BOSTON — Noel Acciari isn’t exactly overjoyed with how the end of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final played out — and who could blame him?
With the St. Louis Blues leading the Boston Bruins 1-0 in the third period, Acciari tried to carry the puck out of Boston’s defensive zone. Tyler Bozak came up behind the winger and got him with a pretty blatant trip, right in front of an official.
The referee’s hand stayed down, and the puck made its way over to Ryan O’Reilly, who poked it to David Perron. After his first shot attempt was blocked, Perron got the puck right back and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in St. Louis’ 2-1 win.
Acciari went down the tunnel at the orders of a concussion spotter, but said he was fine and would be ready for Sunday’s Game 6.
Following the game, Acciari said he did not get an explanation on the no-call. And while he stopped short of shredding the officials, he clearly was displeased with them
“It’s a missed call I think,” Acciari said. “It has a big (impact) on the game, they score a goal off it, that ends up being the game winner. It’s just kind of embarrassing.”
When asked if he couldn’t believe that no call was made, Acciari again was blunt.
“Again, it’s a missed call,” he said. “Biggest stage of hockey right now, and yeah, I don’t know what else I can say about it.”
The Bruins now trail the best-of-seven series 3-2.
