What is icing in hockey? Icing is when a player fires the puck from their side of the rink right across to the red line on the opposite side. -without it being touched en route or scoring a goal (there are a few exceptions for this well explore later).
Why does it exist?
The rule is in place to make sure that the puck gets into a team’s zone by making giant passes. It’ll improve game quality and give people something fun to watch. The icing rule doesn’t just add strategy to the game; it also helps keep players engaged by reducing time-wasting.
Example of Icing
Icing occurs when a player shoots the puck from behind their own goal line and over to an opposing team’s side of play – without any other person touching it.
Exceptions to the rule
The puck is basically dead in ice hockey. There are some exceptions, like when a team has fewer players than their opponents or if something goes into the goal while they’re shooting at it (like an awesome own goal). If you shoot with nobody else on your side of center ice then there will always be another player between yourself and whatever barrier.
If you’re on the ice and someone else has it, they can take your spot any time. So be careful where that puck goes. Icing is usually a good idea in this situation because with fewer players available to protect our net we need all of them upfront protecting against an attack or two while still having enough manpower leftover for the offense if necessary (or at least trying). It is often a good idea to fire the puck away from an opponent when he or she has your attention and you don’t have much chance at making any plays.
Icing is waived in the following situations:
- The puck enters the goal
- The puck is ice from a player during a face-off
- The goaltender leaves his crease and moves towards the puck (international rule outside of US hockey).
- The linesman believes the opposing team could have played the puck before it cross the line.
- The team making the play is shorthanded.
Consequences of Icing
The whistle is blown due to an icing call, resulting in the other team getting penalized with a face-off on their side of play. This isn’t much penalty but can be risky territory for them since there’s close proximity between goal and enemy net– giving pause before taking any risks while scoring possible goals if they win this fight. Getting an icing call is not the worst thing that can happen to a team – it’s pretty trivial as infractions go. But with each call, you risk your opponents winning a face-off and scoring a goal.
The Three Variations
Icing has three common variations:
- Touch icing
- No-touch or automatic icing
- Hybrid icing
Touch icing occurs when the puck leaves its original position and touches an opposing player. This causes the referee to call icings since it is considered lingering in one spot too long, which ends up giving them possession of that area if not taken back immediately.
No-touch icing happens in most professional leagues where the goal is automatic once a puck crosses over. There’s no need for players to stop play and call an icing unless they want to.
The first thing you need to know about hybrid icing is that it’s more complex. With this type of stopping method, the opposing player must make contact with their skate before reaching a face-off dot (instead of skating over). This is the icing method in most top divisions like the NHL, AHL, and IIHF rules. The rules were switched to hybrid icing for the 2013-14 NHL season and beyond.
Icing in your league
The icing rule for non-pro hockey varies by league. Some leagues enforce a “no-touch” policy, in which they call an immediate stop as soon the puck crosses over into their goal area and regardless if someone else touches it first or not.
