SPHL announces Rule Changes for the 2008-2009 Regular Season
October 22, 2008 - SPHL (SPHL) News Release
Commissioner Jim Combs has announced that the SPHL Board of Governors has adopted several additional rule changes that along with the Hybrid Icing rule that was tested during the exhibition games that will be in effect for the 2008-2009 regular season.
Hybrid Icing
The SPHL's icing rule eliminates the use of automatic icing and is intended to encourage competitive play while providing the skill development required by the touch Icing rule used in higher level professional leagues for our players, and officials. It is also intended to address perceived safety issues of the touch icing rule.
Under the SPHL Hybrid Icing rule.
1)Â Â Â The teams must be equal strength at the time the puck is shot.
2)Â Â Â The puck having been shot from a player's defensive side of the Center Red Line must completely cross the goal line without the defending team having an opportunity to play the puck.
3)Â Â Â The goaltender must NOT make an attempt or fake an attempt to play the puck during an icing. He shall not however be penalized for the act of playing goal.
Examples:
a)Â Â Â Guarding the edge of the net or post as the puck crosses through the crease.
b)Â Â Â Retreating into the crease after establishing a position outside of the crease for the purpose of cutting down the angle.
Icing shall be considered complete once the front linesman determines who would have touched the puck first.
This decision shall be made by the end-zone face off dot (an imagery line across the ice connecting through the end-zone dots.) The decision the official makes in any icing situation is to determine "WHO WOULD HAVE REACHED/TOUCHED THE PUCK FIRST." Once determined, the icing shall be waived or completed (whistle blown).Â
The linesmen will NOT blow the whistle until a defending player reaches the face off dot. This makes our icing rule more consistent, for time purposes.
If players from opposite teams a tie in the chase for the puck or the linesmen is not clearly able to determine who would have touched the puck first icing shall be called.
Again- this is NOT a race to the dots - just ask yourself- who would have touched the puck 1st- this determination shall be made by the face-off dots.
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Minor and Double Minor Penalties Assessed in Overtime
Recognizing that overtime periods are of shorter duration than the three twenty (20) minute regulation time periods, the SPHL has adjusted the length of penalties for both minor and double minor penalties assessed in overtime. The time of major penalties and misconduct penalties will not be reduced in overtime.
Accordingly, for a minor penalty, any player, other than a goalkeeper, shall be ruled off the ice for two (2) minutes in regulation time or for one (1) minute in overtime during which time no substitute shall be permitted.
Double minor penalties which are four (4) minutes in length during regulation time will be of two (2) minutes duration during overtime.
Additionally if a player is still serving a minor or double minor penalty at the end of regulation time, the player will be required to serve only half of the time remaining on the penalty commencing with the start of overtime.
Fighting/Jersey Removal
In order to help reduce the amount of time it sometimes takes to resume play after fighting altercations and to reduce overt actions that may incite additional or continued altercations the SPHL has strengthened one part of the rule on fighting.
The new rule requires that a ten (10) minute misconduct penalty be assessed to any player or goalkeeper who engages in a fight and whose jersey is removed (completely off his torso ) unless the jersey is removed as a result of the actions of an opponent in the altercation or by an official in breaking up the altercation.
Delay of Game
The new rule change in the area of delay of game is intended to reduce unnecessary stoppages in play and to create additional scoring opportunities throughout the game.
Thus, when any player or goalkeeper while in his defending zone, shoots the puck directly, without deflection, out of the playing surface, except where there is no glass, a penalty will be assessed for delaying the game. This penalty will not apply when the puck is shot into the players' bench unless the puck is shot over the glass 'behind' the players' bench and then a delay of game penalty will be assessed.
Face-off Locations
Again to encourage offense as well as help discourage players from committing penalties, the face-off location after many penalties will be automatically moved into the offending teams' end of the ice.
The rule change requires that when players are penalized resulting in time being placed on the penalty time clock to only one team, the ensuing face-off shall be conducted at one of the two face-off spots in the offending teams' end zone.
Thus, most single penalty situations will require that the subsequent face-off will be moved into the offending team's end of the ice regardless of where the penalty occurred with one exception as follows:
If a puck goes out of bounds immediately after a shot or a deflection by either team off a goal post, crossbar, any player or official the subsequent face-off shall always be conducted in the end zone at the nearest face-off spot.
The SPHL "The Leader in Single A Hockey" is committed to providing our fans with ongoing innovation in all aspects of the game while providing the best product in all of Single A hockey.
SPHL Stories from October 22, 2008
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- SPHL announces Rule Changes for the 2008-2009 Regular Season - SPHL
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