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U.S. Women Fall to Canada, 3-2

By USAHockey.com, 02/12/14, 9:45AM MST

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SOCHI, Russia -- Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Anne Schleper (St. Cloud, Minn.) scored and goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) turned away 28 shots, but the U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team fell to Canada, 3-2, in its final game of group play in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Shayba Arena. With the loss, Team USA will be the No. 2 seed in the medal round and learn its opponent for Monday's (Feb. 17) semifinal this weekend.

Knight scored the game's first goal with a power-play marker at 17:34 of the middle frame. After working the puck around the perimeter, Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) sent a pass to Schleper at the right point. Schleper fired a high shot through traffic in front, where Knight redirected the puck past goaltender Charline Labonte.

The United States carried the 1-0 advantage into the third period, but Team Canada responded with a pair of goals in the first 3:54 of the frame. On the power play, Meghan Agosta evened the score at 2:21 when she buried a net-front pass from Hayley Wickenheiser. Then, 1:33 later, Wickenheiser wristed a shot from the right circle that ricocheted off of Vetter and a U.S. defender before trickling over the goal line to give Canada a 2-1 edge.

Agosta made it 3-1 Canada on a breakaway goal at 14:55. With Vetter pulled for an extra attacker, Schleper narrowed the deficit to one goal with a slapshot from the left circle at 18:55. Team USA gained a power play with 31 seconds left, but could not tally the equalizer.

The U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team will be off until Monday (Feb. 17) when it will play in the semifinals of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Team USA will learn its opponent following Saturday's (Feb. 15) quarterfinals.

Date Result Opponent
Sat., Feb. 8 W, 3-1 Finland
Mon., Feb. 10 W, 9-0 Switzerland
Wed., Feb. 12 L, 2-3 Canada
Mon., Feb. 17 W, 6-1 Sweden (Semifinals)
Thurs., Feb. 20 L, 2-3 (OT) Canada (Gold-Medal Game)

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QUESTIONGoalie goes to the corner to play the puck, but turns the puck over to an attacking player. The goalie then body-checks the attacking player. Is this a penalty?”

ANSWERRule 640.f in the USA Hockey Playing Rules states:

A minor penalty shall be assessed to any goalkeeper who body checks an opponent.

 

QUESTIONAfter the whistle, Player A and Player B are jawing at each other. Player Red-A drops their gloves, looking to provoke a fight. Player B does not reciprocate, and Player A does not throw a punch. Referees step in the middle and separate the players. What penalty should be assessed to Player A, considering they seemed to be intending on fighting and attempted to provoke one, but did not actually throw a punch?

ANSWERRule 601.a in the USA Hockey Playing Rules states,

“A minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be assessed to any player who commits the following actions:

-  Challenges or disputes the rulings of any official.
-  Taunts or incites an opponent.
-  Creates a disturbance during the game.
-  Shoots the puck after the whistle, if in the opinion of the Official such shot was avoidable.”

 

QUESTIONWhat can an official do if a game will exceed the scheduled ice time? Rink management has no time to finish the game and no local league rule address this. Can you apply Rule 636.e and suspend the game?

ANSWER: The USA Hockey Playing Rules are written with the expectation that all games will be scheduled with enough ice time for completion. That is why you will find no reference about “Running Clocks”, “Mercy Rules”, or other time management devices. However, sometimes games are delayed or not enough ice time is purchased. In this case, the Rink Management is under no obligation to allow the game to continue if they have committed the next slot of ice to another customer.

Therefore, the Game Officials will have to work with the Team Officials to decide how to manage the result. In some cases, the game will be just a Rec-League friendly match and the final score is meaningless. However, the case of League Games or games involving “Tournament Bound” teams will need a resolution. In this case, the teams should not be allowed to select the final result (due to potential conflict of interest). The Game Officials will have to suspend the game and submit a report to the governing league or entity so they can decide the final result which will affect league standings. From there, it’s in the hands of the league to decide.

 

QUESTIONA goalie has altered and cut a deep "V" notch into the top of the paddle of his goal stick, on the back-side, approx 1" down from where the shaft of the stick and flat part of the paddle meet. The goalie has taped this area up to cover sharp edges? All other stick measurements are within legal standards. Is this stick legal to play with?

ANSWER: Provided the alterations to the stick do not make the stick’s dimensions illegal under Rule 301 in the USA Hockey Playing Rules and all rough or sharp edges have been covered to prevent injury to players, there should be nothing to prevent this stick from being used in a game. The USAH Playing Rules do not mandate that a goalkeeper’s stick-paddle must be completely straight-edged.

 

QUESTIONPlayer A loses his stick on the ice and play continues. A short while later as Player A goes to retrieve his stick, Player B uses his skate to move the stick out of the way using a kicking motion. Normally, this is a straightforward Interference penalty. In this case, when Player A picks the stick up as the penalty is being reported, the stick is unplayable as it is broken. Does that change the scenario?

ANSWER: In your situation, the fact that the stick was broken does not affect the call.

 

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