Officials 2023 – Module 6 Types of Penalties – Topic 6 Major Penalties

RULE 20.1 – MAJOR PENALTY

A Major Penalty shall be imposed on any Player who commits a physical foul and who recklessly endangers the fouled Player in a way that at the discretion of the Referee such Player would not be sufficiently sanctioned by imposing a Minor or Double-minor Penalty.

Such assessment of reckless endangerment shall be based on the severity of the infraction, severity of the contact, the degree of violence and the general reprehensibility involved.

For the first (1st) Major Penalty in any one game, the offender, except the Goalkeeper, shall be ruled off the ice for five (5) minutes during which time no substitute shall be permitted.

When one Player receives a Major Penalty and a Minor Penalty at the same time, the Major Penalty shall be served first by the penalized Player (or substitute for the Goalkeeper), except under Rule 19.2 – Coincidental Major Penalties are in effect, in which case the Minor Penalty will be recorded and served first.

RULE 20.2 –  SHORT-HANDED

Although a Major Penalty does cause a Team to be “short-handed”, the penalized Player serving the Major Penalty does not leave the Penalty Box when the opposing Team scores a goal. The Player must wait for the entire Major Penalty to expire before they are permitted to exit the Penalty Box.

RULE 20.3 – SUBSTITUTION

When a Player has been assessed a Major Penalty and has been removed from the game or is injured, the offending Team must place a substitute in the Penalty Box immediately. They may then legally exit the Penalty Box when the Major Penalty has expired.

If the Player has been assessed Minor Penalties in addition to the Major Penalty that must also be served on the penalty time clock, the offending Team must place a substitute in the Penalty Box immediately.

RULE 20.4 – AUTOMATIC GAME MISCONDUCT

An “Automatic Game Misconduct” shall be applied to any Player who has been assessed a second Major Penalty, or a second Misconduct Penalty in the same game. An “Automatic Game Misconduct” shall also be applicable whenever a Player is assessed a Major Penalty for any of the infractions listed in the Reference Tables.

When a Major and “Automatic Game Misconduct” are assessed, the Player shall be ruled off the ice for the balance of the game, but a substitute shall be permitted to replace the suspended Player after five (5) minutes have elapsed.

RULE 20.7 – REPORTS

The Referee is required to report all major penalties and the surrounding circumstances to the Proper Authorities immediately following the game in which they occur.

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