<p>Following the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arturs-silovs-fifth-shutout-abby-canucks-2-0-series-lead-texas-stars">1-0 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks</a>, Texas Stars head coach, Neil Graham, met with the media and had some choice words toward the league regarding the officiating in Game 2.</p>
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<p>With under three minutes to play in the third period, the Stars thought they had tied the game. Richmond native Trey Taylor takes a soft backhand shot toward the net, with Stars captain Curtis McKenzie picks it up and tries to fire a backhand through <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/artys-got-that-fight-him-silovs-earning-chants-abbotsford-canucks-fans-big-saves-feistiness">Arturs Silovs</a>&#8216; five-hole.</p>
<p>The puck gets stuck under Silovs&#8217; pad, where McKenzie continues to dig add it, pushing Silovs&#8217; pad and the puck into the net.</p>
<p>Silovs gets up and immediately chases after the ref to state his case that his pad was pushed in on the goal. And after a few minutes of deliberating, the head referee waved off the goal, and the Stars were not too pleased:</p>
<p>&#8220;In the American Hockey League, not everything&#8217;s reviewable. So that&#8217;s where the decision on the ice is extremely important,&#8221; Graham said postgame. &#8220;You call the goal on the ice, and at that point, you need to have conclusive evidence to overturn that call. They huddled, they made a decision, and essentially told me they should have blown it down, which they didn&#8217;t. I have a tough time living with that one. At the end of the day, it&#8217;s a live play until you blow it. The puck goes in the net, no whistle. The league needs to look at it. The league needs to do better.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here was the overturned goal:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">👀 Texas almost tied it up but the call was overturned and it remains a 1-0 Abbotsford lead <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CalderCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CalderCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/FYkxndBER7">pic.twitter.com/FYkxndBER7</a></p>
<p>&mdash; FloHockey (@FloHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/FloHockey/status/1929035505309487249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a closer look at the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbotsford-canucks-game-day-chance-take-early-control-ahl-western-final-with-another-home-ice-win-texas-stars">Stars captain</a> pushing Silovs&#8217; pad:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Texas Stars thought they had tied the game late in the third period, delivering a dagger.</p>
<p>After a second look, however, the referees made the call&#8230;</p>
<p>NO GOAL! <a href="https://t.co/hQBaqyu8Qo">pic.twitter.com/hQBaqyu8Qo</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dave Hall (@davehall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929035031764168988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>But wait, there&#8217;s more.</p>
<p>Shortly after taking the lead, there was a faceoff outside the Canucks&#8217; zone. Former Canuck draft pick Kole Lind had been getting under the skin of Silovs and the rest of the team. Phil Di Giuseppe and Lind were lined up beside one another for the faceoff, exchanging pleasantries, of course.</p>
<p>Once the puck dropped, Di Giuseppe stood up and faced Lind. Lind stands up, looks at Di Giuseppe, looking as though he&#8217;ll engage in the fight.</p>
<p>Di Giuseppe then drops his gloves and grabs Lind. However, Lind glued his gloves to his hands, as if to try and draw the penalty. We&#8217;ll give it to Lind, smart play to try and draw the penalty and send his team to the man-advantage.</p>
<p>But the refs did not see it that way. Again, after much deliberation, the refs assessed both players an unsportsmanlike penalty.</p>
<p>Graham had more words regarding that:</p>
<p>&#8220;Well, the tough part is, I wasn&#8217;t going to be afforded an explanation. When you see a player drop his gloves and go after one of your guys, and then it&#8217;s an evened-up call? I think an explanation is only warranted. They believe that our player used words to engage. For me, I don&#8217;t see the penalty there. So it&#8217;s a tough one, but at the end of the day, this is playoff hockey. We&#8217;re down in the series 2-0. We&#8217;re going to regroup as a team, and we&#8217;ll be ready for the next one.&#8221;</p>
<p>Here was the play:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Phillip Di Giuseppe and Kole Lind getting a little fired up in the third period. <a href="https://t.co/UmqhzkWZQj">pic.twitter.com/UmqhzkWZQj</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dave Hall (@davehall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929033943942311962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>After the game, the two teams were clearly frustrated with each other. Lind took another run at Silovs as the game concluded, and the rough stuff continued with a few Canucks getting into it with the Stars bench:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">OH BABY! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://t.co/OtpgRDxSCU">pic.twitter.com/OtpgRDxSCU</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dave Hall (@davehall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929037196381532456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>You can watch Graham&#8217;s full media availability here:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hear from Head Coach Neil Graham following Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals 🎥 <a href="https://t.co/8kt8DQTcrc">pic.twitter.com/8kt8DQTcrc</a></p>
<p>&mdash; x &#8211; Texas Stars (@TexasStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/TexasStars/status/1929053559883981019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Graham and the Stars are not too pleased with the officiating and want the league to take a look into it and take action. Regardless of the outcome, the series now shifts to Texas for Games 3, 4 and 5, with the Abbotsford Canucks two wins away from a trip to the Calder Cup Finals.</p>
<p>This series is starting to heat up. You can watch the Canucks back in action on Monday, June 2, when they try to push the Stars to the brink of elimination.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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Following the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/farmies-arturs-silovs-fifth-shutout-abby-canucks-2-0-series-lead-texas-stars">1-0 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks</a>, Texas Stars head coach, Neil Graham, met with the media and had some choice words toward the league regarding the officiating in Game 2.
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With under three minutes to play in the third period, the Stars thought they had tied the game. Richmond native Trey Taylor takes a soft backhand shot toward the net, with Stars captain Curtis McKenzie picks it up and tries to fire a backhand through <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/artys-got-that-fight-him-silovs-earning-chants-abbotsford-canucks-fans-big-saves-feistiness">Arturs Silovs</a>' five-hole.

