Things got very interesting Saturday in Sochi during one of the biggest hockey games in recent memory.
The Americans and Russians renewed their rivalry in a Group A preliminary game that lived up to just about every expectation, but it wasn’t without some controversy.
The Russians appeared to take a 3-2 lead when Fedor Tyutin blasted a shot by Jonathan Quick at the 15:20 mark of the third period. The big shot from the left point beat Quick over the goalie’s left shoulder sending the home Russian crowd into an absolute frenzy.
The play went to review shortly thereafter, and it was unclear why. The review could have been for a couple of things. Was it being reviewed to see if it actually went in? Replay said yes, with the puck hitting the back of the net before popping out. Was it being reviewed for a high stick? If so, there wasn’t any replay evidence that said it was played with a high stick.
Yet, the referee came out of the review box and waved it off. The reason is unknown at that point, but the NBC Sports telecast pointed out that the net might have been off the moorings when the goal was scored. If that was the case, the play would be dead, which is an international rule. Had the same thing happened in the NHL, the goal would have still counted.
The review proved to be costly, too. The game eventually went to overtime and a shootout, where USA escaped with an exhilarating shootout win.
Photo via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn
