September 3, 2007

NCAA Issues Directive

Note: This directive is issued by the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee.

Opening Statement

In the summer of 2004, the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee, conference commissioners and supervisors of officials developed a directive to call the rules book as written. The consensus at the time was that the style of play at the college level had reached a point at which a major correction to the game was needed.

The hockey community as a whole should be commended for the progress made during the past three seasons to reward the speed and skill that make the game one of the most exciting to view and play.  Game officials, coaches and conference staff in particular have worked hard to improve the enforcement of the rules book and bring back a more exciting style of play.

2007-08 Directive

This summer, the rules committee met and discussed the overall level of rule enforcement on a national level in an ongoing attempt to ensure consistency across the country. Since this is not a year that the committee is making rules changes due to the two-year rules book, the committee is sending this directive to guide the community as the season approaches. The group continued to focus on restraining fouls and gained advantages in the scope of past NCAA directives as well as addressing new issues. 

This NCAA directive is not intended to be taken as an absolute literal "zero tolerance" document. It should be noted that this directive is different from those produced by the National Hockey League, USA Hockey and other organizations.

To help guide officials, here are a number of elements the rules committee places in high regard:

  • 1) Players who use illegal tactics to take away a legally-gained advantage from an opponent must be penalized.
  • 2) The integrity of the play in question must be considered. Impeding is a critical ingredient when determining restraining fouls.
  • 3) Situational standards of officiating (when a team is even strength or shorthanded; when a team has had a number of penalties in a row already called on it; when the game is tied late or in overtime; etc.) must not come into play when administering this directive.
  • 4) To continue to protect the safety of the student-athletes, rules relating to chinstraps and mouthpieces must be rigorously enforced. Concussions and injuries that occur when head gear becomes dislodged are significantly reduced when players are equipped properly.

The rules committee's expectation is to have a consistent standard of enforcement across all levels of NCAA Ice Hockey. The rules committee's goal is to have a consistent level of enforcement across all conferences and from official to official. There is one rulebook and that is the guiding document for all officials regardless league affiliation.

In evaluations and during pre-season clinics, officials and conferences are asked to pay particular attention to the level of enforcement and work to be consistent from official to official.

Important areas of continued enforcement and understanding

The committee appreciates the strides that have been made in several areas of the rules book and points to changes in behavior that have occurred as a result of recent points of emphasis and strict adherence to the rules. These points are:

•1)      Hitting From Behind. Two years ago, the committee focused on these dangerous fouls and decided to severely penalize these actions. Referees and conferences have supported the committee's stance and behavior most certainly has changed. The committee considered a lesser penalty before last season but decided it would send the wrong message. While progress has been made, these penalties occur in the game and must continue to be penalized with a minimum of a major penalty and a game misconduct or disqualification penalty.

•2)      Receivable Pass. The committee approved this rule in the hope to continue the flow of play and encourage more offensive-minded passes. Results thus far remain mixed with this rule. The committee issued a memorandum to assist officials with approved rulings when adjudicating this rule in October 2006. These rulings remain in effect and should be reviewed before the season.

•3)      Faceoff Procedures. In some instances, conferences used a procedure that differed slightly from what is written in the rules book when conducting faceoffs. This became somewhat problematic during the post-season tournaments. Conferences and officials are reminded that all faceoffs must be conducted according to the rules book without exception.

2007-08 Season Points of Emphasis

The committee discussed several aspects of the game and is emphasizing the following to officials, coaches and administrators:

•1)      Standard of Enforcement. The committee is generally pleased with the overall standard of enforcement, which is intended to allow for the speed and skill of the game to be rewarded. However, the group also believes embellishment is becoming a tactic used to take advantage of stricter enforcement and urges coaches and conferences to address this issue if possible. Additionally, the NCAA standard of enforcement will continue to focus on simplifying the understanding of the standard and encourage a consistent, strict level of enforcement relating to impeding and obstruction fouls that take away a gained advantage.

•2)      Goalkeeper Freezing the Puck (Rule 4-7-e, Page HR-47). This was a point of emphasis last season with limited success. The committee firmly believes there are too many stoppages granted to goalkeepers when play should continue.

•3)      Change of Players (Rule 2-5-b, HR-25). The committee believes the line change procedure, which was implemented to speed player changes and limit dead time in the game, has become relaxed in recent seasons. Officials must follow this protocol as listed in the rules book.

•4)      National anthem (Rule 8-2-e, HR-93). For the image of the game and respect for our nation, the committee asks coaches to instruct players to remain motionless throughout the national anthem(s), just as those in the crowd are asked to be respectful. As a reminder, if a color guard is present, players are to remain on the blue line until the color guard has left the ice surface.

Interpretation of a Distinct Kicking Motion

The group had considerable discussion on the difference between directing, deflecting and kicking a puck into the goal. Again, the rules have not changed for 2007-08, but several officials and coaches have different interpretations of how this rule should be adjudicated.

To assist with this, the committee approved the following definition of a distinct kicking motion: "A distinct kicking motion is defined as the skate moving toward the goal line."

This interpretation does not alter any wording that is currently in the rules book, but it is the group's hope that adding this language in the future will assist officials, coaches and players to understand this rule.

Closing

The committee will continue to go in the direction of improving our game's rules to encourage the speed and skill of our remarkable student-athletes. Scoring chances - not necessarily goals scored - are a driving force in the committee's rules discussions and decisions. This directive is an important piece of the way the committee believes the game should be.