More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

6 months ago: Montreal Canadiens right wing Alexei Kovalev is taunted by a Boston Bruins fan after losing half of his stick in a tug-of-war after it popped through a photographer's shooting hole in the glass in the closing minute against the Boston Bruins in a first-round NHL hockey playoff game Thursday, April 16, 2009, in Boston. The Bruins beat the Canadiens 4-2. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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I was able to track down a fan that claims to be the man who swiped Alex Kovalev's stick during last night's game. I conducted a brief phone interview about the incident with the fan that identified himself as "Rob". The fan told me that he was sober during the incident and was not arrested for his actions. He said he was escorted to the escalators at TD Banknorth Garden by police but was not questioned or booked. As for the whereabouts of the stick, Rob told me he gave the stick shaft to a young fan sitting in a nearby section when he saw police and Garden security approach him.

Rob said that when he saw Kovalev jump into the scrum after Maxim Lapierre's late hit on Phil Kessel, he noticed Kovalev's stick come part way through the photographer's hole in the glass and he decided to grab hold of the stick. Kovalev became flustered, initially thinking that the stick was being held by a member of the Bruins. Kovalev tried to pull his stick free of Rob's grasp. As Kovalev and the fan were pulling on the stick, the stick snapped due to the pressure from the photographer's opening with the fan gaining possession of the shaft of the stick. Kovalev and the fan started jarring at each other for what the fan described as "about 10 seconds". The fan said that Kovalev yelled obscenities and gave him the finger before skating away. The fan was happy that he was able to take Kovalev's stick but would have preferred to swipe the stick of Mike Komisarek, whose actions on the ice have not been very popular with B's fans lately. Although he is not a fan of Alex Kovalev and even referred to the Habs forward as "a bitch", he did have high praises for Kovalev's slap shot saying "he has got a radar on his cannon". He joked that he will probably have to "put on a fake mustache and beard and a Kovalev jersey" for the next game he goes to.

Hockey journalist James Murphy answered a few questions about what Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins might do as we get closer to the trade deadline.

Stanley Cup of Chowder: Do the Bruins need to add someone at the deadline to make a serious run at The Cup?

James Murphy: Yes I do. Due to the salary cap, and numerous contracts expiring this summer (Tim Thomas, Phil Kessel and David Krejci to name a few), they may not have this chance again next season or ever. If you can add the final pieces, go for it!

 
Do you think the Bruins will make a move at the deadline or stand pat?

I think the Bruins will make a deal and maybe even before the deadline.

 
What do you think they need more: a winger to fill the void left by Sturm or a defenseman?

Tough question, can I say both? If I have to choose though, I'll say the winger. They have had trouble scoring lately and need proven depth up front, not just the Providence pipeline!

 
Do you think that the Bruins could realistically bring in Chris Pronger without dismantling the current roster or is that just a KPD pipe dream?

Not without dismantling the current roster, but slightly tweaking it yes. Maybe Matt Hunwick and Chuck Kobasew, plus prospects and first and second round picks.

 
Who would you rather see in Black & Gold: Erik Cole or Nik Antropov?

Erik Cole. What exactly has Antropov achieved besides wasting space on the Leafs lineup? Give me another cup ring on this team!

 
I heard you mention Brendan Witt's name last week on SportsDesk, do you think he would help the B's?

Yes, but at a minimal price. The defense can always use some size and grit.

 
Are there any puck-moving defensemen out there that the Bruins could get without trading away too much of the current roster?

Based on what the Habs paid for Schneider yes, but that was still a high price. Still Jordan Leopold or Derek Morris would look nice on their blue line.

 
There has been a lot of trade talk surrounding Manny Fernandez despite his $4.33 cap hit, expiring contract, and injury concerns. Do you think that there will be a market for Fernandez at the deadline? Would the Bruins move him to bring in the right player?

Yes and yes. But that market won't be there until right near or at the deadline because the Bruins won't trade him to an East team, and the West is too wide-open still.

