A team plays shorthanded when one or more of its players is charged with a penalty. However, no team is forced to play more than two players below full strength (six) at any time. When a third penalty is assessed to the same team, it is suspended until the first penalty expires. When a penalty is called on a goalie, a teammate who is on the ice at the time of the penalty serves the goalies' time in the penalty box.

MINOR PENALTY: (Two minutes)
Called for tripping, hooking, slashing, charging, roughing, holding, elbowing or boarding.

MAJOR PENALTY: (Five minutes)
Called for fighting or when minor penalties are committed with deliberate attempt to injure. Major penalties for slashing, spearing, high-sticking, butt-ending and cross-checking carry automatic game misconducts.

MISCONDUCT: (Ten minutes)
Called for various forms of unsportsmanlike behavior or when player incurs a second major penalty in a game. This is a penalty against an individual and not a team penalty, so a substitute is permitted.

PENALTY SHOT:
A free shot, unopposed except for the goalie. The shot is awarded to a player if he is illegally impeded from behind on a breakaway, or if any player on the defending team throws his stick at a player trying to score. The team which commits the offense is not penalized beyond the penalty shot.

DELAYED PENALTY:
Whistle is delayed until the penalized team regains possession of the puck and is signaled by the referee with his arm raised overhead.

	ICING: When a player shoots the puck across the red center line and past the opposing red goal line. Icing is not called if that player's team is playing shorthanded, one of his teammates touches the puck first or defending goaltender touches the puck first.
	OFFSIDE: When any member of the attacking team precedes the puck over the defending team's blue line. Play is restarted with a face-off outside the blueline.
	TWO LINE PASS: When a member of the attacking team passes the puck from behind his own blue line to a teammate across the red center line. Play is restarted with a face-off back in the offending team's zone.

Back to Top