Tough loss for the Wild in San Jose Thursday night, with the Sharks taking the game 3-1.
Coach Mike Yeo apparently was angry about the loss – not because of the way his team played, but the way the other team played. And the way the referees helped the other team play.
As the Pioneer Press reports, “he was still red in the face following a game in which the Sharks took an early 3-0 lead thanks to six Wild penalties in the first two periods on their way to a 3-1 win over the Wild.”
Yeo accused the Sharks of “embellishing,” essentially faking and acting to get calls.
In fact, the Sharks had seven power plays, while the Wild had just three. And Yeo didn’t hold back his thoughts on how he felt the Sharks got those man advantages, accusing them of embellishing and calling it “embarrassing,” according to NBC’s Pro Hockey Talk.
The Wild played a solid even-strength game but lost because penalties turned into Sharks power play goals. And in any sport, you can’t beat the other team and the referees.
The one Yeo was particularly upset about, according to multiple sources, was when Justin Fontaine was called for a stick high on Brad Stuart as Stuart’s head snapped back. The Sharks scored the game’s first goal 40 seconds later.
As the Star Tribune’s Wild reporter Michael Russo writes, “Mike Yeo was ticked off tonight, although he used a different word than ticked.”
Coach added some colorful language in his assessment of the game.
Yeo said it must be nice to draw penalties. Said Stuart's embellishment was "embarrassing" on 1st call and maybe #mnwild needs to embellish
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 13, 2013
“It doesn’t matter how many times they dive, we’ve got to make sure we kill them off — or embellish, I shouldn’t say just dive,” Yeo said, according to the Pioneer Press.
“It must be nice to draw penalties like that,” Yeo said. “The other team goes stick on puck and you just kind of hold your head. Make sure you look at the first penalty, because to me, that’s embarrassing. I don’t know. I guess we’ve got to ask our players to embellish more.”
