Hand passes, control and possession
Rule numbers: NFHS 9-4-1 NFHS 9-4-3 NFHS 9-4-4 NFHS 9-4-5 NFHS 9-4-6
Players may stop the puck with any part of the body and may move it along the ice with a hand. Handing it to a teammate is the problem: that is allowed only when both players are in their own defending zone. If a teammate is first to play a puck batted by hand anywhere else, the whistle goes and the faceoff is at the offending team's defending-zone spot. Batting the puck by hand straight at the goal also stops play immediately, with the same faceoff. Rule 9-4 also defines two terms: control means moving the puck with the stick, a hand or the feet, and possession belongs to the last player to touch the puck with stick or body. You can have possession without control, but never control without possession.
- On the ice
- Hand pass outside the defending zone: whistle, faceoff in the offending team's defending zone.
Example
A defenseman bats the puck by hand to a teammate while both stand inside their own blue line. Play goes on.
Common mistake: Taking the faceoff at the last-play spot after a hand pass, instead of the offending team's defending-zone spot.
Sources
- 2024-25 NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Book, Rule 9-4-1 to 9-4-6, p. 47
Verified