It’s
late in the game between the White’s and the Blues - two traditional
rivals who always seem to be up for each other when they play. The winner
of this game will advance to the next round of the playoffs. The loser
will be eliminated.
It was Blue’s home game, and since the
White club was from a distant community, they had come with very few fans.
On the other hand, the arena was packed with fans for the Blue team.
The game has been kind of a chippy affair,
with a lot of penalties being called.
The White team has been playing with
discipline and has avoided the retaliation penalties which have plagued
the Blue club. It was one of those games where the Blue players were going
out of their way to commit obvious penalties. The referee had no choice
but to call penalties against the Blue players because of the type of
infractions being committed. Yet, every time the referee was forced to
call a penalty, the coach of the Blue team reacted in a way which just
seemed to add fuel to the fans who joined in and expressed outrage at what
they thought was a "biased" manner in which the referee was
calling the game. The more penalties were called against the Blue players,
the more they went out of their way to do things which would force the
referee to call more penalties against them.
In this case, the Blue team was far more
skilled than the White team and would likely have had no difficulty
winning the game if they had stayed out of the penalty box.
With four power play goals already scored
by the White team, they now held a two goal lead. It’s early in the
third period, and the referee is concerned about keeping a tight rein on
the play. He doesn’t want it to get out of hand, but he also realizes
the importance of the contest. Another goal by the White team might put
the game out of reach, but the referee couldn’t be faulted for this
situation - he was calling a great game. Up until now, the fans have been
pretty vocal, obviously caught up in the emotions of the game. Every call
made by the referee or linesmen that goes against the Blue team is greeted
with a boisterous response from the crowd. This is one of those games that
supervisors call "difficult".
The Blue’s star player, Jamie, has just
taken a pass and carries the puck into the White zone, being chased by
Darcy. Jamie has no chance of getting to the net since the other White
defenseman is in good position and the rest of the Blue team is behind the
play, making a line change. Darcy, seeing that he was beat, places his
stick half-heartedly up under the arm of Jamie, as shown in the photo.
Jamie slows down and begins to lose control of the puck.
The people around you are all fans of the
Blue team. As soon as they saw the "hook" and realized that
Jamie was going to lose the puck, they immediately rose to their feet,
demanding a penalty call. You saw the play exactly as shown in the photo.
YOU MAKE THE CALL...
