Rule 4.2 – Minor Penalties

Rule 4.2 – Minor Penalties

A Minor penalty is a two-minute time penalty. Any player, except the goaltender, assessed a Minor penalty will be removed from the ice and placed in the Penalty Bench for two minutes of playing time.

  1. For a Minor penalty, any player, except a goaltender, will be ruled off the ice for two minutes actual playing time, during which time their team will be play shorthanded.

  2. If the opposing team scores a goal while a team is shorthanded because of one or more Minor or Bench Minor penalties, the Minor penalty with the least amount of time remaining will automatically terminate. In the case of a player who has received a double Minor penalty, their first Minor penalty will be terminated.

    When a goal is scored on a Penalty Shot against a team that is shorthanded because of a Minor or Bench Minor penalty, no player of the shorthanded team will return to the ice with the scoring of the goal.

  3. Coincidental Minor penalties to both teams do not cause either team to be shorthanded. (see Rule 4.5 – Coincidental Penalties)

INTERPRETATIONS

Interpretation 1

Rule 4.2 (a)

When a goal is scored and penalties are being served, the Referee would ask the following questions:

  1.      Is the team scored on playing shorthanded?
  2.      Is it because of a Minor or Bench Minor penalty?

ACTION:

If the Referee answers YES to both questions, then the Minor or Bench Minor penalty with the least amount of time remaining would be terminated. The only exception would be if the goal was scored during a Penalty Shot, in which case no player would return.

Note 1: Coincidental penalties do not cause a team to be shorthanded and are never terminated by a goal.

Interpretation 2

Rule 4.2 (a)

If the officials neglect to place a player in the Penalty Bench and the team continues to play shorthanded, no further action is required until it is noticed and the player is placed in the Penalty Bench or the penalty time expires. However, if the penalized player actually enters the game, that player is on the ice illegally and any goals scored while the player is on the ice will be disallowed.

Note 1: The player would not be penalized further, as it was the officials’ error by not placing them in the box. They would only need to serve the remainder of their original penalty, as applicable.