The 2015-16 pre-season has given fans some great moments. Truth be told, we’ve all been without hockey for too long. Pre-season marks the beginning of a ritual that everyone partakes in; we bring out the gear, we place the flags on our cars, and most importantly, we analyze the ever-loving heck out of meaningless games meant to evaluate top prospects on each team and give the veterans some time to shake the rust off.
While we have had the chance to see some neat things over the last few weeks, highlighted most recently by the Alexander Ovechkin goal that made hockey fans around the world giddy, there have also been some odd moments as well.
None more bizarre than last night’s game between the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche.
MUST SEE: Karri Ramo takes mid-game warm-up
During this Monday’s game, Ramo enters the game, replacing Jonas Hiller at the midway point of the encounter. Not out of the norm, teams utilize both goaltenders during pre-season action in order to give both their netminders some playing time. What we haven’t seen is what occurred next.
As the two teams lined up in the Avalanche’s offensive zone, with Calgary getting ready for some power-play action, Josh Jooris of the Flames began tossing pucks onto the ice, lining them up to fire at Ramo. We usually see a warm-up like this at the start of a game, but since Ramo was coming in half-way into the game, he was given the chance to warm himself up. While this may seem like it shouldn’t have been allowed in the first place, the NHL rulebook has it pretty clear:
Section 2, Rule 8.2 says that a substitute goalkeeper shall be allowed a 2 minute warm-up during all preseason games (none for regular season/playoff). The rules tend to differentiate beyond the NHL. For example, head coaches in USA Hockey are forced to forfeit their time-out if they wish for a substitute goaltender to undergo his warm-up.
As legal as it may have been, the moment definitely provided hockey fans with a good laugh.
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