AHL admits Marlies robbed in Game 3
Coach Eakins takes high road regarding blown call on OT goal
Coach Dallas Eakins was magnanimous the morning after an epic refereeing error that put his Toronto Marlies on the brink of elimination in the Calder Cup finals.
“This is a developmental league. I’ve made plenty of mistakes . . . I have players on a night-to-night basis make mistakes,” Eakins said Friday regarding a blown call that allowed an overtime goal to stand the previous evening at Ricoh Coliseum, giving the Norfolk Admirals a 1-0 win.
“And I think we all forget sometimes that these referees are developing as well and when you have to look at your mistakes and face that adversity I think you’re better for it,” he said at a Ricoh Coliseum press briefing.
The AHL admits its officials blew the call on the decisive play in Thursday night’s Game 3.
However, league president and chief executive officer Dave Andrews said in a statement Friday that the league has no ability to overturn the result.
Near the midpoint of the first overtime period, the Admirals’ Mike Kostka dumped the puck into the Marlies’ zone from centre ice. As Toronto goalie Ben Scrivens went out to play the puck behind the net, it caromed off a stanchion and bounced into the empty net.
To make matters worse, a Norfolk player was actually in an offside position when the puck was fired over the Marlies’ blueline, which should have prompted a whistle and a faceoff outside the Toronto zone.
But Eakins, in a benevolent mood Friday morning, said the on-ice officials will learn from the incident.
“I know those four guys that were refereeing that game last night, it wasn’t a malicious thing at all,” he said. “They missed the call and I can guarantee you that those four guys and any of the other backup guys that were in attendance, that will never, ever, ever happen again in their careers.”
Andrews’ statement confirmed that a mistake had been made.
“We have spoken with Toronto Marlies management and confirmed that a rules interpretation error by the on-ice officials occurred on the Norfolk Admirals’ overtime goal during Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals. “On the play, a dump-in from centre ice by a Norfolk player caromed off a stanchion and into the Toronto net. The correct application of AHL rule 83.4 would have negated the Norfolk goal due to a delayed offside call. “As AHL bylaws do not allow for any change to the final result of a game based on an incorrect rule interpretation, the result of the game stands.” The Admirals have a 3-0 series lead in the AHL championship se- ries. The Marlies host Norfolk in Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. Eakins said Saturday’s game is akin to standing at the foot of a sheer cliff that his team would now be forced to climb. “But I have a feeling, a confident one, that we can win the next game and so does our team and we will move on as such,” he said. “You can go climb a very gradual mountain and, boy, that’s a nice story or you can go climb the same elevation but straight up . . . and it’s more exhilarating and it’s a better story.”