Rule 6-40 article 3 states that a penalty shall be assessed to a player who intentionally or recklessly contacts a player to the head, including with the stick or by an illegal body check. Penalty-minor or major if flagrant. 

That being said, there are things you need to know before yelling at the stripes for the non-call. The key words in this rule are intentionally and recklessly. As you know by now there can be a huge height discrepancy in players especially at the high school level where you can have an 8th grader playing against a senior in some cases.So what does that mean?

If you have a 6 foot player chasing down a puck against a say a 5 foot player and the taller player keeps their hands and stick down and makes contact with the shorter player, there is not a penalty there as that is coincidental contact. Unfortunately in this case the shorter player is at a disadvantage although remember the key words, intentional and reckless because if the taller player uses his size to bully the shorter player than he will be assessed a minor for roughing or head contact and in some cases a major.

One other thing I want to touch on while we talk about height differences. I have noticed with the smaller players trying to check the bigger players, they are raising their hands and in some cases jumping into the bigger player. If you leave your feet to make contact on a player, that is a charging penalty. The other one I am seeing is the smaller player is crouching down while attempting  a hip check and making contact below the knee, that is a tripping penalty.

I hope this clarifies any confusion that you may have with this rule and although we don’t see everything, our number one concern is safety on the ice. So play safe and good luck in the rest of the season.

With High School hockey approaching fast, I wanted to inform you of the rule changes for the up coming season for The National Federation of State High School Associations. Please note that it is unclear if every high school in the nation plays out of this rule book so check with your coach or athletic director to see what rules you are playing. Please note these rules apply to any level of high school hockey, freshman, JV and Varsity.

The most notable new rule (6-12-1) this season follows the rule books of both the NHL and the NCAA as every face off will take place on one of the nice dots on the ice. Previously if the puck was dropped on a “last place played”, you would see a face off anywhere on the ice. This rule takes the guess work out of when the last place the puck was played. Another notable rule you will see on faceoffs is that a hand-pass will now take place in the end zone of the offending team just like if a puck is played with a high stick.

Also following the NHL and NCAA template, new rule 6-12 states that after a penalty is assessed, the ensuing faceoff will take place at the defensive zone faceoff spot of the offending team, except at the start of a period or after a goal is scored. Basically that means if your team is penalized, no matter where the infraction takes place, the faceoff is in your end.

The third new rule (3-4-8) is for safety on the bench which states that all players are required to wear helmets with face masks while in the players’ or penalty bench. Failure to follow this rule will buy you a misconduct.

rule 6-8   contact to the head is a stand alone penalty now and there is a zero tolerance policy with hits to the head and neck area….keep your hands, shoulders, elbows and sticks down

The following rules are reworded:

2-1-2b  It is required that the visiting team shall wear dark-colored jerseys; the home team shall wear white-/light colored- jerseys.

3-3-2    The goalkeeper’s leg pads shall not be wider than 11 inches(27.94 cm) each, nor longer than 38 inches (96.52 cm).**2012 season

3-3-3    Protective padding attached to the back or forming a part of the goalkeeper’s gloves shall not exceed 8 inches (20.32 cm) in width at any point, nor shall it exceed 15 inches (38.1 cm) in width. Protective padding attached to the back or forming part of the goalkeeper’s catching glove shall not exceed 8 inches(20.32 cm) in width at any point, nor shall it exceed 15 inches (38.1 cm). In addition, the catching glove shall have a maximum circumference or 45 inches (114.3cm). **2012 season

4-2-8    Add: When the rules indicate “Captains choice of players” for serving the penalty, the captain must select a player who was on the ice when the infraction occurred. This includes bench minors.

4-3-2    Replace: A player (captain’s choice of players)  with “An additional player”

Just a few very important reminders and I will go into more detail about player safety in future articles and post some videos that will hit home to you so I can make my point but for now use these guidelines.

Players will not be allowed on the ice with ripped, taped or unzipped pants. You do not look cool skating around like that. You’re coach requires you to come to the rink in a professional manner by wearing a tie, that doesn’t end when you take the tie off. Ripped and unzipped pants look stupid, period. Players must wear the equipment the way it was designed for your safety. Helmets must have the “J” clips that keep your cage from coming up into your chin. The helmet has to be HECC certified and by removing any part of the helmet voids the HECC certification so don’t do it. Mouth guards goes with out saying but yet players are still trying to play without them, the same goes for the goalies. Also for goalies, you are required to wear the “flapper” on your mask, you can not take the ice without this.

Have a safe and successful season…see you on the ice.

The NHL rule book states as follows.

Rule 44 – Checking from Behind

44.1 Checking from Behind – A check from behind is a check delivered on a player who is not aware of the impending hit, therefore unable to protect or defend himself, and contact is made on the back part of the body. When a player intentionally turns his body to create contact with his back, no penalty shall be assessed.

So would the assessed penalties on the ice be enough punishment to Kozlov or is a fine and/or suspension in order? Watch the game clip and decide for yourself. I have looked at it several times and feel that Kozlov was well aware of what he was doing . The fact of Gomez not being hurt should not come into play when Colin Cambell looks at this clip. Kozlov should be held accountable for his actions.

It’s like a broken record over and over again but we have to keep bringing this issue up and why you ask, because hockey players are still acting reckless and have no respect for the game or opponents they are playing against.

I see it every day in youth hockey and although the players are ultimately the ones making the hit. The coaches are to blame  to some degree and I don’t know one coach that would approve of a hit from behind on any player but years ago when you watched a youth hockey game, coaches were yelling “defense, pass, skate and shoot” all the time to their players. Now I am on the ice and all I hear is “BODY” and “HIT EM”.

These young kids feel pressured to impress their teammates and not let down their coach and unfortunately the only way some of them can achieve this task is by taking advantage of a player in a vulnerable situation because they are simply not fast enough to do it right. This is not the first or nearly the last time we will talk about this subject and for all the youth players out there….hockey is a very fast sport but take a second to think before you severely injure a player, that player could be you just as easy. There is nothing worse than seeing a kid being carried off in a stretcher.

Click on the links to read the definition of the rule in your book. USA Hockey rule 607, NFHS (Federation/High School) rule 6-7.