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2011-12 APPROVED ICE HOCKEY RULES CHANGES
2-3-4
(NEW)
ART. 4…By state association adoption, at the conclusion of a period, teams must remain at their bench area until the referee signals the players to proceed directly to their respective dressing rooms.
Rationale: The potential for conflict is very high when teams leave the bench area and cross paths with opponents in order to meet/greet the goalkeepers on the ice at the end of each period. There is no reason that the current practice is necessary.
2-7
(NEW)
Each state association may, in keeping with applicable laws, authorize exceptions to NFHS playing rules to provide reasonable accommodations to individual participants with disabilities and/or special needs, as well as those individuals with unique and extenuating circumstances. The accommodations should not fundamentally alter the sport, allow an otherwise illegal piece of equipment, create risk to the athlete/others or place opponents at a disadvantage.
Rationale: Clarification from NFHS Rules Review Committee. This change clarifies that an individual state association may authorize exceptions to the playing rules to provide reasonable accommodations to individual participants with disabilities and/or special needs or other unique and extenuating circumstances. Such exceptions are not considered rules modifications since they are not general in nature; rather, they are limited to the circumstances of specific individual participants.
3-4-5a
(Delete)
a. When a new HECC/ASTM Standard is established, players will have a three-year grace period to purchase helmets and face masks which comply with the new standard.
5-1-3
(NEW)
The officials retain clerical authority over the contest through the completion of any reports, including those imposing disqualifications that are responsive to actions occurring while the officials had jurisdiction. State associations may intercede in the event of unusual
incidents after the officials’ jurisdiction has ended or in the event that a contest is terminated prior to the conclusion of regulation play.
Rationale: This change would allow administrative duties for officials to continue after the contest in order to document actions which occurred during the contest. This change would allow state associations the ability to implement policies that allow for review of unusual policies after contests.
6-8
No player shall make contact with an opposing player’s head or neck area in any manner.
PENALTY: MINOR or MAJOR or DISQUALIFICATION. at the discretion of the referee. Contact to the head can be a stand-alone penalty, or it can be assessed in front of another infraction (i.e., contact to the head – high stick, contact to the head – elbow, contact to the head – rough).
Rationale: The above change would make contact to the head a stand-alone penalty. This would eliminate present confusion as to how many penalties must be assessed when contact to the head is assessed “in front of another infraction”. Increasing the penalty for contact to the head would continue to heighten the awareness of the seriousness of any type of contact to the head, as well as that of any action which might cause a concussion. This change places contact to the head and its potential to cause serious injury as an equal to that of checking from behind.
Proposed – 2011-12 NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Changes
May 16, 2011
Page No. 2
6-29-2
ART. 2 . . . If an attacking player precedes the puck, which is shot, passed or deflected, into the attacking zone, but a defending player is able to play the puck, the official shall signal a delayed offside (except that if the puck is shot on goal, play shall be stopped immediately for the offside violation)
ADD (after NOTE): If the puck enters the defending team’s goal during a delayed offside or immediately after the offside, the goal is disallowed.
Rationale: This change would allow play to continue, allow a defensive player to gain possession of the puck and to advance the puck up ice, and allow the game to continue without a faceoff. The present rule is a disadvantage to the defensive team providing the attacking team a faceoff. It also defeats the purpose of the present “tag-up” rule.
6-39-1
NOTE: All tournament games shall may be played under overtime policies adopted by the state high school association.
Rationale: This would allow state associations to administer their regular-season overtime procedure in order to best serve its member schools, which is currently only done for tournament games.