Icing (ice Hockey) - History

History

The icing rule was passed in September 1937 by the National Hockey League (NHL). It was done to eliminate a common delaying tactic used by teams to protect a winning margin. A November 18, 1931 game is cited as one extreme example that led to the ban on the practice. The New York Americans, protecting a 3-2 lead over the Boston Bruins at Boston Garden, iced the puck over 50 times. The crowd became incensed and threw debris onto the ice, causing a delay while the teams were sent to their dressing rooms. When the teams met again that December 3 in New York, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a scoreless draw.

The rule was amended in June 1951, whereby if the goaltender touched the puck, the infraction was nullified. For the 1990-91 season, the league amended it to nullify the infraction if the puck passed through or touched the goal crease when the goaltender had been removed for an extra attacker. The rule was later amended by the NHL to nullify icing if the goaltender moved towards the puck as it approached the red line.

After some teams in need of a line change (player substitution) began deliberately icing the puck to stop play, and as part of a group of important rules changes following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the NHL supplemented the icing rule prior to the 2005-06 season by not allowing the offending team to substitute players before the next faceoff, except to replace an injured player or when the goaltender must return to the net following an icing call. This change was made in an effort to speed up game play by reducing icing infractions, as well as to encourage teams to work the puck up the ice rather than taking the opportunity to rest their players. In some Junior leagues (such as the WHL), the offending team is permitted to substitute players after an icing only if the puck was shot from the neutral zone (between the defensive blue line and the red line). If the violation occurs in the defensive zone, substitution is prohibited.