Contents
Profile
Icing
- Sport
- Ice hockey
- German
- Unerlaubter Weitschuss
- Consequence
- Faceoff in own zone
- Exception
- Shorthanded team
- Variant
- Hybrid icing (NHL, IIHF, among others)
Icing explained simply
Icing is one of the central rules in ice hockey. It is meant to stop a team from simply relieving pressure by shooting the puck the length of the ice. The procedure is quickly explained:
- A player shoots the puck from their own half, i.e. before the red centre line.
- The puck crosses the opposing goal line (not into the goal) and is not touched by anyone.
- The linesman raises an arm and stops play.
- The following faceoff takes place in the offending team's defensive zone, right in front of its own goal.
In addition, the offending team may not change players before this faceoff. Especially after long shifts, this is a noticeable penalty.
When is it not icing?
Icing is not called if:
- the team is shorthanded, for example during a penalty (see power play),
- the puck goes into the goal (then the goal counts),
- the opposing goaltender plays the puck, or had the chance and deliberately didn't play it,
- an opponent could have played the puck before it crossed the goal line but didn't (at the linesman's discretion),
- the puck slides over the line directly from a faceoff (treated differently depending on the rulebook).
Hybrid icing: safer than the race
North America used to apply "touch icing": the whistle only blew when a defender touched the puck. This led to dangerous races into the boards and serious injuries. Europe long played "no-touch icing", which was called immediately.
Today hybrid icing is widespread, including in the NHL and the IIHF rulebook. As soon as the players reach the faceoff dots at the end of the rink, the linesman judges who would get to the puck first. If the attacker wins the race, play continues. If the defender is ahead, icing is called immediately. This keeps the battle for the puck without the injury risk of a full sprint into the boards.
Tactical significance
For defenders, icing is an emergency exit with a price: anyone who just clears the puck under pressure gets the next faceoff in front of their own goal – with the same, often tired players. Coaches often use their timeout in such moments to give the line a breather.
On the power play it's the other way round: the shorthanded team may clear the puck far up the ice. This is one of the most important tools in penalty killing.
Related rules
Icing is often confused with offside. Offside concerns the blue line when entering the attacking zone; icing concerns the red centre line and the goal line. Both rules ensure that ice hockey remains a game of build-up play and doesn't consist only of long shots.
Frequently asked questions
+When is icing called in ice hockey?
When the puck is played from your own half (behind the centre line) over the opposing goal line without a player or the goaltender touching it, and the team is not shorthanded.
+Is there icing when shorthanded?
No. A shorthanded team may clear the puck down the ice without icing being called.
+What is hybrid icing?
With hybrid icing, the linesman decides which player would win the race to the faceoff dot. If the defender is ahead, the whistle blows immediately, without both players having to race dangerously into the boards.
+Why is no line change allowed after icing?
The rule prevents teams from simply shooting the puck away to gain time or swap tired lines.
Sources & further links
Editorially researched and checked against association and rulebook information. Found a mistake? Write to us via the Contact page.
Read more in the encyclopedia
Term
Offside in ice hockey
In ice hockey, an attacker is offside if both skates cross the blue line into the attacking zone before the puck has completely crossed that line. Play resumes with a faceoff in the neutral zone.
Term
Power play and penalty killing in ice hockey
A power play means a man advantage: one team has more players on the ice because an opponent is serving a time penalty. The shorthanded team tries to get through the penalty without conceding (penalty killing).
Sport
Ice hockey
Ice hockey is a team sport on skates in which two teams, each with five skaters and a goaltender, try to put a hard rubber puck into the opposing goal with their sticks. Three periods of 20 minutes of effective playing time are played.
Term
Shootout in ice hockey
The shootout decides an ice hockey game if the score is still tied after regulation and overtime. Shooters take turns skating alone towards the goaltender. The result then shows "SO" (after shootout).