 
Other than Tuukka Rask, the rest of the prospects seem to be in play. Which prospect do you think is the Bruins biggest bargaining chip at the deadline?

Matt Hunwick and Vladmir Sobotka. Maybe Zach Hamill as well.

Four Bruins scouts were spotted at the Colorado Avalanche-Minnesota Wild game the other night. Who do you think the B's have their eyes on? I have heard Jordan Leopold or John-Michael Liles. Which one of these guys do you think would help the Bruins more?

Leopold

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple weeks.

James Murphy has covered the Bruins and the NHL for the last seven seasons. He has written for the Hockey News and currently writes for NESN.com, NHL.com, Insidehockey.com, and the Boston Metro Web site, www.metrobostonnews.com. Murphy also hosts the "Inside Hockey Radio Show" every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on "NHL Home Ice" XM 204 and Sirius 208, WBNW AM 1120 in Boston (Youcastr.com) and the Team 990 in Montreal (www.team990.com).

Q&A with CHL Referee Tom Steinel

Tom Steinel has spent time as an official in the Eastern Junior Hockey League, NCAA D-I (Atlantic Hockey), North American Hockey League, United States Hockey League, and Central Hockey League. This summer, Tom attended the NHL Prospects Camp. The Nichols College graduate is in the middle of his first full season in pro hockey as a referee in the Central Hockey League.

You may remember that I did an interview with Tom before the season started. Tom was nice enough to answer some more of my questions and even offered some perspective on yesterday's controversial goal in the B's-Blues game.

How is the season going so far?

So far so good. I had a strong first half and hope to continue that into the second half.

I was glad to see the CHL strike ended pretty quickly. What would you have done if there was an extended work stoppage? Would you be allowed to work games in another league? 

If the work stoppage had continued into the start of the regular season the officiating staff would not have been working, however we would still have been paid our salary as our contract states. But we were all happy to get the season started on time.

This is your first full season in professional hockey, what has been the biggest adjustment from working games at the junior level?

There haven't been any real big adjustments. The game remains the same. The speed is a bit  quicker  and obviously the players are bigger and stronger .

Is there any sort of good-natured hazing that goes along with being a rookie official? 

There is always a "welcoming" for the new guys on staff wherever you go. The last night of training camp this year we had a social party and the veterans had a little fun with us new guys (all in good taste and nothing that ever crossed the line). It was a good time for all involved.

What is your game day routine like?

Everyone has their own game day routine but for the most part they are all pretty similar. I personally like to get up a bit early and have breakfast run a few errands or get a light workout in. Most of the time all the guys that are working that game are already in the the city so a big pregame meal together is next. Usually it's just catching up with each other's games, travel, and what is going on around the league. After lunch if there is no travel to the arena its either back to the hotel or the apartment to lay down for a bit and try to catch a nap. If we have to travel to the arena it's on the road usually around 2 in the afternoon depending on distance to the city we are working in. We are required to be at the arena 1 1/2 hours prior to game time and then its time to go to work.

Besides knowing the rulebook, on-ice officials need to be tremendous skaters. What kind of training do you do to stay in shape and work on your skating?

Everyone has their own training methods and programs and it takes some time to find what works for you. For me the off season begins with weight training, I focus on heavier lifting exercises to increase size and body weight because as the off season moves along my workouts change. The closer I get to training camp I switch my workouts to a bit more circiut training and more "skating" orientated exercises. I do a lot of core training with an exercise ball during my workouts as well as variations of traditional exercises to increase the difficulty and work the core and stabilizer muscles more such as standing on one foot or sitting off of the seat. In addition, cardiovascular workouts are extremely important to our job. Jogging, biking or even the stair master are great ways to get your heart rate up. I wear a heart rate monitor during these workouts so I can track my progress.

This past summer you attended the NHL prospects camp. What was that experience like?

