Game 2 Notes (Brawls and Refs)

Click here for an audio summary of Game 1

Click here for an audio summary of Game 2

Before I get into my notes on the 7-2 Vernon win in Game 2, I want to comment on Stefan Decosse. He is easily one of the nicest and funniest guys I've met in hockey. A total class act who deserved more than he got this year. Three times this regular season he was forced to the sideline with a serious injury. On Saturday night it happened for a fourth time. His junior hockey career may be over. When this guy is at his best he's easily a point per game player at this level. He made the rare transition from Junior B to Junior A hockey as a 19 year old and became an impact player almost immediately. When you look at Trail's record this year and wonder why it isn't quite as good as you thought it might be, injuries to Stefan Decosse are a big reason for that.

If the Trail Smoke Eaters didn't have enough motivation to win Monday night's Game 3 (and they do), they could also do it for guys like Decosse who I'm sure desperately want to chance to get out there on the ice again. Win that game, win this series, and he might just have a chance to play again. This game is for all those veteran players who don't want their careers to be over. For Shade, Limbert, Aiken, Koopman, Warner, Rollheiser and Decosse. Those who won't be back when that final buzzer goes on the 2007-2008 season. A Smokies win on Monday night gives them another chance to play hockey in the best Junior A league in the world. A Smokies win on Monday gives them another chance to fight, scratch and claw for playoff glory.

I hope they all get it. This is a damn classy group of young men who I've been proud to cover this year. I hope they get another reason to celebrate together.

GAME 2 NOTES

...Decosse got a penalty before the puck drop for not getting off the ice in time at the end of warm up. Referee Chris Hartley was a big part of this game from the drop of the puck. Not saying he was the deciding factor, but he was sure more visible than you want any ref to be. I like a ref to be as invisible and irrelevant as possible. I hadn't seen this rule called all year, and from conflicting reports I heard that he was either very close to off or right at the bench when the buzzer went off. To call that kind of penalty at the start of a playoff game seems absurd. However, this is more of a rules issue to me. I can understand wanting to stay on schedule, but if you're going to have a penalty for this warm up thing it should be a misconduct and not an actual shorthanded situation.

...Vernon got up 3-0 in the first 5 minutes by taking advantage of two early power plays and one defensive break down at even strength. From what I could see Rollheiser really didn't have a chance on any of the goals. The Vipers puck control on the PP seems to be tiring the Trail PKers as they don't seem to steal the puck and ice it much, and as a result they can't change their guys as much as they usually would. I thought the call on Limbert (listed as roughing on the box score I had) was a pretty soft one given the situation.

...August Aiken's goal was one of the prettiest I've seen all year long. Just a gorgeous play. Shade started it with a strong read in the defensive zone. He moved the puck to Herold who gained the line and made an alert drop pass to Aiken. Then Shade and Herold did what Coach Ingram has been talking about all season long... go to the net. They went and created some havoc in front of Gore while Aiken danced in with three great moves to his back hand. Gore was completely fooled and sprawled on the ice before Aiken just tucked the puck in for this second in two games. Great play.

...Trail had all the momentum in the second half of the first period. They threw it all away in the first minute of the second. The Bischop/Jones line didn't give up the puck for the full 60 seconds before making it 4-1 on a rebound. Those guys got way too much room to pick up rebounds. That was one of the biggest flaws in the Trail play in game 2. It seemed like the Vipers were picking up all the rebounds and keeping the play alive over and over again.

...Decosse made a nice move to the net and threw a puck in there that bounced off feet and gave Mailey a shot at a goal. It may be his last ever BCHL play. After sending the puck to the front of the goal Decosse was drilled into the boards by Chris Crowell. I had my eye on the front of the net and as a result didn't see the hit itself. I was told by Patrick Haas (play by play for Salmon Arm) that he looked at the video replay and the hit was clean. Everyone else in the press box agreed with that call, but they're all Vipers people so we both have our biases right? I have no reason not to believe Patrick's call on that, but I didn't see the hit well. Regardless it looks like the impact into the boards (could have maybe been called boarding?) will take Decosse out for a while again. I won't say what I do know about the injury because it's playoff time, but I'm concerned that this will end up being the last time I get to see him play at this level.

