Student-Athlete Protection: Continued diligence is needed with regard to player safety rules, particularly contact to the head, contact against defenseless or unsuspecting players and hitting from behind. The rules are very clear in each of these areas and officials must continue to err on the side of safety.

Rule 45 - Contact to the Head
A player shall not make direct contact from any direction with an opposing player’s head or neck area in any manner (including, but not limited to, with the shoulder, stick, elbow, etc.).

PENALTY— Major and game misconduct or disqualification at the discretion of the referee. The committee reminds coaches and players that the responsibility remains with the player making the hit to avoid contact with the head and neck area of an opposing player. Any contact directly with the player’s head and neck area “must” be penalized with a major penalty and a game misconduct or disqualification.

NOTE: There is no possible rule permitting a minor penalty for “Contact to the Head”.

When the initial force of the contact is through the body of the opponent and then slides up to the head or neck area, the committee believes this type of indirect contact to the head action may still be penalized, at the referee’s discretion, as another minor penalty (e.g., elbowing, roughing, high sticking, charging, etc.) When officials penalize this type of infraction, the committee is requiring that officials assess this penalty placing the wording “indirect contact to the head – elbowing, etc. Do not under-call contact to the head as another penalty if the point of contact is to the head or neck area. 

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Rule 48 - Fighting or Punching

A player shall not fight an opponent or participate in a fight, on or off the playing surface. A punch thrown may be considered fighting.

PENALTY—Disqualification.

NOTE: There is no possible rule permitting a Game Misconduct penalty for “Fighting or Punching”.

- When an altercation results in penalties on both teams and, in the opinion of the official, one player was instrumental in starting the altercation, that player shall receive an additional minor penalty for instigating.

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Rule 50 - Hitting From Behind

A player shall not push, charge, cross-check or body check an opponent from behind in open ice.
PENALTY—Minor or major at the discretion of the referee.

Hitting from behind into the side boards, end boards or goal cage is a flagrant violation.

PENALTY—Major and game misconduct or disqualification at the discretion of the referee.

Note: The committee reminds coaches and players that the responsibility remains with the player approaching an opponent along the boards in this rule. While players turning to draw penalties are a concern, the positive change in behavior the committee observed outweighs this issue. Any penalty in relation to this rule along the boards or into the goal cage must be a major penalty and a game misconduct or disqualification.

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Rule 64 - Slashing

A player shall not slash an opponent with the stick. Slashing includes all cases in which a slashing gesture is made, regardless of whether contact occurs. Any forceful or powerful chop with the stick on an opponent’s body, the opponent’s stick, or on or near the opponent’s hands that, in the judgment of the Referee, is not an attempt to play the puck, shall be penalized as slashing.
PENALTY—Minor, major, game misconduct or disqualification at discretion of the referee.

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*Please review the 2020-2022 NCAA rule book Rule 20 for Major Penalty guidance, Rule 22 for Game Misconduct guidance, and Rule 23 for Disqualification guidance