The Islanders faced some frustration after a goaltender interference call during their recent game, although they were able to celebrate a 1-0 victory against the Blue Jackets despite it.
Looking back, however, there was no solace for the missed icing call that contributed to the Blackhawks’ fourth goal in their 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.
Wyatt Kiser brought the puck up the ice, and before crossing the blue line, Tyler Bertuzzi dove to intercept his stick but missed. In the meantime, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield briefly slowed down, expecting the whistle. They seemed confident—but the call never came. Instead, Nick Lardis seized the puck from Mayfield behind the net, leading to Frank Nazar’s consecutive hits that put Chicago ahead 4-1 at 6:02 of the second period.
Coach Patrick Roy noted, “The referee admitted that we made a mistake. It’s done now. Bad timing for us.” He added it was unfortunate but part of the game.
It’s probably true that the Islanders share some responsibility for not stopping when they thought they should have, but timing-wise, this call was particularly brutal for a team scrambling for a playoff position. The explanation given was that the puck touched Cal Richie.
Ritchie himself was a bit perplexed, stating, “I’m not even sure what happened. They said I touched the puck or something, but I wasn’t anywhere near the play. It’s frustrating.”
In fact, video evidence later confirmed that Richie’s account was correct.
Throughout the game, the crowd in UBS Arena reacted with derision to every icing call following that moment. Initially, when the goal was scored, it didn’t seem too consequential since the Islanders were trailing 4-1 and looking somewhat lackluster.
Yet as they rallied in the third period and managed to bring the score to 4-3 by the end, the implication of that missed call loomed larger. Even a single point could be crucial in their tightly contested playoff race.
“It was the icing on the cake,” said captain Anders Lee. “If it was me, the officials said it hit Cal Richie. I haven’t had time to check it myself; I just played the game. But Cal insists it didn’t touch him.”
