Module 3: Penalties

Hockey is a contact sport, but that doesn’t mean anything goes. Rules are in place to keep play safe and fair — and when those rules are broken, we have penalties.

Minor Penalties

Penalties are classified based on severity and intent. Let’s start with minor penalties — typically resulting in two minutes in the penalty box. Common minors include:

  • Tripping – using your stick or body to knock down an opponent.
  • Hooking – using the stick like a hook around another player’s body.
  • High-sticking – making contact with your stick above the shoulders (If there is blood as a result, the penalty becomes a double minor, and has to serve 4 minutes in the penalty box).

     

  • Slashing – forcefully swinging your stick at an opponent’s body or stick.

These actions disrupt fair play and are penalized regardless of whether they result in injury. The player is able to leave the penalty box when the penalty time expires or the opposing team scores a goal.

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Hockey FIght: The Sun

Major Penalties

Now let’s look at major penalties — usually five minutes long and often more serious in nature:

  • Fighting – players engaging in physical altercations beyond incidental contact.

     

  • Boarding – violently checking a player into the boards.

     

  • Spearing – jabbing an opponent with the stick blade.

     

Majors often come with game misconducts, meaning a player is ejected.

There are also misconduct penalties – 10 minutes in duration – used for unsportsmanlike behavior or repeated violations. Importantly, these do not reduce the team’s strength on the ice. These penalties must be served in their entirety by the offending player.

Powerplays & Penalty Kills

When a team commits a penalty, they play short-handed (playing one player down per penalty, with a maximum of 2 players short) giving the opponent a power play. This drastically changes strategy and pace. Power plays are golden opportunities to score, while the defending team focuses on penalty killing — clearing the puck and staying tight defensively.

PP & PK Diagram: Review Journal

You’ll also hear terms like power play and penalty kill. We’ll cover those in detail in the next module, but they refer to a special team formation when a penalty is called and one team plays with fewer players.