High-sticking the puck: face-off spot, line changes and goals
Rule numbers: NCAA 84.4 NCAA 93.4(b)
Batting the puck above normal shoulder height with the stick is not a penalty, but there is a whistle when the offending team, including the same player, then gets possession and control. Play continues if the puck was batted to an opponent (the referee gives the washout signal) or a defender bats it into his own goal. Cradling the puck above the shoulders also stops play. The face-off goes to whichever spot gives the offending team the least territorial advantage: where the puck was struck or where that team last played it, and an attacking-zone violation moves outside the blue line. After a defending-zone violation by the defense, the offending team may not change, except in Division I men's games. For goals, what counts is where the puck touched the stick relative to the crossbar.
The determining factor is where the puck makes contact with the stick.
- On the ice
- D1 men: the offending defending team may change. Other games: no change after its defending-zone high stick.
Example
Division I men's game. A Team B defenseman knocks down a clearing attempt with his stick above his shoulder in his own zone and plays it himself. The face-off stays in Team B's zone, and because this is D1 men, Team B may change.
Common mistake: Judging a high stick at the crossbar by the top of the stick instead of the point of contact, or refusing a D1 men's team its change.
Sources
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 84.4, pp. 101-102 (PDF pp. 104-105)
- NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 93.4(b), p. 114 (PDF p. 117)
Verified