When a power-play goal lets a player out
Rule numbers: NCAA 16.2 NCAA 18.2 NCAA 20.2
Rule 16.2 gives two tests. Is the team scored against short-handed, meaning below the opponent's strength on the ice? And is it serving a minor penalty that is on the clock? If both are true, the minor with the least time on the clock ends, except when coincidental penalties are being served. Coincident minors to both teams do not make either side short-handed. A major is never ended by a goal; that player waits for the whole penalty to expire. For a double minor, a goal during the first minor wipes out what is left of it and the second minor starts immediately. A goal scored on a penalty shot releases no one. If two minors on one team end together, the captain says who returns first.
No penalty shall expire when a goal is scored against a team on a penalty shot.
- Clock
- Remove the minor with the least time left; majors stay; a double minor jumps to its second half.
- Scoresheet
- Penalties stay recorded at full length.
Example
Team B has B3 serving a minor with 0:45 left and B8 serving a major with 3:10 left. Team A scores. B3 is released; B8 stays, so Team B is still a player short for the rest of the major.
Common mistake: Releasing a player after a goal at even strength, or letting a goal shorten a major.
Sources
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 16.2, pp. 35-36 (PDF pp. 38-39)
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 18.2, p. 36 (PDF p. 39)
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 20.2, p. 38 (PDF p. 41)
Verified