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Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, Can you please explain why Phil Kessel was awarded a penalty shot during Leafs/Bruins game on New Years Eve? Clearly he was fouled from behind in the attacking zone but I always thought that a penalty shot was awarded only if the player being fouled was denied a scoring opportunity. Kessel clearly regained his balance after being hooked and was able to get good clean shot away. Shouldnt the offending player have been assessed a minor penalty for hooking? As a minor hockey ref I enjoy your insight and take on rule interpretation. Thanks. Pat Baskette Ingersoll, ON Pat: You are correct by noting that when a player is fouled from behind the intention of the rule is to restore a reasonable scoring opportunity which has been lost. The rule also goes on to say that if, however, the player fouled is able to recover and obtain a reasonable scoring opportunity (or a teammate is able to gain a reasonable scoring opportunity), no penalty shot should be awarded but the appropriate penalty should be signaled and assessed if a goal is not scored on the play. It is purely a judgment call by the referee as to the quality of any subsequent scoring opportunity that the player fouled is able to regain. On this play, the referee applied rule 24.8 (iii) which states, The fact that he (Phil Kessel) got a shot off does not automatically eliminate this play from the penalty shot consideration criteria. If the foul was from behind and he was denied a more reasonable scoring opportunity due to the foul, then the penalty shot should be awarded. I doubt anyone would deny that Kessel was able to get a very good shot away after being hooked by big Zdeno Chara. The shot even forced Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to make an excellent save. What the referee determined however, was that the strong hook to the right arm of Kessel by Chara twisted the Leafs attacker sufficiently and forced Kessel to cut hard to the right side as he set up and prepared to shoot the puck. From the referees perspective the forced location Kessel was placed in created a much less desirable shooting angle than had he not been hooked. As we review the play, Kessel maintained full possession and control throughout with a left hand push of the puck just off the left side of center. Kessel utilized a right arm swung with a forward to back motion in an effort to maintain full throttle speed and to keep the safest possible distance ahead of Chara. The hard tug on the right arm of Kessel did alter and twist his body posture. Kessel then executed a skate cross-over to maintain control and establish a shooting position. We could speculate as to whether Kessel intended to move to that shooting location but the fact remains that the hook did altered his posture and path to the net. In the referees judgment a less reasonable scoring opportunity resulted. Penalty shots are an exciting part of the game and provide excellent drama. The NHL has relaxed the criteria under which a penalty shot is awarded over the years and as such encourage the refs to call them. I can understand the referees decision to restore a more reasonable scoring opportunity to Kessel as a result of the hook. My take is similar to yours Pat and a minor penalty for hooking would have sufficed given the fact that Kessel did not lose control of the puck and made a great shot. We might even get some agreement from Leafs coach Randy Carlyle after Rask stoned Kessel with a solid poke-check and thwarted the penalty shot. Either way - its a judgment call, Pat. China Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale China Jerseys .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps. http://www.chinajerseysatwholesale.com/ . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. China Jerseys Cheap Authentic . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. China NFL Jerseys .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice.While the rest of the NBA world waits in limbo for LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony to decide where they are going to play next season, the San Antonio Spurs just keep quietly making sure the band is getting back together for a run at a second straight title. In the middle of the James hysteria on Wednesday, the Spurs issued a two-sentence press release announcing that coach Gregg Popovich had agreed to a multi-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. After beating the Miami Heat for the franchises fifth championship last month, the Spurs quickly found out that Tim Duncan would indeed return next season. Deals with Patty Mills and Boris Diaw ensured that the roster would remain largely intact, so there was little doubt that the 65-year-old Popovich would return for a 19th season on the Spurs bench. That was confirmed on Wednesday in a presentation that was predictably light on fanfare. No comments from Popovich. No statementss from GM RC Buford or owner Peter Holt.dddddddddddd No big deal, just the way Popovich likes it. The talk of his pending retirement has grown louder as the years have gone on, but Popovich showed no sign of slowing down in season No. 18. He led the Spurs to a league-best 62 wins in the regular season, earned his third coach of the year award and then helped the team recover from the heartbreak of last years loss to the Heat in the finals with an emphatic five-game triumph this season. "Day after day, year after year, the energy that Pop provides our organization is truly unique," Buford said when Popovich joined Pat Riley and Don Nelson as the only coaches in league history to be named coach of the year three times. Popovich is 1,116-533, including the playoffs, in a career that started in 1996. He is the longest-tenured coach in any of the four major American pro sports and has led the Spurs to at least 50 wins 16 times, including 15 in a row. ' ' '