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! Hi Kerry, I was timekeeping a AAA minor midget game last week when the following happened. A player was skating down the wing and then wound up to take a huge slap shot. When he took the shot, the puck actually split into two pieces with both halves of the puck entering the net for a score. Should the goal be allowed or not? Has anything weird like that ever happened to you in the pros during your career? One ref at the game actually thought a goal should be allowed but after all three officials got together, there was a ruling of no goal with the faceoff inside the zone. Thought maybe a weird situation would put a bit of a change of pace to your column. Cheers,Edward Sherr Edward: As weird as it sounds, I do recall a hard shot ring off the goal post in an NHL game I worked that caused the puck to break in half. Neither chunk of vulcanized rubber entered the net but instead split off in different directions. One piece travelled toward the end zone corner while the other portion found its way into the slot. Players scrambled in both directions, instinctively chasing the black disc that was nearest their position. I recall the look of shock on each players face after recognizing only half a puck existed in two different locations on the ice. I blew my whistle to halted play for this unusual situation. A discussion then ensued as to who caused the stoppage of play with regard to the resulting face-off location. The defending team protested that the attacking team had caused the stoppage with a shot that broke the puck. They rationalized their position no differently than shooting or deflecting the puck over the boards. I settled on the claim that it wasnt "who" (which team) but "what" (a faulty puck) that caused the stoppage and the resulting face-off was taken in the end zone corner where half the puck had come to rest. The fact is, Edward, that the entire puck must completely cross the goal line to count as a legal goal. Half a puck just doesnt cut it. The officials in the AAA Midget game, therefore, made the correct call; including the resulting end zone face-off location. Amendment/Addition: You have correctly noted from Edwards question that both halves of the broken puck entered the net. While there is nothing presently in the NHL Officiating Case book or anything that I could find in the Canadian Hockey Case Book or playing rules on the subject, we need to look at rule 13 - Puck. The puck shall be made of vulcanized rubber, or other approved material, one inch (1") thick and three inches (3") in diameter and shall weigh between five and one-half ounces (5 1/2 oz.) and six ounces (6 oz.). All pucks used in competition must be approved by the League. A puck that has broken in half does not conform to this rule in specified size or weight, nor is it approved for legal play. No goal would result should a puck that was broken in half and therefore deemed unfit for play (illegal) enter the net. This would include the case where separated halves found their way into the net. During the season, I had the puck split in half. Inglasco (the official puck supplier to the NHL) was having some quality control issues. You might recall that routine shots were causing the protective glass behind the goal to break at an unprecedented rate. I was told that there was a component in the puck that was causing this to occur. While that problem was quickly rectified, it brought special attention to the puck and particularly the inconsistency with which it settled or bounced on the ice. A study, conducted by an NHL-hired consultant with a PHD specializing in the field of rubber, revealed the ideal temperature at which frozen vulcanized rubber provided the optimum density to slide across the ice and minimize the bounce effect. Following the study, game puck supplies were to be kept in a special temperature controlled freezer that were installed in every NHL arena. Pucks that previously were kept cool in a bucket of ice at the penalty timekeeper bench were secured in a mini-freezer by an off-ice crew member that was in charge of pucks. Memos were sent to the head of each Off-Ice Crew on the new puck handling policy and optimum temperature that must be maintained. Linesmen were instructed to change out the pucks on a frequent basis. I will tell you first hand that the density of the frozen puck was noticeable when on occasion I was struck by one. Even a glancing blow provided an extra sting not previously experienced! With all this hoopla of information being circulated over the ideal puck temperature, Jeff Weintraub, head of the NY Islanders Off-Ice Crew (and a dear friend of all the NHL Officials) decided to have a little fun with us. Prior to a game I worked in Nassau Coliseum, Jeff entered our dressing room with a very serious look on his face and asked me if I would check the temperature of the game puck. Confused, I asked how the heck he expected me to do that. From behind Jeffs back he exposed a NY Islander puck with a hole drilled in it. Inserted in the hole was a "rectal thermometer!" What a ball-buster Jeff was. The bouncing puck also led to snow buildup being scrapped from the goal crease and around the dasher boards during commercial time-outs. Very quickly through the scraping process guys in sweat suits were replaced by scantily clad "Ice Girls." Its truly amazing the progress I witnessed during my 30 years as an NHL referee. 