a. A minor or major penalty, at the discretion of the Referee shall be imposed on
any player who shall place his stick, knee, foot, arm, hand or elbow in such a
manner that it shall cause his opponent to trip or fall.
(NOTES)
1. If in the opinion of the Referee, a player is unquestionably
hook-checking the puck and obtains possession of it thereby
tripping the puck carrier, no penalty shall be imposed.
2. Accidental trips occurring simultaneously with or after a stoppage
of play will not be penalized.
b. When a player, in control of the puck on the opponent's side of the center red
line and having no other opponent to pass than the goalkeeper, is tripped or
otherwise fouled from behind thus preventing a reasonable scoring opportunity,
a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending side. Nevertheless, the
Referee shall not stop play until the attacking side has lost possession of the
puck to the defending side.
(NOTE)
The intention of this rule is to restore a reasonable scoring opportunity
which has been lost by reason of a foul from behind when the foul is
committed on the opponent's side of the center red line.
Control of the puck means the act of propelling the puck with the
stick. If while it is being propelled, the puck is touched by another
player or his equipment, hits the goal or goes free, the player shall
no longer be considered to be in control of the puck.
c. If, when the opposing goalkeeper has been removed from the ice, a player in
control of the puck is tripped or otherwise fouled with no opposition between
him and the opposing goal thus preventing a reasonable scoring opportunity, the
Referee shall immediately stop the play and award a goal to the attacking team.
d. A player may not deliver a check in a clipping manner, nor lower his own body
position to deliver a check on or below an opponent's knees.
A player who commits this foul will be
assessed a minor penalty for clipping. If an
injury occurs as a reesult of this clipping
check, the player must be assessed a major
and a game misconduct.
Clipping is the act of throwing the body
across or below the knee (front or back) of
an opponent; charging or falling into the
knees of an opponent after approaching him
from the behind, front, or side. An illegal low
hit is a check that is delivered by a player who may or may not have both
skates on the ice, with his sole intent to check the opponent in the area of the
knees. A player may not lower his body position to deliver a check to an
opponent's knees.
e. A minor, major, or match penalty shall be imposed on any player who knees an
opponent. A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately
knees or attempts to knee an opponent during an altercation and the
circumstances shall be reported to the Commissioner for further action. A
substitute player is permitted to replace the penalized player after five minutes of
playing time has elapsed, when the penalty is imposed under Rule 44 - Attempt
to Injure or Rule 49 - Deliberate Injury of Opponents.
