The puck flies down the ice and the race is on. The linesman's harsh tweet of the whistle ends the race with an icing call. In the NHL, such a call can change the momentum and texture of a hockey game. The team that ices the puck to relieve pressure needs a break. When the opposing team wins the race and the puck comes back down to the other end of the ice, that break in pressure may be merely a stay of execution.
Icing Call
A linesman calls icing when a player with possession of the puck sends it from his team's defensive side of the ice past the end line of the offensive zone. When the linesman indicates icing by raising his arm and a member of the opposing team touches the puck before a member of the team that just made the pass, the linesman blows the whistle blows and plays stops. He then brings the puck back deep into the passing team's defensive zone for a face-off to restarts play.
Close Call
Many icing calls are close calls because the rule states that a player can shoot the puck deep into his team's offensive zone once the player with possession of the puck has crossed the center-ice red line. If the player is 6 inches behind the red line, the icing call will likely be made. If the player has crossed the red line, no icing call will be made. It can be difficult for linesmen to make that differentiation since the game is played at a high rate of speed.
Playing Short-Handed
The linesman does make an icing call when a short-handed team clears the puck deep into the offensive zone. The rules of the game allow a team that has one or two players in the penalty box to send the puck the length of the ice any time it gains possession of the puck. The opposing team must skate all the way back into its own zone to retrieve the puck and restart the offensive attack.
NHL vs. International Hockey
In the National Hockey League, when a player ices the puck, a member of the opposing team must touch the puck before a member of the team that shot the puck for the icing call to be made. This results in many races to the puck to either get or prevent the icing call. However, in international hockey, these races do not take place. As soon as a player shoots the puck from his team's side of center ice across the endline, the linesman blows his whistle and the automatic icing call is made.
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