Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller claims ref cursed at him

by Mike Harrington at the Buffalo News:

The Buffalo Sabres weren't happy with the officiating during Monday's 4-3 win at Pittsburgh as they dealt with nine minor penalties and three two-man disadvantages.

Goaltender Ryan Miller called it a "slanted officiating job" today and said the men in stripes weren't behaving too well either.

At the end of a 5-1/2-minute session with reporters today in the Amherst Pepsi Center, Miller was asked about an end-of-practice chat with coach Lindy Ruff. The Buffalo goaltender revealed he was telling his coach that one of the officials swore at him during a stoppage in play a couple of minutes before the Sabres received a bench minor for arguing an interference call on Thomas Vanek.

"It was just about the referee last night, a brief conversation I had with the ref that was a little surprising to me," Miller said. "He told me to "go [bleep] myself' because I was just asking a question. I was just kind of joking around [to Ruff], saying, "Maybe that kind of started what got the bench minor going.'

"To be honest, I was respectful. I asked him a question and he told me maybe I should "go [bleep] myself."

Tim Peel and Justin St. Pierre worked the game. Asked which referee it was, Miller responded, "I'm not going to get into it" and Sabres spokesman Chris Bandura ended the session.

Ruff had already spoken to reporters by the time Miller's situation came to light. A call to the NHL for comment has not yet been returned.

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