Icing
Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across both the red line and the opposing team's goal line without the puck going into the net. When icing occurs, a linesman stops play. Play is resumed with a faceoff in the defending zone of the team that committed the infraction.
In European professional leagues and most amateur leagues worldwide, play is stopped for icing once the puck crosses the goal line. This is called automatic or no-touch icing.
In the NHL and other North American professional leagues, a player on the opposing team other than the goaltender must touch the puck to cause the stoppage of play. If the puck is first touched by the goaltender or a player on the team that iced the puck, icing is washed out (canceled) and play continues. The NHL icing rule can lead to high-speed races for the puck. While an icing call is pending, the linesman raises an arm to indicate that a potential icing call may be made. If the icing is washed out, the official lowers his arm and gives the washout signal (extending both arms sideways from the body at shoulder height).
Icing is always washed out in the following situations:
- The team committing the icing is shorthanded
- The linesman believes a player on the opposing team could have played the puck before it crossed the goal line.
- In the NHL, the linesman deems the icing is the result of an attempted receivable pass.
Rationale
The icing rule was introduced to prevent instances where teams facing a much stronger opponent often resorted to pure defense, simply shooting the puck up the ice every time they gained possession, resulting in an unexciting spectacle. Some teams also adopted this tactic to waste time when they were ahead late in the game, especially if the score was still close. The NHL instituted the icing rule on March 13, 1939.
The rule was modified prior to the start of the 2005–2006 NHL season to further discourage the offending team from "icing the puck". Players from a team which has iced the puck are not allowed to be substituted off the ice before the next faceoff. Teams often would ice the puck to gain a stoppage in play when the team is in need of a line change (substituting its players) due to fatigue. In an attempt to speed up game play, the NHL adopted this rule, hoping the added consequence would reduce the number of icing infractions.
