TR TREE

 

 

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the North Shore, as well as struggling to a
16-16 tie against Maple Ridge.

Still, as the season progresses, pundits
expect Coquitlam to challenge Victoria for
ist place, while New Westminster, if they
can ever discover a consistent game,
should overtake Burnaby for 3rd place.
The Lakers have exploded out of the gate,
winning 3 of their first 4, their only loss
coming at the hands of the Adanacs.

New Wesminster notes:

New Westminster’s home opener was
deemed a success, despite the disap-
pointing crowd. Canada’s World Cup
Lacrosse team was announced at the
game, including Salmonbellies, and
Vancouver Raven stand-out, Peter
Morgan. Once the game began, New
Westminster dominated the defending
champs from Coquitlam, holding the
Adanacs to only one power play goal in
the process. Morgan led the way, firing in
six goals.

The following night, the Salmonbellies
lost to the Burnaby Lakers 11-8. New
Westminster continued their tradition of
winning one, losing one, by hammering
the Maple Ridge Burrards 19-12, before
losing against the tough Victoria squad

"other press >>>SPORTS

18-14. Despite the setback, goaltender
Matt Disher has helped New Westminster
achieve the lowest goals against in the
league for the month of May. Forward
Craig Stevenson is 6th in scoring with 12
goals and 9 assists, while Morgan's fran-
tic pace from the opener has tailed off,
leaving him with 10 goals and 11 assists,
good enough for seventh.

Coquitlam comments:

Teams are always out to get the reigning
champs, and especially Victoria, who after
going undefeated during the 2001 regular
season, were upset in the WLA final by
Coquitlam. So perhaps, during
Coquitlam’s home opener, Victoria was
seeking revenge, and had jumped out toa
14-9 lead, with less than five minutes
remaining in regulation. However,
Coquitlam made a furious comeback, forc-
ing overtime, before losing 17-15. The
Adanacs then followed up this effort by
losing to New Westminster, in a game that
was basically decided after the second
period.

Coquitlam has had no trouble in scoring
goals, with John Grant Jr. 2nd in scoring
with 11 goals and 19 assists, and Dan
Stroup close behind him with 15 goals

 

and 9 assists. However, their goaltending
has definitely been a problem, although,
since their two opening losses, they
seem to have righted the ship, beating
Burnaby 12-4 and struggling past last
place North Shore, 11-9. But, they are
confident that once they get over that
“championship hangover," everything will
be fine.

Under Suspension... or Bad Officiating?

Patrick Witwicki
Sports Editor

On Friday, May 11, during’ the
Ottawa-—Toronto playoff series, an inci-
dent occurred that once again spawned
controversy over preferential treatment for
stars. The score was tied at two, and
Ottawa Captain, Daniel Alfredsson was
racing Darcy Tucker for the puck in the
Toronto zone. He bumped Tucker, who
ended up crashing into the boards, injur-
ing his shoulder. While he lay on the ice,
writhing in pain, Alfredsson proceeded to
score the winning goal. No penalty, and
Ottawa went on to win the game. Tucker
ended up injured for the remainder of the
series, and possibly the playoffs.

The recourse? Well, true, the Leafs
eventually won the series, so it’s no
longer an issue, but at the time of the inci-
dent? No suspension for Alfredsson, of
course. Dave Newell, supervisor of offi-

cials for that series, was quoted in a
statement as saying, "The hit was from
the side, and was not an attempt to
injure." Indeed, every replay angle of the
incident offers various evidence. From
one angle, it looks like a shoulder-to-
shoulder check, with Tucker simply losing
control of his balance. From another, it
definitely looks like a dirty check from
behind. More than likely, the referees
were at a particular angle to the play that
made it look like a legal check. And the
NHL, not wanting to admit that the refer-
ees were wrong, couldn’t even consider a
suspension. By suspending Alfredsson,
they would be admitting that there should
have been a penalty, and that the goal
shouldn’t have counted.

But therein lies the argument. Had it
been the other way around, and had
Tucker thrown the hit on Alfredsson, a
suspension probably would have followed.
A penalty? Well, it is a known fact that the

referees try to protect the so-called star
players. And anyone who disagrees, well |
just have two words for you: remember
Gretzky. Yes, Toronto fans have seen this
film before, and it occurred in the 1993
Conference Finals. Gretzky was protected
by the referees, and eventually, it paid div-
idends in controversial penalties to
Toronto and “non-calls" to LA in both
Games 6 and 7. And let’s face it: if some-
one like Tie Domi or Donald Brashear
throws a hit like Alfredsson did, it’s a sus-
pension, no questions asked. But when
Sundin or Alfredsson do it, the NHL
ignores it, wanting to protect the stars.
And remember, it’s not just hockey that
follows this belief. If you even sneeze at
Shaq or Kobe during the NBA playoffs,
they’re going to be standing at the free-
throw line. And in baseball, the strike
zone is just a little bigger for ace pitchers
like Pedro Martinez, and smaller when
studs like Mark Maguire or Barry Bonds

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