Oh, if only Danny Gallivan were still with us to see the shootout spin-a-rama that still has the Canucks talking and the Black hawks fuming. Old Danny would have been able to fire up those wonderful tones much like he did when a guy named Serge (and another one named Denis) did the same thing for Montreal in the old days.
With the two teams settling in for the shoot out portion of Sunday nights match up, the call up from the Manitoba Moose made a move that will probably become the topic of debate at the rules committee this summer.
As Ryan Shannon made his wind up towards Black Hawk Nikolai Khabibulin he was probably thinking over what was the best approach to breach the Bulin wall, in the end his fall back plan was a full steam ahead approach with a little spin-a-rama before the crease, maybe a bump of the goaltender and then a quick push of the puck into the net.
It went by in a flash, and much to the delight of the Canucks fans the puck was in the net, much to the chagrin of an enraged Khabibulin who then took a cross check shot at the back of Shannon’s head as a farewell message.
The goal would go on to be the winning marker and with the game out of the way it was on to the debate, which for the most part on the Black Hawk side was along the lines of when exactly did goaltender interference become part of the shoot out process.
The post game press conference featured an agitated head coach Denis Savard who warned that a bad precedent was being set with Shannon’s goal and predicting that one day some one is going to come in at 100 miles per hour and crush a goaltender in the shoot out.
Dale Tallon Black hawks GM was equally upset, repeating over and over the always popular refrain of goalie interference, goalie interference.
There’s a few issues that they would like to see answered over the shot and subsequent goal, first of all the goalie interference, then the actual spin-a-rama which they suggest stopped the forward momentum of the puck.
All ice chips in the crease now, but soon to be a debating point for all 30 GM’s for sure.
As for Shannon, the spin-a-rama is becoming a legendary part of his repertoire. He first introduced it into the AHL all star game a few years ago and most recently tried a similar move on Stars goaltender Marty Turco while he played for the Ducks.
It’s safe to say that NHL goaltenders will soon have the book on him set up, not to mention opposition players who may make suggestions to Shannon during the course of a game that maybe another approach in the shoot out would be best for all concerned.
Vancouver Province--Shannon goal puts Hawks in a spin
Vancouver Sun--Shannon in a spin over shootout win
Chicago Tribune--Controversial goal in shootout lifts Canucks
Chicago Sun Times--Hawks slip in stretch
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