Hawks' Alex Stalock on ejection: 'It just got heated' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock plays with a ton of passion every time he steps onto the ice, and his emotions spilled over in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars after he was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The incident that sparked the outrage happened at the 7:04 mark of the third period when Stars forward Luke Glendening scored a shorthanded goal to extend his team's lead to 4-0 then ran over Stalock, who laid on the ice for a bit before popping back up. There was no penalty on the play and the goal counted.
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Stalock was not shy about voicing his frustration to the officials throughout the rest of the period, which first led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
"It just got heated," Stalock told NBC Sports Chicago. "I just think the history of what's happened this year, it's tough. It's tough for players, it's tough for goalies, you're in a situation where it's an odd-man rush, you have to be outside — not outside the paint but your feet are in the crease and when you go into a butterfly you naturally go forward, so when you look at the overhead, your feet are in the paint and your knees are outside.
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"But I think there's a time where maybe the player can make a play where he can either go forward or in front of you maybe. It was just an unfortunate deal, and obviously you go back and forth and you just get more frustrated, you know?
Stalock was eventually tossed from the game with 3:37 left in regulation, and it was probably for the best.
"I just think it was enough of going back and forth and it just had to come to an end," Stalock said of the game misconduct. "It was the right call by the official to just get me out of there."
Stalock is sensitive to that type of play, given what he's been through this season. And understandably so. He's missed a chunk of time on two separate occasions, one because of a concussion and the other because of ocular dysfunction.
The first incident happened on Nov. 1 when New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas ran him over early in the first period. Cizikas was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for goaltender interference.
Stalock admitted his performance on Tuesday also didn't exactly help the cause.
"Yeah, I mean, it was a frustrating game, too," Stalock said. "A lot led into it. It was just one of those frustrating games: I wasn't at my best, I wanted to be better, that happens, now the game gets put away, it's 4-1, you get rolled over. It was just a culmination of a lot of stuff that just added up."
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