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Rule of the Week

One short, cited card for each rule code, every week. Each card gives the rule number, a plain-English explanation and, where it applies, what happens on the ice, on the clock and on the scoresheet.

Rule cycle USA Hockey 2025-29 · NFHS 2026-27 · NCAA 2026-28 · ACHA 2026-27 Last verified

Week of November 2, 2026 · season week 5

USA Hockey 2025-29

Puck accidentally out of play: the face-off stays in that zone

Rule numbers: USAH 631(d) USAH 612(c)

In 2025-29, an accidental shot or deflection that leaves the playing area or lands on top of the net brings a last-play face-off in the zone the puck came from. So an attacking-zone shot that a defender blocks over the glass stays in the attacking zone, and a defender's pass that deflects off an attacker and out stays in the defending zone. Rule 612(c) still sends other stoppages caused by the attacking team in its attacking zone to the neutral zone, but only 'unless otherwise covered', and 631(d) is one of those rules. Deliberately shooting or batting the puck out of the playing area is still a delay-of-game minor under 610(c).

If the puck is accidentally shot or deflected out of play, or onto the goal netting, a last play face-off will occur in the zone where the puck was shot or the deflection occurred.

USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey, Rule 631(d), p. 203 (PDF p. 237)
On the ice
Face-off at the nearest end-zone spot in the zone the shot or deflection came from.

Example

A Team A forward shoots from the slot. The puck hits a Team B defender's shin pad and flies into the netting above the glass. The face-off is at the nearest end-zone spot in Team A's attacking zone (casebook 631 Situation 2).

Common mistake: Moving the face-off to the neutral zone automatically because an attacking player shot the puck, which was the 2021-25 habit.

Sources

Verified

NFHS 2026-27

Neck laceration protectors are required equipment

Rule numbers: NFHS 3-4-4 NFHS 3-3-1

Every player has to wear a neck laceration protector, unaltered from how it was made and worn the way the maker intended; it is also on the goalkeeper's list of required gear. When a skater is missing one, or it falls off with the puck in play, an official sends the player off to the bench and the game can keep moving. Play is stopped and a minor called only if the player ignores the instruction. Required gear also has to be on during warm-ups and any on-ice time between periods, so the pregame look is the easiest moment to catch a problem.

On the ice
Player sent to the bench; play continues.
Clock
A minor only if the player refuses to comply.
Scoresheet
Minor for the player only on non-compliance.

Example

A defenseman loses his neck guard during a rush up the ice. An official directs him to the bench, his team changes on the fly, and the game never stops.

Common mistake: Blowing the whistle right away for a missing neck guard, or penalizing a player who heads straight to the bench as told.

Sources

  • 2024-25 NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Book, Rule 3-3-1, p. 18
  • 2024-25 NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Book, Rule 3-4-4, p. 19-20

Verified

NCAA 2026-28

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.

NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 84.4, p. 101 (PDF p. 104)
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

Verified

ACHA 2026-27

Last five minutes: a major-versus-minor differential goes up at once

Rule numbers: NCAA 19.3 NCAA Appendix G ACHA Additions Rule 19

New in the 2026-28 NCAA book and listed in the ACHA additions for all six divisions: in the last five minutes of regulation, or at any time in overtime, when one team gets a minor (or double minor) and the other team gets a major (or match) at the same stoppage, the three-minute (or one-minute) differential is served immediately as a major. It goes on the penalty clock as 3:00 or 1:00 and is served like a major, so a goal does not end it. It also applies when coincidental penalties cancel down to that pattern, regardless of the on-ice strength. NCAA Appendix G has four worked cases.

the three-minute (or one-minute) differential shall be served immediately as a major penalty.

NCAA 2026-27 and 2027-28 Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations (IH28), Rule 19.3, p. 37 (PDF p. 40)
On the ice
The team with the major plays shorthanded for 3:00 (or 1:00).
Clock
A single 3:00 or 1:00 differential, served like a major.
Scoresheet
Record each player's full penalties; the clock shows only the differential.

Example

With 3:40 left in the third, Team A gets a minor and Team B a major at the same stoppage. A 3:00 differential goes on Team B's clock, served like a major.

Common mistake: Running the old 4-on-4 or substitution sequence late in the game, or letting a goal end the differential.

Sources

Verified

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