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| Slammers bench boss Jason Tatarnic said the last two goals scored by the Truro Bearcats in Friday night's contest may not have been allowed fairly. Tatarnic argued in favor of a two-man referee system in the MHL. (Shiretown Blogger Image) |
The loss to Truro was the second consecutive defeat for the Slammers, and the first home loss of the season.
Slammers head coach Jason Tatarnic was pleased with the caliber of hockey demonstrated by both his squad and the Truro team in Friday night's contest.
"Fans watched two strong teams play a great game of hockey tonight," Tatarnic stated in an online press release. "It was a high tempo game played with intensity."
"Both teams created chances, and both goaltenders played well. One team had to lose, and it was us tonight."
Tatarnic also acknowledged the strength in this season's Fred Page tournament hosts.
"Truro is a solid hockey team, and we look forward to seeing them again," he noted. "They have a nice team. As a staff, we liked how they played tonight."
Tatarnic, joined by Slammers general manager Danny Braun, shook hands with former Slammer Philip Fife at centre ice prior to the opening faceoff. Fife was dealt to the Bearcats at the end of the 2011-12 season as a result of a future considerations deal made earlier in the season.
After a scoreless first period, Danny Harquail wasted no time getting the Slammers on the board, beating Bearcats netminder Shayne Campbell after receiving a pass from Robbie DeFulviis and Andrew Schriver at 1:18.
Dylan McGuigan tied the contest at one goal apiece at 5:06. Jake Wright restored Woodstock's one-goal lead at 7:37 in the middle frame.
Former Slammer Philip Fife beat Simon-Pier Chamberland at 11:34 in the third period, forcing extra time.
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| Former Slammer Philip Fife, #22, collides with a potential former teammate at the boards in Friday night's contest. (Shiretown Blogger Image) |
The Slammers failed to score on the power play, despite being on a man advantage on five different occasions on Friday night. Truro posted similar power play stats on Friday night, going 0 for 6 on the man advantage.
Chamberland refused 33 of 36 shots faced, while Campbell stopped 32 of 34 shots for the win.
The Slammers could argue that two of Truro's three goals scored were allowed unfairly. The second Bearcats goal appeared to have crossed the goal line after referee Steve O'Shaugnessy had blown the whistle to discontinue play. Tatarnic argued that Chamberland had covered the puck, and that the goal scored by Truro in OT was kicked in.
The Slammers' bench boss expressed support for a two-man referee system in the MHL.
"Well [in] my opinion, the best league in the world [with] the best referees [should] have a two-man referee system to ensure the correct calls are being made and that they are in the best position possible to make those calls," Tatarnic noted in an online press release. "[Friday] night, you could argue that the referee was not in the best position to make those calls, not arguing that he made the wrong call from the position he was, but you can argue that he was in the best position to make those calls."
Tatarnic added that Truro likely had similar feelings about the Slammers' second goal.
"Truro could make the same argument on our second goal," Tatarnic said.
He was pleased with the constantly improving quality of hockey in the MHL, and said that a two-man system would be the best thing for the league.
"The quality of our league has improved each season," Tatarnic explained. "The play is faster, and the players are bigger and stronger. I think as a whole, it would be in the best interests of our league to use the two-man system."
The Slammers will be back in action tonight (Tuesday, September 25th). They will be facing the Metro Shipbuilders in a road trip to Nova Scotia's port city. Results of the game against Metro were unavailable at press time.
With files from www.slammershockey.ca and www.themhl.ca
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