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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

LaRue to officiate at Olympics

Associated Press

Four NHL referees and four linesman were chosen Monday to officiate at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Dennis LaRue of Spokane, Paul Devorski, Dan Marouelli and Don Van Massehoven of Canada will referee men’s games at the Olympics in February, the International Ice Hockey Federation said.

The linesmen will be Steve Miller and Pierre Racicot of Canada, and Thor Nelson and Tony Sericolo of the United States.

Six other referees and 10 more linesmen also will be selected to work the games.

Senators 6, Panthers 3: Brandon Bochenski had his first career three-goal game and NHL-leading Ottawa won for the eighth time in nine games, beating host Florida.

Dominik Hasek made 26 saves to help the Senators improve to 21-4 overall and 17-0 when leading after two periods. Ottawa leads the NHL in goals and fewest goals allowed, scoring 115 and allowing only 52.

Bochenski’s three goals gave the rookie five overall in 13 games.

Rangers 3, Wild 1: Petr Prucha scored two power-play goals, including the tiebreaker with 8:29 remaining, and host New York beat Minnesota.

Prucha jumped on a rebound of Martin Straka’s shot and chipped it over sprawled-out goalie Dwayne Roloson for his ninth goal. Prucha also gave the Rangers, who have won five straight at home, a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves to improve to 8-1-1 at home, two nights after allowing five goals on 21 shots in a loss at Washington that snapped New York’s six-game winning streak.

Coyotes 5, Thrashers 2: Mike Johnson scored twice, including the game-winner with 15:43 remaining, and also had an assist as Phoenix defeated visiting Atlanta.

Paul Mara, Zbynek Michalek and Mike Comrie added goals for the Coyotes, who scored four times in the third period for their sixth win in eight games.

Marian Hossa scored his 200th career goal and Vyacheslav Kozlov also had a goal for the Thrashers, who lost their third straight in regulation and fourth in a row overall.

Around the league

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired center Patrick Sharp and right wing Eric Meloche from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade for forward Matt Ellison and a third-round draft choice in 2006. … Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Joni Pitkanen was scheduled to have surgery Wednesday to repair a torn abdominal muscle. … The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled forwards Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche and Geoff Platt from Syracuse of the AHL.