Shorthanded icing now starts at Youth 15-Only and Girls 16U
Rule numbers: USAH 624(b)(1)
In the 2025-29 book a shorthanded team may ice the puck at more levels than before: High School, Adult, Youth 15-Only and older, and Girls 16U and older. In 2021-25 the exception covered only High School and Adult. The test is whether the shooting team is below its opponent's on-ice strength when the puck is shot. The casebook confirms the timing: icing is judged the instant the puck leaves the stick, not when it crosses the goal line. So if a penalty is still running when the shot is taken, there is no icing, even if the penalized player is back on the ice before the puck crosses the line. At 14U and younger, and Girls 14U and younger, a shorthanded team that ices the puck is still called for icing.
The offending team is short-handed (below the on-ice numerical strength of their opponent) when the puck is shot.
- On the ice
- Shorthanded team at 15-Only/Girls 16U and above: icing is waved off. At 14U and younger: icing stands.
- Clock
- Compare the penalty clock with the moment the puck was shot; a shot before the penalty expires is not icing.
Example
16U Tier II game. Team A is killing a minor with one second left. A Team A defender shoots from behind the red line and the puck crosses Team B's goal line after the penalty has expired. No icing, because Team A was shorthanded when the shot was released (casebook 624 Situation 18).
Common mistake: Calling icing on a shorthanded 15-Only, 16U or Girls 16U team out of 2021-25 habit, or judging shorthanded status when the puck crosses the goal line instead of when it is shot.
Sources
- USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey, Rule 624(b)(1), p. 196 (PDF p. 230)
- USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey, Casebook Rule 624 Situation 18, p. 288 (PDF p. 322)
- USA Hockey 2025-29 Rule Change Summary, Rule 624(b)
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