Penalties in hockey: minors, majors, misconducts and fighting rules

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Penalties shape hockey games more than in most sports, because a team that takes one plays a player short. Knowing the different types of penalty, how long each lasts and what ends a power play makes the game far easier to follow. This guide uses the NHL rulebook; amateur and international leagues differ in places, especially on fighting.

Minor penalties: two minutes

A minor penalty sends the offending player to the box for two minutes and leaves his team shorthanded.

Common minors include tripping, hooking, holding, slashing, interference, high-sticking, roughing and delay of game, such as shooting the puck over the glass from the defensive zone.
The power play ends early if the team with the advantage scores, and the penalised player returns to the ice.
Bench minors are given to the team rather than a player, for example for too many men on the ice, and are served by a player the coach chooses.

Double minors: four minutes

A double minor is two consecutive minors, totalling four minutes. A common example is a high stick that draws blood, at the referee's discretion. If the team on the power play scores during the first two minutes, only the first minor ends and the second begins. A goal in the second half ends the penalty.

Major penalties: five minutes

A major penalty lasts five minutes and the offending team plays shorthanded for the full time, no matter how many goals the other team scores.

Fighting is the most common major.
Other fouls, such as boarding, charging or high-sticking, can be called as majors when they are more serious or cause injury.
Certain majors bring an automatic game misconduct as well.

Misconducts and game misconducts

These remove a player without leaving his team shorthanded, unless they come with a minor or major.

Misconduct. The player sits for ten minutes, usually for abuse of officials or unsportsmanlike behaviour. A teammate replaces him on the ice straight away.
Game misconduct. The player is ejected for the rest of the game, and further discipline can follow.
Match penalty. The most serious call, for deliberately injuring or attempting to injure an opponent. The player is ejected, his team serves a five-minute shorthanded penalty, and he is suspended until the league reviews the incident.

Fighting

Fighting is penalised but not banned in the NHL, which surprises many new fans.

Two players who fight normally both receive five-minute majors. Because the penalties are equal they cancel out and neither team goes shorthanded.
A player judged the instigator receives an extra two-minute minor and a ten-minute misconduct on top of the fighting major. The rulebook lists signs of instigation such as distance travelled, dropping gloves first and throwing the first punch.
A player who instigates in the last five minutes of regulation or in overtime receives a game misconduct as well and faces an automatic suspension pending a league review.
An aggressor who keeps punching an opponent who can no longer defend himself is given a game misconduct.

Fighting has become much less common than in past decades, and it is banned outright in most junior, college, women's and international hockey, where it leads to ejection.

Coincidental penalties and four-on-four

When players from both teams take penalties at the same time, they often cancel out. If one minor is called on each team at the same stoppage, both teams usually play four-on-four for two minutes. A team can never be reduced below three skaters; further penalties are stacked and start when an earlier one ends.

Delayed penalties and penalty shots

Delayed penalty. When the non-offending team has the puck, the referee raises an arm but lets play continue until the offending team touches it. Meanwhile the team in possession usually pulls its goaltender for an extra attacker.
Penalty shot. If a player on a clear breakaway is fouled from behind and loses a scoring chance, he may be awarded a one-on-one attempt against the goaltender.

Following penalties in a game

A referee's raised arm with no whistle means a delayed penalty is coming.
The penalty clock on the scoreboard shows how long each player has left in the box.
Listen to the arena announcer, who names the player, the offence and its length after each call.

What penalty call do you think referees get wrong most often? Share your view in the comments.