Don Cherry, THE Coach

The Rules
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Rules

OK, so like any sport, hockey is governed by a set of rules. Now this site assumes you know some of the basics, we play on ice, there are referees, etc.

There are a LOT of rules, and as we play non-contact, we usually don't run across alot of the penalties, however, I will try and give you an idea of at least some of the key rules, such as:

• Icing
• Offside
• Penalties

Note to Ex-pats

We play under the IIHF rules, which are slightly different than North American rules.

The two biggest differences to be aware of between North American and International hockey are the following:

• No touch icing, which means as soon as the puck crosses the goal-line it's called
• No two-line passes, so you can pass blue-line to blue line.

OK, here is a link to a pdf document which has all the rules for the IIHF. Be warned it is almost 1 Meg in size, so unless you are patient or have broadband, you may not want to open it up.

IIHF RULES

For those of you without a broadband connection, or a lot of patience, I will now discuss 3 of the key rules, icing, offsides and penalties. First let's look at a picture of a rink as viewed from above.

The ice can be divided into zones, in this case moving from left to right the zones are:

• The Defending Zone
• The Neutral Zone
• The Attacking Zone

The dots are places where face-offs occur.

The dots in the attacking and defending zones are for face-offs occuring as a result of:

• The goalie freezing the puck (face-off held at the neareast dot)
• Icing (face-off held at the neareast dot in the attacking team's zone)
• The puck leaving the rink (face-off held at the neareast dot)
• A penalty

The dots in the Neutral zone are for face-offs occuring as a result of:

• Offside (face-off held at the neareast dot)
• The puck leaving the rink (face-off held at the neareast dot)

The centre ice dot is used for:

• Opening game or period face-offs
• Face-offs occuring after a goal
• The puck leaving the rink (face-off held at the neareast dot)
• A penalty (face-off held at the neareast dot)

Icing

Icing occurs when the attacking team shoots the puck into the defending zone before they have crossed the red line and it goes untouched by either team all the way across the goal line. You will see the Linesman's arm go up in the air and as soon as the puck crosses the goal line the play will be whistled down.

This will result in a face-off being held in the attacking team's end. Of course like any good rule there are exceptions! These are:

• If the puck passes through the crease before it crosses the goal line, icing is waived off
• If the goalie touches the puck before is crosses the goal line, icing is waived off
• If the puck is touched by an attacking or defending player, icing is waived off.

Here are two illustrations to describe icing, click on the image for a larger version.

Offside

Offside is nowhere near as complicated a rule as some people may have you believe.

Essentially, offside occurs when a member of the attacking team crosses the blue line before the puck does.

If the attacking team is in possesion of the puck in the attacking zone, and the puck comes back across the blue line, all of the attacking team players must leave the zone (cross the blue line into the centre ice or neutral zone) before the puck re-enters the zone.

Here are some illustrations to describe offside, click on the image for a larger version.

Penalties

The job of the referee and linesman is to control the game and ensure we are all playing to the rules. The penalty signals shown below also have an explanation for each offense.

The referee can call all infractions, while Linesman generally only call offside and icing, except in exceptional circumstances.

For a detailed explanation of when and where these penalties may occur, please see IIHF RULES.

There are 3 main types of penalties:

• Minor Penalties resulting in the player being sent to the box for 2 minutes
• Major Penalties resulting in the player being sent to the box for 5 minutes
• Misconduct Penalties resulting in the player being sent to the box for 10 minutes or ejected from the game

Only Minor and Major penalties will result in a the penalised team being short-handed for the duration of the penalty.

In the case of Minor penalties, the penalty expires early if the team on the power-play scores, with Major penalties the team remains short-handed for the duration of the penalty.

On occassions the referee may assess double minor penalties, for boarding or a particulary blatant infraction, however, in the majority of cases the penalties indicated as Minor will result in a 2 minute short-handed situation for the penalised team

The guide below shows the signals you can expect to see from the Referee and Linesman in the course of the game.

A Guide to Referee Signals

The signal for Boarding is the pounding of the closed fist of the non-whistle hand once into the open palm of the other hand. This is given when a player drives the opposing player into the boards with a body check. This is usually a minor penalty in our league

The signal for Butt Ending is moving the forearm, fist closed, under the forearm of the other hand held palm down. To hit an opponent with the end of his stick is illegal and calls for a penalty.  This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Checking From Behind is the n on-whistle arm placed behind the back, elbow bent, forearm parallel to the ice surface. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Cross Checking is a forward motion with both fists clenched extending from the chest. This is when a check or block is delivered by a player with both hands on the stick and no part of the stick on the ice. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Charging is rotating clenched fists around one another in front of chest. This penalty is called when a player takes a run at an opposing player using three or more strides to build up speed. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Delaying The Game is when the non-whistle hand, palm open, is placed across the chest and then fully extended directly in front of the body. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for a Delayed offside is when the non-whistle hand is extended straight above the head and the whistle hand is extended out in front of the chest, forming an "L" with the non-whistle hand . If play returns to the Neutral Zone without stoppage, the arm is drawn down the instant the puck crosses the line, or as soon as the offending team clears the zone.

