Etiquette may seem a strange word to use when the subject is ice hockey. The game is all about speed, competitiveness, toughness and physicality. Etiquette suggests a genteel behavior that has nothing to do with the sport. However, when the subject is the play of goaltenders, certain standards must be followed to help give them a decent chance of remaining upright and healthy.
The Crease
The goal crease is the domain of the goalie. It is his area, and he can station himself anywhere in that area -- with blue borders at the professional and international levels -- without interference from any opponent. The goalie's right to control the crease ends after the puck enters the area. If the puck is in the crease, a player can follow the puck in and attempt to score.
Equipment
All goalies use specialized equipment that helps them play the position and also helps protect them from injuries. Goalies are required to wear masks, leg pads, arm pads, a chest protector and a catching glove. It is against the accepted etiquette of the game for goalies to use oversized equipment. Leg pads, catching gloves and goalie sticks are limited in length and width according to the rules, and goalies who use larger equipment than permitted will be penalized.
No Checking the Goalie
Hockey rules prevent a player from going into the goalie's crease unless the puck has proceeded him into that area. The rules do not prevent a player from checking a goalie if he leaves the crease to play the puck. For example, a goalie may venture into his team's defensive zone to retrieve a puck and pass to his teammate. If an opponent can catch up to the goalie and check the puck off his stick and create an offensive opportunity, he is allowed to do so. Stick checking the puck is one thing, leveling the goalie with a body check is quite another and is not allowed. The etiquette of the game prevents a skater from hitting a goalie under those circumstances. A player who violates this rule will almost certainly be challenged to a fight by one of the goalie's teammates.
Fighting
Fighting remains part of the culture of the game of hockey. Professional hockey gives its tacit approval to the practice by issuing five-minute penalties to combatants and then welcoming those players back to the ice after penalties have been served. However, skaters and goalies do not fight each other. In most cases, goalies stay away from fights. In rare cases, if a goalie is involved in a fight, the etiquette of the game is that the fight is with the opponent's goalie. The two goalies may square off, but because they are both wearing heavy and cumbersome equipment, they rarely throw punches that have much purpose.
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