- when a goal is scored,
- when the puck is held by the goalie or a player for over 3 seconds,
- when penalties or other violations are called,
- when the puck has left the playing area,
- after offsides calls,
The play is resumed from one of the 9 face-off spots. The player is considered offsides when he is on offense and crosses the blue line, which marks the attacking zone, before moving the puck into the zone or before it has been advanced there by a teammate. Offsides are called by the officials, who signal them by raising their arm. They may stop the game and take it back to the Red line (neutral zone) or Blue line (defensing line) of the offensing team (if they deem it deliberate). Delayed offsides allow the defending team a chance to move the puck out of the zone. The play remains offside until the puck enters the neutral zone. Play is blown dead if the defending team does not attempt to move the puck forward. Until recently there had been so called two line pass offside when a player passed the puck from his defending zone to a teammate beyond the center red line (thus crossing the blue line and the red line). The position of the puck (not the player's skates in this case) was the determining factor in deciding from which zone the pass was made.
Abolition of this rule was a good move to make the sport more attractive. It eliminated a lot of stoppages during the game, which became faster and smoother. Icing is the term used for the situation when a player on his team's side of the red centerline shoots the puck all the way down the ice; it crosses the red goal line itself and is not touched by any player on its way. When this occurs, play is automatically stopped and the puck is returned to the other end of the ice for a face-off in the offending team's zone. Of course this rule does not apply when the offending team is not at equal numerical strength.
Penalties are imposed onto players by a referee, who signals the type of infraction in accordance with the signaling system. The penalty, like offsides, maybe delayed or annulled. The referee signals a penalty with a raised arm, but he doesn't stop the game as long as the injured team has the possession of the puck. The injured team may then replace its goalie with another player without the risk of losing a goal. If the injured team scores a goal, the penalty is annuled. The game is stopped if the offending team has gained the possession of the puck after the infraction. For fouls specifically described in the regulations, penalized players are required to leave the ice and spend time in the penalty box, 2 minutes (minor infractions), 5 minutes (major), 10 minutes (misconduct penalties), and match penalty. Penalized players go to a penalty box (sin bin) for the duration of the penalty. The penalty box is located near the benches for each team.
Penalties for goalies are served by a teammate that was on the ice at the time of the infraction. Minor penalties are annulled if the shorthanded team has lost a goal; if the shorthanded team had a two-players disadvantage during that time, only the first penalized player may return on ice. Player who receives two major penalties in one game is removed for the rest of its duration. Match penalty results in an instant removal of a player for the rest of the game and his substitution may enter the rink after 5 minutes. Match penalties are dispensed after severe fouls on an opponent, or for turning the ice rink into a battlefield. Match penalty will also preclude the player from the next game. If there are more than two penalties imposed, the third one starts at the end of the first.
Most common minor and major infractions:
- hooking,
- tripping,
- across-checking,
- interference,
- holding, - holding the stick,
- high-sticking,
- roughing,
- too many players on the ice,
- unsportsmanlike conduct,
- slashing,
- spearing,
- elbowing,
- kneeing,
- checking from behind,
- clipping,
- boarding,
- delaying the game,
- displacing the goal,
- throwing the stick at the puck,
- Broken stick play,
- use of forbidden equipment.
Hockey also has a penalty shot, which can be awarded in the following situations: for purposely dislodging the goal post, fouling a player from behind on a breakaway (one on one situation), falling on or picking up the puck while it is in the goal crease by players other than a goalie. One player picked by the captain is given an attempt to score a goal Picked by the captain, The attacking player, standing at the center face-off spot, is allowed to skate with the puck before shooting and attempting to score. Meanwhile, the remaining players of both teams are outside the rink. The penalty shot is over when a shot is made ( a goal cannot be scored on a rebound).
During a game, players may use sticks or stop the puck in mid-air with their hand. They are also allowed to kick the puck with their skates, but a goal scored that way does not count.
Goals count only when:
a puck completely crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar of the goal frame,
a puck is sent in any manner into the net by a defending team,
accidentally redirected off an attacking player (including his skates).
A goal does not count:
if it is kicked or thrown into the goal by an attacking player,
if it is sent into the goal from a stick raised above the height of the crossbar,
if a attacking player has a skate or stick in the goal crease before the puck,
if the goal has been dislodged,
if it enters the net after touching an official
At any moment each team is allowed to pull its goalie and bring in another offensive player. Such a situation is not uncommon and it usually takes place at the end of a game - in the last minutes of the third period when one of the teams has a single goal advantage. A goalie may legally hold the puck with his hands to cause a stoppage of play while in the defending zone. He is not allowed to hold the puck behind the goal. He is also not allowed to cross the red line, leave the ice during stoppages other than time-outs, or the change of goalies, or being pulled. When an own goal occurs in hockey. It is credited to the last player on the other team to have touched the puck.
All three on-ice officials (referee and two linemen) whose job is to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game have to wear protective helmets. They are traditionally clad in black trousers, and a black-and-white striped shirt (a referee is identified by his red armband). Two linesmen are primarily responsible signaling offsides and icings. They also conduct face-offs. Behind the glass boards there are two off-ice officials called goal judges whose task is to watch if the puck has crossed the goal line completely (the referee has the sole authority to award goals). They turn on a red light behind the goal if a goal is scored. Other off-ice officials include a game timekeeper who is responsible for stopping and starting the game clock, an official scorer who keeps the official record of the game, two penalty timekeepers who record the penalties imposed, and a statistician.
