014, but weve got to move on, weve got to take on the challenge. I believe we can still win if we play to our potential. Angelo Mathews insists his young squad will surprise England Most of the players havent played that much cricket in England, its going to be the first time for most of them. But were trying to acclimatise as soon as possible.Weve got some fearless players in our side and that can be a plus for us. Well have to play really good cricket to beat England though. Mathews celebrates reaching his century at Headingley in 2014 Mathews smashed 160 the last time the two sides met at Headingley in 2014, with tailender James Anderson dismissed with the penultimate ball of the match as Sri Lanka claimed a 100-run victory, clinching their first Test series win in England.The 2014 series is one moment well cherish for the rest of our lives, he said. Wed never won a Test series here before, so to do that was fantastic.If we can repeat that once again it would be ideal. Its going to be a tough challenge. Sri Lankas cricketers received a Buddhist blessing in Colombo before flying to England Sri Lanka have coach Graham Ford back for a second stint with the national side after the South African cut short his time with Surrey to rejoin the team. Bulls Jerseys 2019. .It was a really tough decision but nice to be back with the Sri Lankan boys and experience the wonderful fighting attitude that they have and their passion for the game, Ford said.I think, first and foremost we are here to try to win the Test series and I believe we can do that. Sri Lanka head coach Graham Ford is confident he will get a great idea of the stage his team are at when they face England But with England having won the Ashes at home and triumphed in a Test series in South Africa in the past year, Ford expects a tough contest.He said: They have played fantastic cricket for a while now. They surprised some people in winning the Ashes convincingly but that certainly sent out a message as to what a good team they are. They played very well in South Africa too.But theres no better way to grow a young team than to play against a really good outfit.Watch Englands Test series against Sri Lanka live and exclusive on Sky Sports. Also See: Ford: SL must adapt quickly Cork: England strong favourites Silva fit for England tour Vince should play against SL ' ' '