Sunday, May 20, 2012

Gallant Sounds Off On Officiating


Gerard Gallant is fed up with Quebec Major Junior Hockey League officiating.

After last night’s 5-3 loss to the London Knights, the Saint John Sea Dogs head coach sounded off about the officiating during the post-game press conference.

Via Loose Pucks, Buzzing The Net, and a bunch of other media outlets, here is what Gallant said.

"I watched the penalties. Our discipline — I've been complaining all year. I've been in the Quebec league for three years and I've been complaining for three years about us getting the short end of the stick and I'm tired of it. I really am. Tonight it was again, how does Huberdeau get a penalty at the end of the game for four minutes for roughing? I watched that Gauthier. Just give me a break. I'm not taking anything away from London. They were the better team. But I'm so tired of that. That frustration at the end of the game, I don't want to do that. But I'm tired of it.
 "And that's not just tonight's game. That's all playoffs too ... you can check the numbers."

Gallant received a bench minor late in the third following the double minor to Huberdeau. Those penalties ended any chance of a Sea Dogs comeback with just over two minutes left in the contest.

The Canadian Hockey League has yet to announce if Gallant will be fined for his comments.

As Sunaya Sapurji points out in her article on the situation, three of the four officials – referee Jonathan Langille and linesmen Stefan Capano and Jay Doiron – were from the QMJHL. The other referee, Pat Smith, is from the Western Hockey League.

Despite London getting eight man advantages, they able to score on just one of them. Saint John scored two shorthanded goals.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

1 comment:

  1. I don't know about anyone else, however I'm surprised it took Gerard Gallant this long to finally say somthing publicly regarding the absolute awful officiating that takes place every time the Sea Dogs play a game.

    There is no excuse for the loss last night (the Dogs needed to play an away game of crashing the net and forget about being fancy.) If they play the same way, they're done tomorrow night.

    That being said, how many times have we seen Gallant lose it on the bench regarding more "questionable" calls than any team should get in a game let alone a season. What always struck me funny was the fact that come the next game he'd be interviewed and nothing would be said regarding it.

    Were all penalties bad against us last night? No, we deserved some of them. What drives me insane is watching guys like Villemaire and Tesink getting assaulted on the ice, the ref watcing in full view and call nothing because these are our grinders. And let's face it, God forbide our guys stand up for themselves because they'll be in the box for sure then.

    Yes Saint John is an incredible team that can be undisciplined more than they should, however the least that the league can do is make sure their officials call a fair game. Mistakes can happen and can be accepted. In the end, the Referees shouldn't be the decider in any game being regurlar season, playoffs, or the Memorial Cup.

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