Hockey Fundamentals: Common Penalties

If you haven’t been able to tell from previous posts, I really love hockey. Specifically, the Detroit Red Wings.

In fact, as I write this, I’m wearing a Red Wings sweater while watching them play the Pittsburgh Penguins. (We won.)

However, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, I used to really dislike hockey.

The NHL season goes from October to June, and each team typically plays three times a week. That meant I lost my boyfriend for three nights per week for a solid nine months out of the year while he watched the games with his roommates.

“You realize you could watch it with us, right?” he asked me one night.

But why would I watch the sport with them if I didn’t know any of the rules?

Once Sean taught me the basics, we started watching together and it became our “thing.”

Now I’m obsessed, and  wanted to bring this appreciation to more people by offering some hockey fundamentals.

The first of these posts is about penalties.

These are really important to understand, because it provides a basic understanding of what you can and cannot do during the game.

These fifteen are the most common penalties; there are many more, but you can see any of these several times in any given game.

I’ll show two GIFs per penalty: one of me demonstrating the hand signal the referees use, and another one with an example from an NHL game.

Please note that these explanations are the very general definitions of the penalties; there are a lot of clauses that change the rules in specific instances, so take these with a grain of salt.

Boarding

Called for any action that causes an opponent to be thrown violently into the boardsExample:

Charging

Taking a run at an opposing player using more than three strides to build up speedExample:

Cross Checking

A check or block delivered by a player with both hands on the stick and no part of the stick on the iceExample:

Elbowing

Called when a player uses an elbow to impede a playerExample:

High Sticking

Making contact with an opponent while carrying the stick above shoulder heightExample:

Holding

Clutching an opposing player’s body with the hands, arms, or legsExample:

Hooking

The use of the stick or blade to impede the progress of an opponentExample:

Interference

When a player impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puckExample:

Kneeing

Called when a player uses a knee to impede an opponentExample:

Misconduct

10-minute or disqualification penalty for excessive or additional misbehavior on the iceExample:

Roughing

Called for engaging in fisticuffs or shovingExample:

Slashing

Striking an opposing player with the stickExample:

Spearing

Called for using the stick like a spearExample:

Tripping

Called for using the stick, arm, or leg to cause an opponent to trip or fallExample:

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Called for unsportsmanlike actions such as disputing an official’s decision, grabbing the face mask of a player, etc.Example:All penalty explanations c/o the Grand Rapids Griffins

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What do you think? Could you learn to love hockey? What don’t you understand about hockey?