Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Alex Rodriguez Yankees Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, Between overtime and the shootout of the Coyotes/Sharks game on Nov. 22, Antoine Vermette of the Coyotes came out on the ice and dragged his skate a long way across the ice through the faceoff circle to the right of Devan Dubnyk during the shootout. This pulled up a pile of snow that he then spread around on the ice. I dont know if he was trying to create a groove in the ice that would affect the Sharks skating and shots during the shootout or if he was smoothing a rough spot to make things more predictable for his goalie during the shootout. He was the only player from either team on the ice at that point and the officials were huddled at centre ice seemingly unaware of what he was doing. Are players allowed to make deliberate modifications to the ice surface like this during a game? Chris Finan Chris: November 22 was the first night a new edict was put in place to dispense with the dry scrape of the entire ice surface prior to overtime. The change in procedure resulted from the momentum killing time delay once the Zamboni machines were utilized to dry scrape the entire ice. Instead, a typical shovel scrape is now implemented to remove excess snow from around the boards, the goal crease area and other areas of the ice. Teams still change ends during the overtime resulting in the long change but then revert back for the goalies to defend the net closest to their players bench. There is a policy to be enforced by the officials requiring that players are to remain at or in the immediate vicinity of their players bench prior to overtime and the shootout. The linesmen stand between the two benches and are primarily responsible for the enforcement of this policy. A player can be given permission to venture from the bench area in order to test an injury or a skate that might be defective or in need of sharpening. The purpose of this policy included the ability for the officials to keep potential player hostilities in check when necessary, provide for better optics during the brief rest period and to keep players on the bench that might decide to utilize the ice for a warm-up, thereby maintaining the integrity of the ice. In the early implementation of overtime, players that received minimal playing time would sometimes come onto the ice to stretch their legs and do a mini warm-up. Once a player or two from one time took to the ice their opponents followed suit. The worst offender was big Derek Boogaard, who came onto the ice from his players bench during this break period and performed multiple hard, tight turns in the neutral and end zone. Deep ruts in the ice resulted as Derek utilized his heavy frame to grind his skates hard through each turn. Aside from the integrity of the ice that was compromised, the potential for player hostilities was ever present as you might expect. The officials filed reports of the incidents and the current policy was sent out in a directive to the teams and the officials. I know Antoine Vermette to be a very classy player to deal with. Hes not the kind of player the officials typically have a problem with. That being said, even if Vermette noticed a need for ice repair or that some snow had built up in the zone the Sharks had previously occupied and would now be defended Devan Dubnyk, its not the players responsibility to alter the ice. This is especially true if snow was dragged into his opponents shooting or approach lane. The linesmen should affect any necessary repairs and keep a close eye on any player that strays from the immediate vicinity of his players bench. Since footage is not available to the contrary, perhaps the linesmen did remove any excess snow that was moved by Vermette but we will have to rely on your account of the incident Chris. A minor penalty can be called against a goalkeeper for deliberately piling snow in his crease. When a referee detects an unreasonable amount of snow piled he will ask the goalie to remove it to avoid a minor penalty. There are times the referee will take it upon himself to remove excessive snow, usually located at the goal post area. He should first ask the goalkeepers permission since some are very superstitious and temperamental when anything is disturbed in the vicinity of their net. Hall of Fame goaltender Eddie Belfour was the most difficult to deal with in this regard. The Eagle would become quite hostile if a ref touched his water bottle (attempting to place it back in the sleeve/holder) or cleared snow from the post area. Prior to the shootout, both referees Kelly Sutherland and Dan OHalloran can be seen having a friendly discussion with Shane Doan and Logan Couture near the penalty box area. Once the shootout got underway there wasnt one Sharks player that lost or even mishandled the puck through the approach and shot. The only player to mishandle the puck was Mikkel Boedker of the Coyotes and that appeared to a result of his feet moving faster than his hands and not due to a lack of ice integrity. You do bring up a good point though Chris, now that the dry scrape is no longer in effect. The Officials, especially the linesmen, will have to remain diligent in keeping players close the bench and make sure that if any repairs or alterations to the ice are required they are completed by the building ice crew or the linesmen themselves. Kyle Higashioka Yankees Jersey ." Also, defencemen "were found to be at a higher risk of suffering a concussion than other players, perhaps due to turning their back to retrieve pucks along the boards, which leaves them vulnerable. Yogi Berra Yankees Jersey . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. https://www.cheapyankees.com/3201g-phil-rizzuto-jersey-yankees.html . made a diving catch in left field for the final out in a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in a regular-season finale Sunday. Zimmermann (14-5) allowed only two baserunners, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the fifth no-hitter in the majors this year.BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. It turned out, the Toronto coach had good reason to be. The Raptors couldnt overcome a horrible first quarter -- their worst 12 minutes of the series -- en route to a 97-83 loss to Brooklyn Nets on Friday, sending the series back to the Air Canada Centre tied at three games apiece. "Any Game 6, a team is going to come out with a desperate mindset," Casey said. "This team they built to win a championship this year. Theyre going to come out and give you their best shot. . . knew that coming in and tried to warn our team. "Guys who havent been in Game 6 before, its one of the toughest things to do. Again, experience is the best teacher. Now were going into Game 7, its our first time at that. Luckily we have it at home." DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points but got little help from the rest of the Raptors who trailed 34-19 at the end of the first quarter against a Nets team that was facing elimination. Now its down to one game for Toronto to make the second round of the post-season for just the second time in the franchises 19-year history, and a date with the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat. "Yeah, its Game 7," Kyle Lowry said. "We all grew up watching Game 7s and want to be a part of Game 7s. Weve still got to go out there and not be too over anxious. Weve still got to go out there and do what we need to do. "Me personally, Im not going to be all amped up. Its going to be a game that we have to go home and win." Theyll clearly need a better effort than they gave Friday. Lowry was the only other Raptor to score in double figures with 11 points. Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and nine rebounds, while Greivis Vasquez added nine points. "We just didnt come out with the competitive nature that we needed tonight," Lowry said. "They did an unbelievable job of forcing their will on the game tonight, but we have to find a way to match that intensity." Deron Williams, playing on a bad ankle for the better part of the second half, led the Nets with 23 points, while Joe Johnson added 17 points, Kevin Garnett finished with 13 and Paul Pierce added 12. "We were at home. Brooklyn. You cant come in here and get a win, not when its like this," said Garnett. "It was all on the line and thats what we did. I had to go into my vintage bag of tricks. Its the same thing in Game 7. Stay aggressive." Coming off victories in Games 4 and 5, the Raptors were outhustled and outplayed by the Nets from the outset Friday, looking much like the fourth-quarter Raptors in Game 5 on Wednesday that coughed up a 26-point lead yet still managed to hold on to win. The Nets -- who assembled an all-star squad this season, trading for Pierce and Garnett with sights set on an NBA title -- played easily their best basketball of this series. "We started the game out with the opposite disposition that we wanted to, I thought they came out in a desperate mode and we didnt," Casey said. "We didnt start to play that way until we got knocked down in the second half. Thats what the playoffs are about, your start probably tells you how youre going to finish. And tonight, they got their foot on the pedal a lot quicker than we did." Toronto trailed by 26 points midway through the third and went into the fourth down 79-59. The Raptors pushed back in the fourth, opening with a 17-7 run to pull within 10 on a three-pointer by Lowry with 5:02 to play. With the fans at the Barclays Center on their feet, Williams drained a three with 1:13 to play that put the Nets up by 13 and secured the victory for Brooklyn. The fans chanted "U-S-A!" as the final seconds ticked down. A grinning Garnett high-fived Jay-Z. DeRozan who, along with starters Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, had never pplayed in the post-season before this, said the Raptors werent ready for the intensity of a Game 6. Joe DiMaggio Jersey. "We didnt really realize, we had Brooklyn against the wall and we didnt take advantage of it like we should have," he said. "We should have known they were going to come out throwing haymakers, and we werent ready for it until the second half." Outside the Barclays Center, there were tongue-in-cheek missing person posters taped to posts of Williams, that read: "MISSING Have you seen this person?" above Williams mug shot. Reward was listed as $63,128,400 -- the amount remaining on the point guards contract. Williams showed up Friday, but the Raptors didnt. Despite spraining his left ankle early in the third quarter, Williams made good on 8-of-16 shots from the floor and dominated his matchup with Lowry, who shot 4 for 16. The Nets shot 47 per cent from the field, while the Raptors shot 38 per cent on the night. Toronto was outrebounded 45-42. With the Nets cobbling together their star-studded lineup with its payroll plus taxes of more than US$180 million, experience was a theme early in the series -- Pierce alone had almost as many post-season appearances as the entire Raptors roster prior to Game 1. And it reared its head again Friday with the Raptors response to Game 6. Pierce said he cant wait for Game 7. "Its going to be fun," Pierce said. "This is what the NBA is all about -- these pressure-type moments. These are the types of games that elevate good players to great players. We have so many of them coming up this weekend, its an exciting time, and were going to enjoy it. Its a hostile environment -- win or go home. "Hey, this is the type of situation that I love and want to be in. I love our chances." Casey, however, doesnt believe this loss will affect his teams confidence in its win-or-go home game on Sunday. "To listen to some of this (talk of losing momentum), we may as well not play Game 7," Casey said. "Every game is different and I know our team will bounce back. Weve got to come out of the gates a lot fresher, a lot harder, especially starting on the defensive end of the floor." The sellout crowd of 17,732 included Drake, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Rosie ODonnell, Ellen Pompeo -- Meredith on "Greys Anatomy", New York Giants receiver Mario Manningham, and Brooklyn rapper Fabolous, who announced the Nets lineup. There were numerous pockets of red-clad Raptors fans who stood out against the Nets fans, wearing white T-shirts as part of a giveaway. This series has been drama-filled since Game 1 when Raptors GM Masai Ujiri dropped his famous F-bomb about Brooklyn -- earning him a US$25,000 fine -- and the shot clocks malfunctioned at the Air Canada Centre. There was Drake and his lint roller, and the huge crowds that packed Maple Leaf Square for every game, home and away. Several thousand braved the chilly temperatures again Friday to watch the game on the big screen outside the Air Canada Centre. Nets coach Jason Kidd was fined US$25,000 earlier Friday by the NBA for public criticism of officiating. The New York Daily News back cover photo Friday morning was of the Brooklyn coach, under the headline "Whiny Kidd." When asked about the fine prior to tipoff, Kidd replied: "Fine? Its a beautiful day today isnt it? Did it rain?" The Raptors trailed by double digits less than eight minutes into the game. DeRozan scored 10 points in the first, but got little help from his teammates, and the Raptors trailed 34-19 heading into the second. It was more of the same in the second, a putback layup by Andray Blatche giving the Nets a 21-point advantage with four-and-a-half minutes left in the half. Former Raptor Alan Anderson drained a 17-foot step-back jumper with less than a second on the clock to put the Nets up 60-41 heading into the halftime break. A three-pointer by Pierce gave the Nets a 26-point lead five minutes into the third quarter, and the Nets took a 79-59 lead into the fourth. ' ' '