Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn. Kendall Lamm Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, Everyone does it, everyone knows it happens but what can referees to stop the delaying tactics used by teams after an icing call? In the first period between Vancouver and Buffalo on Sunday, Buffalo iced the puck and suddenly Zenon Konopka needed a new stick. However, it took the equipment manager about 30-40 seconds trying to find one and gave the team a quick rest. When he finally got near the faceoff dot, the linesman did a quick drop of the puck and the Canucks eventually scored off the resulting play. I know the Canucks sometimes will send in a winger to purposely get waved out to get a breather, but how long do referees give a team before they are able to give a delay of game penalty? Do they have to warn the team first? Gareth Gareth: Even though it is within the referees authority to assess a minor penalty once a player or team deliberately delays the game following an icing, I can think of far more appropriate situations for a referee to flex his muscles and assess a penalty. As you admit Gareth, everyone does it and everyone knows it happens. A warning would typically have to be issued before a delay of game penalty would be assessed in this situation. When Zenon Konopka felt it necessary to change his stick (for whatever reason) following the Sabres icing infraction the referee was caught between a rock and a hard place and must allow the player to obtain a replacement. Can you imagine the nuclear fallout for the ref, following the Canuck goal, if Konopka had been denied the change and his stick had broken on the ensuing face-off? Forcing Knopka to grab any old replacement off the bench other than his own pattern could also set the ref up for some abuse. In the course of a game there are times when a referee must dig his skates in and take a hard-line position but I believe a ref should pick his battles wisely and with good purpose. In my opinion, a slow face-off following an icing isnt typically worth throwing the gauntlet down. That being said, one thing that any referee has little tolerance for is to be publicly embarrassed and played for a fool. What I didnt much care for, as I watched this apparent "shell game" being play out at the Buffalo bench, were the snickers and laughter that took place at the referees expense. The equipment managers and training staff for the Buffalo Sabres are very professional in their duties; as are all NHL team equipment personnel. To believe that a players stick wasnt available in the rack just isnt within the realm of possibility. Gareth, let me suggest one possible way to deter a team from abusing rule 81.4—line changes on icing. My approach would have to laugh right along with them right up to the end of the little charade when Zenon Konopka was finally handed his replacement stick and before he sprinted to the face-off dot with a grin. At that point I would issue Coach Ted Nolan an "official warning" that any undue delay by him or his players on a future icing would result in bench minor penalty. I would be sure to say it with a smile on my face but there would be little doubt that the gauntlet had been dropped! You might also be curious Gareth (like me) as to why a lengthy rest delay was even required by the Sabres fourth line on just their fourth shift of the game; if in fact that was the intention of Zenon Konopka and the Sabres bench staff. Heres the interesting breakdown for you. The Sabres fourth line, comprised of Zenon Konopka, John Scott and Nicolas Deslauriers, had played a total of one minute and seventeen seconds (1:17) in three well spaced shifts prior to their fourth shift when the icing infraction was called. Their third shift lasted only 20 seconds and was followed by over two minutes of rest on the bench. The fouth line then changed on the fly and skated for 21 seconds prior to a 25 second breather before play resumed following a Canuck end zone face-off. Once the puck was dropped, they skated for another 13 seconds before the whistle blew for the icing call. I dont think these finely tuned athletes would have been all that fatigued considering my unofficial ice-tracker stats. If locating a missing stick at the Sabres bench is truly a ploy to slow things down after an icing, perhaps they should pick their spot more wisely and utilize it when players really are fatigued. In any event, this play should now be "one and done!" The gauntlet has been dropped I hope. Arian Foster Jersey . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Nick Martin Jersey . Belfort was originally schedule to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24, but a Nevada State Athletic Commission ban on testosterone replacement therapy forced the former light heavyweight champ to withdraw. Canadas freestyle ski team will have a decidedly different look this season. The likes of Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Dara Howell and Mikael Kingsbury will be there, but there was one glaring absence on the squad unveiled Wednesday. Two-time Olympic moguls gold medallist Alex Bilodeau retired after the last World Cup season, leaving a big hole on the team as it begins the long road to the 2018 Games in South Korea. Bilodeau became the first Canadian to win Olympic gold on home soil with his memorable victory at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and he repeated the performance in Sochi earlier this year. Kingsbury, who battled Bilodeau for the last few years and finished second in Russia this winter, says he will miss competing against his rival. "The first couple World Cups, Im going to miss somebody to look up to and to learn from. Hes been a great athlete," Kingsbury said on a conference call. "He pushed me. Since I was very young, he was my role model." Kingsbury is a three-time overall World Cup champion, and while he and Bilodeau were friends away from the hill, they were fierce opponents on it. "Im going to miss him in a way, but in another way he was one of the strongest competitors to have," said Kinsbury, a native of Deux Montagnes, Que. "Im going to try to have new motivation, to continue to push and work hard to stay ranked first in the world." Kingsbury, who turns 22 next week, said Bilodeaus retirement doesnt open any doors because hes already had a lot of success in his young career. "He was the star for sure. He won the Olympics in Vancouver -- first (Canadian) gold medallist to win on home soil -- and Sochi," Kingsbury said. "He won the two days that he needed to win, but at the same time I dont think its my turn to shine because I won the Crystal Globe and he was there, I won the world championship and he was there. Deshaun Watson Jersey. "At the Olympics he did his run. I tried everything I could to win but he had the run that he needed and he totally deserved it." Like the rest of the freestyle ski team, Kingsburys focus is primed on training for the coming season, with thoughts of the 2018 Olympics in South Korea also lingering. "I just want to continue what Ive been doing, and not do more because Alex is not there," he said. "If he would have continued I would have been super happy and still would have worked hard to win the gold medal in 2018. Thats my next plan. "Its four years -- four years is long. Im going to be ready for 2018 but theres many things to come." Dufour-Lapointe, who won gold in Sochi in womens moguls, said she will take it one year at a time as she starts to build towards the next Games. "Personally I feel like Im still on a high from the Olympics," said the 20-year-old from Montreal. "What keeps me going is I feel like I can still get better and theres room for improvement." Also headlining the Canadian team for the 2014-15 season is Howell, who topped the podium in womens slopestyle in Sochi, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe -- the silver medallist in moguls behind her younger sister at the Games -- and Kim Lamarre, who finished third in slopestyle. The other Sochi medallist on this years team is Mike Riddle, who took silver in halfpipe. The rest of the Canadian freestyle team for the upcoming year includes: aerial skiers Travis Gerrits, Olivier Rochon, Jean-Christophe Andre and Sabrina Guerin; halfpipe skiers Mike Riddle, Justin Dorey, Simon dArtois, Rosalind Groenewoud, Keltie Hansen, Megan Gunning; slopestyle skiers Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, Alex Bellemare, Evan McEachran and Kaya Turski; and moguls skiers Marc-Antoine Gagnon, Philippe Marquis, Maxime Dufour-Lapointe and Audrey Robichaud. 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