Icing occurs when a player on a hockey team shoots, bats or deflects the puck beyond the goal line of the opposing team from his or her own half of the ice. A red line separates the playing ice into two halves. When the puck is shot from behind this red line and it goes past the opponent's goal line, icing is called and the play is stopped. The resulting face-off from an icing call takes place in the defensive zone of the team that iced the puck.
Exceptions to the Rule
There are a number of situations that nullify an icing call. If the team that shoots the puck from its own end is short-handed or if the puck touches a defensive player before it crosses the goal line, icing will not be called. Icing is not called if the puck enters the opposing team's net for a goal. Icing can also be voided if the linesman believes that a defending player could have touched the puck before it crossed the goal line. Also, if the goaltender plays (or attempts to play) the puck, there will be no icing call. Icing won't be called if the puck is shot down the ice directly from a face-off.
Linesmen
There are two linesmen on the ice that will make icing calls. The back linesman will put his or her hand straight up in the air if the puck is being iced. It is then up to the front linesman to actually make the call. If the puck is iced, the front linesman will blow the whistle and the face-off will take place back at the end that the puck was shot from. If the front linesman does not think that the puck was iced, the call is waved off and play continues.
Variations to the Rule
Icing rules vary by the hockey league. For example, in the NHL, icing is only called if a defensive player touches the iced puck before an offensive player does. If a puck is shot down from the other end of the ice, the race for the puck can be dangerous, but it's also exciting for both players and fans. In most other leagues, the whistle will be blown automatically when the puck crosses the goal line for an icing.
Reason for the Rule
The rationale for icing in hockey is to prevent teams from wasting time. Before the icing rule came into effect, teams would constantly shoot the puck all the way down the ice, which forced the other team to continually retrieve it. This wasted a great deal of time and often made the game boring. Teams also iced the puck on purpose in order to make a line change. The NHL has since made a rule preventing the team that iced the puck from making any line changes before the next face-off.
References
- "Official Rules"; National Hockey League; 2010
- "Referee's Case Book/Rule Combination"; Hockey Canada; 2010
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