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.