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Delayed off-side: tag up and re-enter

Two attackers are already in the zone when the puck is dumped in. The defending team can play the puck out, so the linesperson signals a delayed off-side. Once every attacker has touched the blue line, the arm comes down and Home can forecheck. ACHA uses the same NCAA Men's D-I rule.

Rule cycle NCAA 2026-28 rules (IH28) Last verified

Top-down rink diagram: Delayed off-side: tag up and re-enterTwo attackers are already in the zone when the puck is dumped in. The defending team can play the puck out, so the linesperson signals a delayed off-side. Once every attacker has touched the blue line, the arm comes down and Home can forecheck. ACHA uses the same NCAA Men's D-I rule.
Home (filled)Away (outlined)Referee (orange band)LinespersonPuck Rules: NCAA · Officials: 4-official (2 referees, 2 linespersons) · Home defends the left goal. Officials' positions are illustrative; rulebooks do not fix exact positions.
HOME
2
--
PERIOD 3
AWAY
2

Home penalties

Away penalties

Scoresheet: penalties

PerTeamNo.InfractionMinTime
No scoresheet entry yet.

What happens

  1. 0.2 s
    Ice: Home #22 and #19 are already over the Away blue line, ahead of the puck.
    NCAA 86.1
  2. 1.5 s
    Ice: Home #12 dumps the puck from the neutral zone into the attacking zone.
  3. 1.9 s
    Official: Linesperson raises the non-whistle arm: delayed off-side. No whistle, because Away can bring the puck out without pressure.
    Clock: Running.
    NCAA 86.3 NCAA 86.5
  4. 3.8 s
    Ice: Away #5 gets the puck. Until the zone is clear, Home may not touch the puck, go after a loose puck, or pressure #5.
    NCAA 86.3
  5. 5.5 s
    Ice: Home #19 and then #22 touch the blue line with a skate. No attackers are left in the zone.
    NCAA 86.3 (1)
  6. 5.6 s
    Official: Linesperson drops the arm. The off-side is cancelled.
    Clock: Never stopped.
    Scoresheet: Nothing to record.
    NCAA 86.3
  7. 6.5 s
    Ice: Home re-enters legally and forechecks.
  8. 8.5 s
    Ice: What if: if a Home player had played the puck or pressured #5 before the zone cleared, the linesperson would blow the whistle. If this dump-in had gone into the net, the goal would not count.
    NCAA 86.3 NCAA 86.4 NCAA 86.5 (face-off locations)

Rules behind this play

  • NCAA 86.1 Attackers may not enter the attacking zone ahead of the puck. The skates decide, not the stick. NCAA Ice Hockey Rules 2026-27 & 2027-28 (IH28), pp.103-104
  • NCAA 86.3 Delayed off-side: the linesperson keeps the arm up. The off-side is cancelled when every attacker has cleared the zone (skate contact with the blue line counts) or when the defending team moves the puck out into the neutral zone. IH28 pp.104-105
  • NCAA 86.4 If the shot that caused the delayed off-side ends up in the net, the goal is disallowed. IH28 p.105
  • ACHA 2026-27 Rules Review Notice All ACHA men's and women's divisions use the NCAA Men's Division I rules from the 2026-28 NCAA rule book. ACHA notice dated 2026-09-21
  • USAH 630(d) (2025-29 change) USA Hockey now allows delayed (tag-up) off-side for Youth 15-Only and older and Girls 16U and older. USA Hockey 2025-29 Playing Rule Change Summary

Rink markings for this code

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