Situation 1
How much force must be behind a check or other contact to assess a penalty for Head Contact?
The only thing that matters is whether there was contact made to the head, face or neck of the opponent with any part of the body or equipment. Rule Reference 620(Note).
Injury can result with even minimal force when contact is made to the head area. Therefore, USA Hockey is taking a firm stance on any contact to the head area that occurs while delivering a check or making physical contact with an opponent.
If the contact was deemed to recklessly endanger the opponent, then the major plus game misconduct or match penalty options must be assessed.
Situation 2
Opposing players have fallen and in the process of getting up, one player makes accidental contact with the head area of the opponent. Must this be penalized as head contact?
No. Rule Reference 620(a).
Unless the Referee has deemed the act to be intentional or reckless, this would not be penalized provided the action was in the normal course of play and there was not excessive force used that recklessly endangered the opponent.
Situation 3
What criteria should the Referee use when assessing a major plus game misconduct penalty for head contact?
Any time the Referee deems the contact to the head area to be intentional or a reckless act, a major plus game misconduct or match penalty must be assessed. Rule Reference 620(b).
Intentional would be deemed to be when the player “targets” the head or neck area of the opponent when delivering a check.
A reckless act is when the actions of the player delivering the check clearly do not take into consideration the location on the body of the opponent where the contact is being made and uses excessive force in delivering the check to the head or neck area.
As with other dangerous actions, a major plus game misconduct or match penalty must be assessed if a player is recklessly endangered as a result of head contact.
Situation 4
What degree of force is needed for a match penalty to be assessed for head contact?
Any check using excessive force for the purpose of intimidating or punishing the opponent that makes direct contact with the head area of the opponent must be assessed as a match penalty. Rule Reference 620(c).
The onus is on the player delivering the check not to contact the head area of the opponent. When done with excessive force in a manner that recklessly endangers the opponent, the player must be held accountable for this dangerous action.
