Café Crew, welcome back to my blog.
Prior to researching for these posts, I had one important hockey question: What's up with the penalty box?
Of all the other sports I encountered, none had a penalty system like hockey--which intrigued me. If you did not already know: in hockey, when a player commits a penalty--he is sent to the penalty box. Although the penalty box just looks like a timeout corner for grown men, it is far more powerful and complex.
Last week, I covered the basics of hockey. This week, I want to expand into more details of the game; specifically, the officials, penalties and punishments.
In hockey, if you do the crime--you do the time.
Just like other sports, hockey has officials. Officials are responsible for noting rule-breaking and enforcing the appropriate punishment. Officials are either referees or linesmen. (source)
Referees: In the NHL, there are two referees who are the "main officials." They are responsible for interpreting hockey rules, determining penalties/punishments, and confirming goals.
Linesmen: In an NHL game, there are also two linesmen. They are in charge of determining offsides and icing violations.
Offsides: This is when both of an offensive player's skates cross the attacking-zone blue line before the puck crosses the same line. When this happens, play is stopped and a face-off must occur in the neutral zone. (Offsides does not result in a player being sent to the penalty box.)
Delayed Offsides: This is when the puck has entered the attacking zone (in which a player is already offsides), but neither the player nor a teammate touches the puck. In this instance, the offensive team has the chance to "tag up," in which they exit the attacking zone to all go back over the blue line then return to the attacking/offensive zone to try to regain possession of the puck.
Intentional Offsides: This is done when an offensive player "intentionally (or deemed so)" hits the puck into the attacking zone and a player who is offsides touches it. This is done usually when teams want to make a substitution for tired teammates, but players have been unable to exit the ice. (source)
Icing: This is when an offensive player hits the puck from his defending zone across the center line then all the way down the ice to cross the goal line (except if it's a goal). If icing is called, the puck is returned to the area in which the puck was hit from for a face-off. (Icing does not result in being sent to the penalty box.) Icing is not called if:
The goalie attempts to play the puck (doesn't necessarily have to touch it)
The official determines the shot was an attempted pass
The official thought the opposing team could have touched/played the puck before it crossed the goal line (source)
So when do players get sent to the penalty box?
Players are sent to the penalty box if they commit either a minor, major, misconduct, and/or match penalty. (source for the following information)
Minor penalties are the least severe and come with a two-minute punishment in the penalty box. During this two-minute punishment, the team whose player is in the box must play one man short. The team with more players on the ice is said to be in "power play." If the opposing team scores while on power play, the player in the penalty box will be released before the end of his two minutes.
Double-Minor Penalties: These occur when the penalty is not severe enough to be a "major" penalty, but warrants longer than a two-minute punishment. It's usually enforced when a player was injured as a result of the minor penalty, so a four-minute penalty must be served.
Types of minor penalties include (but are not limited to):
Boarding: An action that results in a player being thrown into the boards
Charging: More-or-less using steps to speed up in order to hit or "check" another player in order to separate him from the puck
Cross-Checking: A player holds both hands on his stick (which is not touching the ice) in order to hit/check another player
Delay of Game: When a referee determines a team or player is intentionally trying to stall the game. This can be done in a number of ways including: a goalie keeps the puck behind the net for more than one minute; fans throw objects on the ice; intentionally knocking down the goal net, or shooting a puck out of play.
High-Sticking: raising your stick to make contact with another player above his shoulders
Hooking: using the stick as a "hook" to slow down opposing players
Roughing: unnecessary contact with another player after the whistle
Major Penalties are, naturally, more severe than minor penalties. Usually these penalties arise from actions that are intended to injure another player. Many minor penalties can become major if the referee determines the penalty was made deliberately with intent to injure. Further, they come with a five-minute punishment in the penalty box. Contrary to minor penalties two-minute punishments, a major penalty's five-minute punishment must be served in full...no matter how much the other team scores (TOUGH NOODLES).
Types of major penalties include (but are not limited to):
Fighting: we all know what this means...but FUN FACT: Over the last 20 years there has been a range of 13%-42% of NHL games with fights (source)
Butt-Ending (lol): using the end of the hockey stick's shaft--above the player's upper hand--to hit or attempt to hit an opposing player (source)
Spearing: using the blade of the stick to jab an opposing player
Checking From Behind: when one player deliberately runs into an opposing player who has his back turned, in which the opposing player is defenseless (like a illegal "block in the back" in football).
Misconduct Penalties are more severe than major penalties, but do not result in a player's ejection from the game. If a player is charged with a misconduct penalty, he must sit in the penalty box for 10 minutes. If just a misconduct penalty occurred, a substitute player is allowed to come into the game during the 10-minute penalty period; therefore no team is left short-handed during these penalties.
Two and Ten: Often a misconduct penalty and a minor penalty occur at the same time. When this happens, a substitute player must serve the two-minute penalty while the penalized player serves the 10-minute punishment. During the initial two-minute punishment, the penalized player's team will be short-handed on the ice.
Types of misconduct penalties include (source):
Instigating a fight or attempting to continue fighting after the fight has ended
Verbally abusing an official or entering the referees' crease without permission (Referees' crease is an area on the ice, near the scorekeepers, that referees use to review plays)
Using Profanity
Throwing equipment on the ice
Match Penalties are very serious offenses called on players who commit penalties with extreme intent to injure. Most of these penalties are as those listed above, but with more malicious intent. The penalized player is ejected from the game and must return to his locker room. A substitute player will come into the game for the ejected player to serve a non-releasable five minute penalty in the penalty box. Per one of my sources, penalties such as head-butting and kicking (using your skate to push off or kick an opponent) are automatically match penalties. (match penalties: source)
Penalty shots: Penalty shots are often awarded when a player has a clear breakaway to the goal, but is stopped by an opponent by illegal contact or other stoppage (such as being pulled down). A penalty shot may also be awarded if the goal's net has intentionally been dislodged in order to prevent a goal. During a penalty shot, the offensive player gets one chance to dribble the puck from center ice toward the goal for an opportunity to score against the other team's goalie. No other players are involved in penalty shots besides the puck carrier and goaltender. (source)
Pictures Courtesy of Twitter @realmanboobs
Clearly, hockey is a very physical sport."According to an extensive study done by ESPN called Sports Skills Difficulty [ranking the toughest, most physically-demanding sports], ice hockey ranks second behind only boxing among the 60 sports measured." (source) It goes without saying that hockey athletes are some TOUGH cookies. I mean, how many other sports do you associate the words "missing teeth and bloodied noses" with?
We might not be experts, but I personally understand hockey better now than I did many weeks ago. It is my hope that I was also able to extend my new knowledge to you. Thanks for skating along with me.
Hockey can be complicated, but remember to KISS (Keep It Simple, Sister).
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:9-10
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