Hand passes and high sticks: the ACHA version
Rule numbers: NCAA 84.2 NCAA 84.4 ACHA Additions 84, 84.3/84.4
Hand passes between teammates inside their own defending zone are allowed to continue; the zone is judged by where the puck is when the passer and the receiver each touch it. For a high stick on the puck by the defending team in its defending zone, the NCAA book allows the offending team to change only in Division I men's games, but the ACHA additions permit the change in all six ACHA divisions. The ACHA additions also set the face-off after a hand-pass or high-stick violation at the closest dot to where the violation happened that gives the offending team the least territorial gain. When the ACHA document and the NCAA book differ, follow the ACHA document in ACHA games.
Play will not be stopped for any hand pass by players in their own defending zone.
- On the ice
- Defending-zone hand pass: play on. Defending-zone high stick by the defense: that team may change in ACHA games.
Example
ACHA Women's Division 1 game. A defender knocks the puck down with a high stick in her own zone and plays it herself. Play is stopped, and her team may still change before the face-off under the ACHA additions.
Common mistake: Refusing the line change in a non-D1 ACHA game because the NCAA book limits it to Division I men.
Sources
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 84.2-84.4, pp. 101-102 (PDF pp. 104-105)
- ACHA: 2026 NCAA Major Ice Hockey Rule Changes and ACHA Additions (updated 8/27/2026), Rule 84, Rule 84.4, Rule 84.3/84.4, p. 4-5
Verified