...Paul Mailey may only be 5'8 but he doesn't care and he still challged Crowell right after the hit. That's the kind of attitude this whole team has these days. Stand up for each other regardless of the size of the guys. Corcoran stepped in and fought Crowell instead while Palazzo decided he should go with Mailey. Explain that one to me. 6'4 Palazzo going with 5'8 Mailey? The linesmen were busy breaking up every other fight while they let that one go on for far too long. Palazzo's reach advantage was absurd. There was nothing Mailey could do while he gamely kept fighting and fighting while being hit with right after right to the head. Kinnebrew went with Bigos while Koopman fought Pimm. Corcoran, Koopman, Kinnnebrew, Crowell, Bigos and Pimm were all ejected for getting in the second, third and fourth fights after the whistle. The refs judged that Mailey and Palazzo were in the first fight. I'd suggest it was Crowell and Mailey who dropped their gloves first if that matters... they just didn't end up actually going. That could apparently mean automatic suspensions for all the guys who were kicked out (we saw something similar with Steve Ourosov earlier this year which was surprisingly enough the other time Paul Mailey was in a fight) and suspensions for Coach Ingram and Coach Ferner. In the midst of all this Barry Zanier was also kicked out of the game and given a gross misconduct. That could mean three games for him.

...The league has shown recently that those automatic suspensions are not necessarily set in stone (Rob Short's was recently overturned after league review) so I guess anything is possible. However, suspensions are far more problematic for Trail than Vernon. The Vipers had a few healthy scratches who could step in. Trail does not. With the likely loss of Decosse, the injuries to Bulach and Brodie, and possible suspensions for Corcoran, Kinnebrew and Koopman... we're talking about a roster of 9 forwards and 4 D. That would make surviving possible elimination much tougher. I think the kind of injury trouble Trail has faced should cause some in the league to review their card system. Should there not be some sort of emergency injury rules similar to those in the NHL? If an NHL team is so devastated by injury they can call up guys from Major Junior who can't usually be called up. They can also call up AHL players after their maximum transfers if they have an emergency injury situation. What such system exists in the BCHL? Out of cards, too many injuries and APs occupied? Out of luck. I really feel there should be more flexibility in the card system. Look what happened with a guy like Levarsky just up and leaving for Slovakia and he costs Trail a roster spot. Something to chew on.

...Patrick Martin hit Kellen Jones from behind and got himself 2 and a game for it. On the way back to the dressing room the refs skated him right by Zurevinski. He must have said something to Martin as the two exchanged words and shoves at centre ice. There's no way they should have been allowed to get that close. Poor control by the officials in that case. After both players were sent to the locker room benches cleared into the hall way. Something apparently happened back there, but I was told on the bus afterwords that there was absolutely no physical contact between the two teams or any of their players in the halls. That's important as during the game rumours were going around that Martin and Zurevinski had been in a shoving match back there, but again I'm told that never happened. In the middle of this mess Jimmy Geerin apparently told referee Hartly that he'd lost control of the game. That was enough for him to get a game misconduct, despite the fact that Trail was all ready down to 4 D. Stuff like that seems to indicate to me that Jimmy was right.

...Final score ended up being 7-2. After the initial fight halfway through the game I don't think you can analyze the game from a hockey stand point the rest of the way. The key to the actual game portion of the action was Trail's PK failing against the Vipers early and Trail having a major let down a minute into the second. If Bischop doesn't score there the Smokies had momentum and could have gotten back into the game. They were put into a hole by the early penalty calls (both of which I feel are questionable at this time of the year), but that happens sometimes. Refs are going to make mistakes on penalty calls and you can't let your opponent's go 2 for 2 on their PP in the first period.

...The Smokies may have been content to let the Vipers have the perimeter in game 1, but they also gave them all the rebounds and way too much room on the PP in game 2. Bad referee or not, they have to do a better job on special teams to make a come back in this series. They may have to do that with a very short bench on Monday night. Nothing great ever got done without adversity. The Smokies have had enough of that for five seasons, but none of that matters once the puck drops Monday night. Win and you play, lose and you go home. Hope we get a big crowd out for that one.

OFFICIALS

I don't like to comment on officials. I think they're generally underpaid and under appreciated. These guys have a thankless job and they don't get much for doing it. That being said an official must behave maturely and professionally. They are older and have much less invested in games than the players. You are going to get yelled at and sworn at. Turn the other cheek and don't let your emotions get the better of you. If you as an official think you're the show or let your ego and emotions get involved in your decision making, than you don't belong on that ice. There are things I heard about the game on Saturday night that make me question some of those things in this case. I used to umpire baseball as a 13 year old boy with 40 year old parents yelling at me, trying to intimidate me, and using the kind of language you can't ever imagine an adult using with a child. I prided myself in never letting it get to me and in never responding to their outbursts emotionally. Players do it, coaches do it, but referees aren't trying to win anything... there's no excuse for losing your cool. When you do you lose the respect of those players and coaches you have to control. When you lose their respect you are in for a very long and embarrassing night. Embarrassing for you, the league and all of junior hockey.

See you all at Cominco Arena on Monday night. Seriously, tell your friends and family to come out... we need a big crowd for an emotional lift. This one is going to be a battle.