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Fouled from Behind

Situation 1

What criteria must be met in order for a penalty shot to be assessed when a player on a breakaway is fouled from behind by an opponent?

1)    The fouled player has possession and control of the puck.

2)    The fouled player is beyond his Defending Zone.

3)    The fouled player has no opponent to pass except the goalkeeper.

4)    The fouled player is fouled from behind (beyond his peripheral vision).

5)    The fouled player has been denied a reasonable scoring opportunity. This includes situations where the foul committed has denied the fouled player the ability to make a reasonable attempt to score.

Rule References 616(Note 1 & Note 2)

All of these criteria need to be met in order to award a penalty shot. If one or more are not met, then the appropriate penalty shall be assessed in the normal manner.

Situation 2

The goalkeeper skates out of his goal crease to meet an attacking player on a breakaway. The attacking player gets completely around the goalkeeper, in possession and in control of the puck with no one between himself and the open goal, and he is pulled down from behind by the goalkeeper. What penalty should be assessed?

A penalty shot. Rule Reference 616(a).

For a goal to be awarded, the goalkeeper must have been removed from the ice. The fact that the goalkeeper was not in his goal crease has no bearing on the play. He is still considered to be “on the ice.”

Situation 3

With the opposing goalkeeper on the ice, a player in his Attacking Zone has a breakaway and is fouled from behind. He gets up and takes an unimpeded shot on the goal. Should a penalty shot be awarded?

No. Rule Reference 616(a).

The player, once he regains possession and control of the puck, has not been denied a reasonable scoring opportunity. A minor penalty is the correct call in this situation.

Situation 4

A player on a breakaway with the opposing goalkeeper off the ice is clearly fouled from behind. The Referee determines that an awarded goal situation has occurred, but inadvertently does not stop play until it ends when the non-offending team scores a goal. What is the proper procedure for the Referee to follow in this situation?

Once the Referee has determined that an awarded goal situation has occurred, the non-offending team is entitled to a goal immediately, regardless of what occurs after the infraction, even if the Referee fails to stop play. The fouled player is credited with a goal in this case, even if another teammate subsequently scores. Rule Reference 616(b).

Also, since play is to be stopped immediately in an awarded goal situation, the time that has elapsed between the infraction and the actual stoppage must be added back to the remaining time left to be played in that period. Since an awarded goal situation is such a rare occurrence, it would not be unusual for a Referee to fail to stop play immediately, remembering that in every other penalty situation the play is permitted to continue until the offending team gains possession and control of the puck.