Possession and Control For Delayed Penalty Stoppage (Goalie poke check)

[timelydew]

Hey guys, so I had to ask one more question before my self-imposed moratorium takes effect. It's far easier than my last doozy. I'll contribute elsewhere soon, but I just want you to see how much fun I am by all these rule queries. Haha. (I am really not this boring.)

 

Anyway, possession and control is usually pretty easy to determine for blowing down a delayed penalty, but what about certain "poke checks" by the goalie?

 

Kerry Fraser defines control as making a deliberate "hockey" play on or with the puck. Are there any types of poke checks which qualify? I understand that a poke check in the act of making a save while around your net does not qualify as control, but say a goalie races out of his net to a puck coming toward his end and "pokes" a puck away from an incoming opponent with a deliberate play/motion. Is there any type of poke that could be considered "propelling" the puck and therefore control? Would it have to be on his stick for a couple extra ticks? Would he have to "handle" it first? Would he have to be carrying his stick in a fashion similar to a normal skater as opposed to a conventional poke check? What counts as propelling, exactly?

 

If I had to guess, I would say that a normal poke check would not count as you are usually just briefly touching/deflecting the puck, but maybe a deliberate motion, like a slight wind up, could fall under control. I could also see a stoppage stemming from the puck staying on the stick for longer than a deflection or direction of the puck. I like NHL interpretations but welcome any feedback.

 

While we're at it, let's apply this to other skaters, too. I think, again, that most poke checks are incidental contact, where you're not propelling it or able to make a real deliberate play, but I think the odd one that a player puts in desired direction with some oomph on it could warrant a stoppage. Thoughts? Hate mail? Bring it on.

[nossagog]

This is another one of those areas where a lot is left up to the officials on the ice.   I don't believe that there is a hard definition of what entails possession on a delayed penalty(like the ambiguous make a football move in the NFL). So all I can go with is what I see in games, which doesn't help because some officials have a quick whistle and some do not.    

 

My personal opinion( now I must admit at this point that I was wrong once a few years ago) is that a poke check does no constitute true possession of the puck, no matter the player that pokes the puck away.