The signal for a Delayed Penalty is when the non-whistle hand is extended straight above the head.

The signal for Elbows is the tapping of the elbow of the whistle hand with the opposite hand. This is given when a player uses his elbows in such a manner that he fouls his opponent. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for a Goal is a single point, with the non-whistle hand, directly at the goal in which the puck legally entered, while the ref simultaneously blows his whistle.

The signal for a Hand pass is when t he non-whistle hand (open hand) and arm are placed straight down alongside the body and swung forward and up once in an underhand motion.

The signal for High Sticks is the holding of both fists, clenched, one immediately above the other, at the side of the head. This penalty is given for the carrying of sticks above shoulder height so that injury to the opponents head or face could incur. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Holding is clasping the wrist of the whistle hand well in front of the chest. This is given when a player clutches the opposing player with his hands. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Holding or Grabbing The Face Mask is a closed fist held in front of face, palm in, and pulled down in one straight motion. Holding or Grabbing The Face Mask is a closed fist held in front of face, palm in, and pulled down in one straight motion. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Hooking is a tugging motion with both arms, as if pulling something toward the stomach. This is given to a player who uses his stick to impede the progress of another player. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Icing is arms folded across the chest. This is called when the puck is shot or deflected in such a manner as to produce a possible icing situation, the back linesman will signal to his partner by raising his non-whistle hand over his head. The instant that the conditions required to establish "icing the puck" have occurred, the front linesman will blow his whistle to stop play, and raise his non-whistle hand over his head. The back official will move to the resulting face-off spot and give the icing signal. Icing is arms folded across the chest. This is called when the puck is shot or deflected in such a manner as to produce a possible icing situation, the back linesman will signal to his partner by raising his non-whistle hand over his head. The instant that the conditions required to establish "icing the puck" have occurred, the front linesman will blow his whistle to stop play, and raise his non-whistle hand over his head. The back official will move to the resulting face-off spot and give the icing signal. Icing is arms folded across the chest. This is called when the puck is shot or deflected in such a manner as to produce a possible icing situation, the back linesman will signal to his partner by raising his non-whistle hand over his head. The instant that the conditions required to establish "icing the puck" have occurred, the front linesman will blow his whistle to stop play, and raise his non-whistle hand over his head. The back official will move to the resulting face-off spot and give the icing signal.

The signal for Interference is crossed arms stationary in front of chest with fists closed. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Kneeing is a single tap of the knee (non-whistle side) with the non-whistle hand, keeping both skates on the ice. This is usually a major penalty in our league.

The signal for a Match penalty is to Pat  the flat of the hand on the top of the head.

The signal for a Misconduct penalty is the placing of both hands on hips one time.

The signal for a Penalty Shot is arms crossed (fists clenched) above head. A Penalty shot is awarded when a player is on a breakaway and is hooked or tripped from behind, or when a defending player or the goalie throws their stick. A penalty shot is also awarded if a defending player,other than the goalie, closes his hand on the puck in the crease.

The signal for Roughing (Fighting) is when the non-whistle hand, one punching motion to the side with the arm extending from the shoulder. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for Slashing is one chop with the non-whistle hand across the straightened forearm of the other hand. This offence is called when a player strikes an opposing player with their stick. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

The signal for a Spearing Offence is a single jabbing motion with both hands together, thrust forward from in front of the chest, then dropping hands to the side. This is usually a major penalty in our league.

This is the signal for a Time-Out , the ref uses both hands to form a "T" in front of the chest. A team can use one time-out in a game that lasts 30 seconds.

The signal for a Tripping is the striking of the side of the knee (non-whistle side) and follow through once, keeping the head up and both skates on the ice. This offence is given to a player who trips another player by means of foot or stick. This is usually a minor penalty in our league.

This is the signal for a Washout , both arms swung laterally across the body at shoulder level with palms down.

1. When used by a referee, it means no goal or violation, so play shall continue.

2. When used by a linesman, it means there is no icing, offside, hand pass, or high sticking violation.

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