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"It was a weird play," Seager said of the triple in the fourth inning. Discount Jerseys League . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. Discount Jerseys Online . Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists.IRVING, Texas - Tony Romo and Jason Witten are the stalwarts in the Dallas offence, and will be surrounded by runners, receivers and blockers making their playoff debuts against Detroit.Its hard to say this is the best chance for a Super Bowl run for the quarterback and tight end that joined the Cowboys together 11 years ago. They were the top seed in the NFC seven years ago.Thanks to DeMarco Murray, though, this is the closest thing the Cowboys have had to Emmitt Smith since the NFLs all-time rushing leader helped carry the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in four years in the 1990s.And that could mean good things for Romo and Witten, who have piled up plenty of stats but really only care about the loneliest number on their resumes — one playoff win.Were making things tough on defences, Romo said. Were upset when we dont score on a drive. Ultimately thats where you want to get as an offensive unit.The Cowboys (12-4) ended a four-year playoff drought by winning the NFC East and will face the Lions (11-5) in a wild-card game Sunday.Besides Murray leading the NFL with 1,845 yards rushing, Dez Bryant broke Terrell Owens franchise record from that standout 2007 season with 16 touchdowns receiving.All those things happened behind a young offensive line that had left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin selected Friday to The Associated Press All-Pro team. Martin was the first rookie All-Pro for the Cowboys since Calvin Hill in 1969. Center Travis Frederick made the Pro Bowl along with Smith, Martin, Romo, Murray and Bryant.Romo led the NFL with a franchise-record passer rating of 113.2, and the explanation for his efficiency starts with Murray, who broke records by Hall of Famers in Smith and Jim Brown.Thats kind of what we hung our hat on all year, Witten said. Everythings because weve been able to run the ball. With a really good group up front, we have to be able to capitalize.Theres the key word for Romo and Witten — capitalize. Its the fourth time theyve been to the playoffs together, starting with Romos hearrtbreaking flub of the hold on a field goal that could have beaten Seattle in a wild-card game during the 2006 season.ddddddddddddThey went right back to the post-season a year later with a 13-3 record, then lost to the New York Giants in the divisional round after a bye.Dallas won its first playoff game since 1996 by beating Philadelphia five years ago, then got trounced by Romos boyhood idol, Brett Favre, and Minnesota a week later.Witten actually has one more playoff loss than Romos 1-3 mark. The Cowboys lost a wild-card game his rookie year, when the undrafted Romo was just trying to secure a spot on the roster.I think obviously the older you get, you want the young guys to understand that it doesnt come around every year and you want to take advantage when you have that opportunity, said the 34-year-old Romo, who is coming off back surgery late in the 2013 season and had another back injury this year. You have to be the best version of yourself and lay it on the line.For Romo, that means trying to shake the tag of the guy whos ahead of Super Bowl winners Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman in most of the franchise passing categories, but is running out of time to match their championship pedigrees.I dont know how you could have any more appreciation, and I say that in a positive way, for what he is as a quarterback without actually playing in a Super Bowl, said owner Jerry Jones, who gave Romo the first $100 million contract in franchise history almost two years ago. Our 2009 team, our 2007 team, we missed big-time opportunities there with Tony Romo.And Jason Witten, too.NOTES: DT Tyrone Crawford didnt practice Friday because he was sick, and was listed as questionable for the playoff game. ... RT Doug Free (ankle) and LB Anthony Hitchens (ankle) missed practice all week. Free, who missed the last two games of the regular season, is doubtful. Hitchens is questionable.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '