In hockey, "icing" occurs when a team simply shoots the puck all the way down the ice rather than advancing the puck by passing it from player to player. Icing is against the rules because it's frequently a delaying tactic -- an attempt to slow down the game or run out the clock.
The Lines
A hockey rink is about 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. Painted under the ice are five lines running the width of the rink; icing occurs relative to these lines. Eleven feet from each end of the rink is a red line, called the goal line; the front of the goal rests on this line. Sixty-four feet in front of each goal line is a blue line. At the middle of the rink, dividing it in half, is a third red line, the center line.
Icing Defined
The officials can call icing when a player shoots, kicks or bats the puck from anywhere behind the center line and it crosses the opposing team's goal line before being touched by any other player. Once a player takes a shot that might become icing -- regardless of whether the shot was intentional -- an official will raise an arm over his head, the signal for a delayed penalty. If icing occurs, the official folds his arms across his chest and blows his whistle to stop play. If icing doesn't occur, he "waves off" the icing by sweeping his arms out to the sides. If the officials call icing against a team, the puck is brought back to that team's end of the rink for a face-off.
General Exceptions
In some circumstances, a shot from behind the center line that crosses the goal line won't qualify as icing. If the puck goes into the goal itself, it's not icing -- it's a goal. If the puck ices directly from being struck in a face-off, it's not icing. If the officials conclude that an opposing player could have gotten to the puck but chose not to in order to try to draw an icing call, they'll wave off icing. Finally, any team that has fewer players on the ice than its opponent cannot be called for icing; shooting the puck down the ice is a legitimate "penalty-killing" technique.
Variations
At some higher levels of play, including the National Hockey League, officials won't make a ruling on whether a shot is icing until someone has touched the puck after it crosses the goal line. If the goalkeeper touches the puck first, the officials will wave off icing. If the player who took the shot or one of his teammates gets to the puck first, the officials will also wave off icing. But if a member of the opposing team aside from the goalkeeper gets to the puck, the officials will call icing. This version of the icing rule can produce a mad dash by players trying to get to the puck. It's exciting -- but it can also be dangerous, which is why at many levels of play, including youth hockey, officials call icing automatically, before anyone gets to the puck.
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