Ice hockey rules define the parameters of the sport of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

. The sport is governed by several organizations including the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

(IIHF), the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL),

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

and others. The rules define the size of the hockey rink where a game is played, the playing and safety equipment, the game definition, including time of play and whether tie-breaking methods are used and the actual playing rules themselves. The IIHF rule book is used in both amateur and professional leagues worldwide. The NHL's rule book is the basis for the rule books of most North American professional leagues. The IIHF, amateur and NHL rules evolved separately from amateur and professional Canadian ice hockey rules of the early 1900s. Hockey Canada rules define the majority of the amateur games played in Canada. USA Hockey defines the same for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(US). US

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

leagues use the

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Ind ...

rule book, and varsity

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

hockey is governed by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's rules. Hockey Canada and USA Hockey's rule books differ primarily in technical matters such as the severity of

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

handed out for various fouls. IIHF rules differ a bit more due to the differences in the dimensions of North American hockey rinks from those in the rest of the world. In recent times, both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada have been trying to make their rules more similar to the international rules. The merits of this move toward a more standardized rule book, however, are debated in amateur hockey circles. In recent years, the low scores of NHL games have prompted the league to debate a wide variety of rule change proposals including enlarging the size of the goal, widening the blue and red lines to create a larger offensive zone, restricting where

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...

s can handle the puck, breaking ties with a penalty shot shootout, and eliminating the two-line pass rule.

References

* {{cite book , last1=Podnieks , first1=Andrew , last2=Szemberg , first2=Szymon , title=World of hockey : celebrating a century of the IIHF , year= 2007 , publisher=Fenn Publishing , isbn=9781551683072 ;Notes

External links

Historical Rules

NHL Rules 2010/11

2021-2022 NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and InterpretationsUSA Hockey
Sports rules and regulations

Rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...

See also

References

External links