Updated Aug 23, 2022
Minor Penalty Durations for 14U
Aug 23, 2022
The CHC has decided that penalty durations for all levels will follow the USA Hockey rule book recommendations. See the table at the bottom of this page for details.
Injury and Reckless Endangerment
Dec 21, 2021
The new rule book does not require a major + game misconduct when the outcome of an illegal action is an injury. In the previous rule book, the officials' hands were tied. If there was an injury then they were required to call a major + GM. Under the new rule book, the criteria is whether the action was recklessly endangering to an opponent. The definition of Recklessly Endangers is in Appendix V - Glossary in the rule book. On one hand, that means officials might only have a minor penalty even if a player is injured. On the other hand, officials might have a major + GM even if there is no injury.
Officials judge the action, not the outcome.
When an official has chosen to assess a penalty on an action that results in an injury, they are encouraged to think (and discuss with their partner) whether the action fits the criteria for reckless endangerment. If it does, then a major + GM or match penalty should be assessed.
Also, officials can no longer assess a bare major. Any major penalty is automatically accompanied by a game misconduct.
2021-2025 Rule Change Resources
Nov 3, 2021
There are several resources available online to help coaches, players, and officials understand the rules changes effective with the 2021-2025 rule book. They are linked below. The first item is a simplified summary that I use in discussions with coaching staffs to help them understand the rules that have a major impact how the game is coached and played.
Helping Curb Abuse of Officials
Oct 26, 2021
Nationwide, abuse of officials is on the rise. On-ice officials have some tools in their toolbox for dealing with abuse from spectators. One such tool is the spectator ejection policy. The policy is outlined in the Preface section of the rule book, in the Zero Tolerance Policy section.
https://www.usahockeyrulebook.com/page/show/1015130-zero-tolerance-policy
Click the link above, scroll down to the Parents/Spectators section and read the second paragraph. The officials are empowered to stop the game and have an abusive spectator (or spectators) removed. While waiting for the spectator to leave, the game clock will run and lost time will not be replaced. The actions of the spectators will negatively impact the playing time for all players and possibly the outcome of the game. No one wants to see that happen.
Now scroll a little further to the third full paragraph in that same section. There is a position called the Parent/Spectator Monitor that was a recent addition within the past few years. The goal of this position is to stymie any abuse that may be brewing in the stands before it spills onto the ice and affects the game. It takes a special kind of person to volunteer for that position: a person that is willing to hold others accountable to the Zero Tolerance Policy and the Parents Code of Conduct; a person that thinks it's more important for the kids to enjoy playing the game than it is for a parent to enjoy belittling, demeaning, and abusing an official. The CT officiating staff would very much like to see the Parent/Spectator Monitor positions filled and active.
If there are no such special people willing to step up, then the on-ice officials must react with appropriate measure when the abuse happens. When the abuse comes from the stands, it is difficult for officials to pick out an individual. In those cases, officials are empowered to invoke the spectator ejection policy and clear the stands. While this seems like a harsh action, the possibility of it happening should serve as deterrent and may spur other spectators in the stands to take action if the abuse starts brewing.
CHC member organizations, please help stop the abuse before it happens.
The New Checking Standard
Oct 26, 2021
In just a few words, USA Hockey fundamentally changed body checking effective with the 2021-2025 rule book. In prior rule books, in the Glossary section, the objective of a body check was to separate the opponent from the puck. In the new rule book, still in the Glossary section, the objective is to gain possession of the puck. That is a HUGE change.
Checks where there is no chance of gaining possession of the puck because the opponent no longer has possession of the puck are subject to a penalty under 640b Roughing. When contact is unavoidable, the checker is not entitled to follow through with a check. It is the responsibility of the checking player to minimize contact and force.
Checks where there is no attempt to gain possession of the puck from an opponent who does have possession of the puck are subject to a penalty under 640d Roughing. Officials will look for the position of the blade of the stick (must be below the knees) and whether the check was preceded by a stick-on-puck action. Checks delivered with no attempt to gain possession of the puck are generally classified as being meant to intimidate or punish.
A check delivered to an unsuspecting opponent who is already battling for the puck with a teammate, is subject to a penalty under 640b Roughing because the opponent is considered vulnerable and defenseless. The player may enter the gathering to compete for possession of the puck, but not to deliver a check to an unsuspecting opponent.
The link below is to an officiating Zoomcast going over the new rule changes. The section on checking starts at the 43:07 mark of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvQ4tnfK1Is&t=2593s&ab_channel=USAHOCKEY
A Lesson on the Officiating Shortage from Mass Hockey
Oct 6, 2021
Please see this excellent article from Bob Joyce, President of Mass Hockey on the shortage of officials.
We are experiencing our own shortage of officials in CT. This is leading to some games being worked by only one official. That one official will have to make positioning tradeoff choices that they wouldn't have to make when working with a partner. They might miss some calls. Have patience and understand that 1) the officials are doing their best, and 2) the missed calls are not likely going to impact a player's path to higher levels of hockey. Abusing the officals over the calls may lead to them refusing to work alone - which could cause games to go uncovered and be cancelled. No one wants that.
Period and penalty durations
Published Sept 11, 2021
Updated Oct 25, 2022 to remove 20 min periods for 18U Tier 1
Please find information on CHC period and penalty durations below.
AGE GROUP PERIOD DURATION MINOR MAJOR MISCONDUCT
Youth 10U (all tiers) 12:00 1:00 3:00 6:00
Youth & Girls 12U (all tiers) 15:00 1:30 4:00 8:00
Youth & Girls 14U (all tiers) 16:00 1:30 4:00 8:00
Youth 15Only (all tiers) 17:00 2:00 5:00 10:00
Youth & Girls 16U (all tiers) 17:00 2:00 5:00 10:00
Youth 18U (all tiers ) 17:00 2:00 5:00 10:00
Girls 19U (all tiers) 17:00 2:00 5:00 10:00
Under new USA Hockey rules, period duration dictates minor penalty duration. The table above implements these rules.
PERIOD DURATION MINOR
12 min or less 1:00
13-16 min 1:30
17-20 min 2:00
For games played in halves, divide total game time by three to get period length.