The puck gets stuck under Silovs' pad, where McKenzie continues to dig add it, pushing Silovs' pad and the puck into the net.

Silovs gets up and immediately chases after the ref to state his case that his pad was pushed in on the goal. And after a few minutes of deliberating, the head referee waved off the goal, and the Stars were not too pleased:

"In the American Hockey League, not everything's reviewable. So that's where the decision on the ice is extremely important," Graham said postgame. "You call the goal on the ice, and at that point, you need to have conclusive evidence to overturn that call. They huddled, they made a decision, and essentially told me they should have blown it down, which they didn't. I have a tough time living with that one. At the end of the day, it's a live play until you blow it. The puck goes in the net, no whistle. The league needs to look at it. The league needs to do better."

Here was the overturned goal:

https://twitter.com/FloHockey/status/1929035505309487249

Here's a closer look at the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/abbotsford-canucks-game-day-chance-take-early-control-ahl-western-final-with-another-home-ice-win-texas-stars">Stars captain</a> pushing Silovs' pad:

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929035031764168988

But wait, there's more.

Shortly after taking the lead, there was a faceoff outside the Canucks' zone. Former Canuck draft pick Kole Lind had been getting under the skin of Silovs and the rest of the team. Phil Di Giuseppe and Lind were lined up beside one another for the faceoff, exchanging pleasantries, of course.

Once the puck dropped, Di Giuseppe stood up and faced Lind. Lind stands up, looks at Di Giuseppe, looking as though he'll engage in the fight.

Di Giuseppe then drops his gloves and grabs Lind. However, Lind glued his gloves to his hands, as if to try and draw the penalty. We'll give it to Lind, smart play to try and draw the penalty and send his team to the man-advantage.

But the refs did not see it that way. Again, after much deliberation, the refs assessed both players an unsportsmanlike penalty.

Graham had more words regarding that:

"Well, the tough part is, I wasn't going to be afforded an explanation. When you see a player drop his gloves and go after one of your guys, and then it's an evened-up call? I think an explanation is only warranted. They believe that our player used words to engage. For me, I don't see the penalty there. So it's a tough one, but at the end of the day, this is playoff hockey. We're down in the series 2-0. We're going to regroup as a team, and we'll be ready for the next one."

Here was the play:

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929033943942311962

After the game, the two teams were clearly frustrated with each other. Lind took another run at Silovs as the game concluded, and the rough stuff continued with a few Canucks getting into it with the Stars bench:

https://twitter.com/davehall1289/status/1929037196381532456

You can watch Graham's full media availability here:

https://twitter.com/TexasStars/status/1929053559883981019

Graham and the Stars are not too pleased with the officiating and want the league to take a look into it and take action. Regardless of the outcome, the series now shifts to Texas for Games 3, 4 and 5, with the Abbotsford Canucks two wins away from a trip to the Calder Cup Finals.

This series is starting to heat up. You can watch the Canucks back in action on Monday, June 2, when they try to push the Stars to the brink of elimination.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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Texas Stars head coach lashes out on officiating after Game 2 loss to Abbotsford Canucks

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