Prospects Camp was a great experience and a great honor. I was the first official from the Atlantic District of USA Hockey to be invited. I was fortunate to attend with some close friends from the USHL. To be able to have the NHL at your finger tips for an entire week is an opportunity not available to a lot of people and I am certainly grateful for the opportunity. It was a lot of fun.

The CHL is known to have some pretty crazy promotions (This is the league that tired to put Manute Bol on skates). What is the craziest promotion you have seen this year?

I haven't seen many promotions because the big ones are taking place during the intermissions, when that is our only chance to rest. I was in Laredo on New Years Eve where they had a great fireworks display for the fans following the game. Many teams also have special nights where they will wear specially made jerseys to be auctioned off after the game such as Military Appreciation nights or holidays. Odessa wore such jerseys for their home opener this year on Halloween, and most teams around the league do othe same for Christmas and New Year.

Do you find it ironic that the player who has the second most PIMs in the CHL is named Angel?

I suppose it is now that I think about it. Brett is big strong physical player and a nice guy. My dealings with Brett have been good. He's very easy to talk to and get along with. Obviously with his size at 6-7, I think, makes him an intimidating player.

What is the weirdest on-ice conversation you have ever heard (that you can talk about here)?

The weirdest on-ice conversation? I'm not really sure, most conversations are pretty standard but I like to have fun and joke around so making comments about a guy losing three ceremonial face offs before the game started was one that got a good chuckle, and a kiss cam comment always gets a laugh.

Most CHL teams play in warmer climates. Have you found that the ice conditions in CHL arenas are worse than in other leagues that you have worked in?

Yes, I have noticed that some cities on their warmer days, if not planned for early on in the day, do tend to cause some ice problems. However, for the most part the crews that work in these cities are use to running into these types of problems and plan accordingly.

The CHL has gone to 1 minute minor penalties during overtime. From what you have seen, has this changed the way teams approach overtime? What was the rationale behind the move to 1 minute penalties?

I havent seen any significant changes to how teams approach overtime. It's still the same format as far as number of players on the ice as in years past. The reasoning behind this change was that a 2 minute minor penalty takes away almost half of a 5 minute overtime period. Right now the CHL & AHL are experimenting with this procedure.

A lot has been made about dangerous hits to the head in the NHL this season. Do you think that the NHL and other pro leagues will institute new rules regarding contact to the head like the NCAA has done?

If this becomes a serious issue, I would think the leagues would respond accordingly. The safety of the players is of upmost importance. No one wants to see anyone seriously hurt. However, in saying that, hockey is a very fast, very physical game and injuries are inevitable. But when injuries are caused by dangerous illegal hits to the head this is a cause for major concern.

There is a little controversy surrounding the Blues' game-tying goal against the Bruins in the last seconds of yesterday's game. Some people seem to be a little confused as to why the Blues goal in the last seconds of regulation was allowed. What is your interpretation of the rule regarding playing the puck with a high stick on a play that results in a goal? Also, It seemed as though the NHL war room did not have the proper camera angles to find conclusive evidence to overturn the call. Do you think that it would be possible or beneficial for the NHL to set up cameras in each rink that it designed specifically to determine the height of a stick in relation to the crossbar?

The rule regarding a high stick on a goal is that if the puck makes contact with a stick above the height of the crossbar the goal shall be disallowed. The key point to make here is the puck's contact with the stick is what matters and that point of contact must be above the crossbar. The NHL war room from my understanding may not receive both feeds from both cities' networks due to their specific satellite companies that issue them their feeds. So they may not have the same camera angles viewers in Boston may have if they are only receiving the angle from the St. Louis network (Ed. Note: There was no local TV broadcast of yesterday's game in St. Louis). In addition some views to the war room may be in HD, some may not even though they are locally in HD again due to the satellite and network reason I just pointed out. Setting up cameras in each arena would most definitely be beneficial. Possible, I don't know. In the past the NHL has done a very good job in setting up equipment or amending rules to rectify major issues they have come across, so I'm confident if the NHL feels a change needs to be made they will do so.

Thanks for taking the time answer my questions. Good luck with the rest of the season.