Hockey 101 – Icing (Rule 81)
So – today we are talking about Icing. It has taken me 3 years and many, many, many, many games to teach my wife when to recognize an icing call and why. I am hoping this explanation will help you all grasp the concept of icing and why it is a penalty. There is currently a great debate going on regarding the rule of icing in and among the NHL purists … and I will explain that later on in the post (in other words … Keep Reading!). I will first give you a “literal” definition of the penalty, then I will show you an example (in picture form) and then I will fill you all in on the great debate. With that said … the definition (this is not taken out of the NHL Rule book) …
Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team’s goal line being the last. When icing occurs, a linesman stops play. Play is resumed with a faceoff in the defending zone of the team that committed the infraction. A player on the opposing team (other than the goaltender) must touch the puck to cause the stoppage of play. If the puck is first touched by the goaltender or a player on the team that iced the puck, icing is waved off (cancelled) and play continues. While an icing call is pending, the linesman raises an arm to indicate that a potential icing call may be made. If the icing is waved off, the official lowers his arm and gives the washout signal (extending both arms sideways from the body at shoulder height). As an FYI … In European professional leagues, some lower-level North American professional leagues (ECHL and Central Hockey League), and most amateur leagues worldwide, play is stopped for icing once the puck crosses the goal line. This is called automatic or no-touch icing, currently in the NHL, the icing rule has lead to high-speed races for the puck which has shown to increase the possibility of injury to the players. (See YouTube video below)
Icing is always waved off in the following situations:
1. The team committing the icing is shorthanded.
2. The linesman believes a player on the opposing team (other than the goalkeeper) could have played the puck before it crossed the goal line.
3. In the NHL, the linesman deems the icing is the result of an attempted receivable pass.
So … if you were to look at the ice and imagine an icing call it would look like this …
Now … for the down and dirty … Lets say I was standing on the A (Left of center ice [Red Line in the middle]) and I shot the puck down the ice, across the Red Line at Center Ice, Blue Line and across the goal line where the other A is. That would be icing … but if I were standing at position B and shot the puck down the ice across the Blue Line and the goal line, that would not be icing. It’s all about the center line (Red Line) … if a player hits the puck across the Center Line and then the puck crosses two more lines (Blue Line & Goal Line) … and then, a player from the other team touches the puck first … That’s Icing! However, if a player from the same team touches the puck first icing is waved off and the game continues to play. (For reference, example B in the figure above is not icing since the puck was hit after it crossed the Center Line.) This example should be self explanatory … if you have questions please feel free to leave a comment.
Now that you know what Icing is and how to identify it … I will fill you in on a little debate going on among Hockey nuts (you know, those weirdo’s that have blogs and such). In the definition of Icing it made reference to “No-Touch Icing” being played in European leagues and some lower level North American leagues. The NHL does not currently have this provision, which means, when one team ices the puck there might be a race to the puck by players from either team. Whoever gets there first and touches the puck will decide if the play is stopped (player from the opposite team) or if it continues (player from the same team). This “Race To The Puck” is a dangerous position to be put into. There have been countless injuries to players who are charging full speed to get the puck and end up into the boards.
Here in this video you see The Wild’s Curtis Foster in a race with the Sharks’ Torrey Mitchell. Foster came out of this with a broken leg, but it could have been much worse when you watch the speed his head hit the board with.
In this scenario, had “No-Touch” Icing been in effect … the moment the puck crossed the goal line the play would have been stopped by the official. I personally think that a no-touch icing rule would not be a detriment to the sport. With a rule like No Touch Icing in place it would remove the risk of injury from the players … and that would be a good thing. Compare this to the old Nascar rule when a yellow flag (caution) was waved in a race … before they changed the rule the drivers would race to the start/finish line for position during the caution. Having the drivers go balls out to the line after a caution was shown to increase in the number of wrecks and driver injuries. Nascar then made the rule that as soon as a caution is thrown, the field is frozen … meaning, there will be no “racing to the line” … you keep the position you are in the moment it happens.
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So as I told Grant just now, this article is great! I was about 80% or so clear on the Icing concept and now I’m 100%; kudos
No-Touch Icing = FTW
No touch icing is a great idea. No touch romance is not.