1. Rule of the Week - Interference
2. Issues of the Week - Face-off spot- Off goal post
3. Out of the Ordinary- Hooking the stick or stick press
4. Ref Focus- Whistle before the face-offs
1. INTERFERENCE
RULE 53
53.1 Interference - A strict standard on acts of interference must be adhered to in all
areas of the rink.
Body Position: Body position shall be determined as the player skating in front of or beside his opponent, traveling in the same direction. A player who is behind an opponent, who does not have the puck, may not use his stick, body, or free hand in order to restrain his opponent, but must skate in order to gain or reestablish his proper position in order to make a legal play. A player is allowed the space in which he is standing (body position) and is not required to move in order to let an opponent
proceed.
A player may “block” the path of an opponent provided he is in front of his opponent and moving in the same direction. Moving laterally and without establishing body position, then
making contact with the non-puck carrier is not permitted and will be penalized as interference. A player is always entitled to use his body position to lengthen an opponent’s path to the puck, provided his stick is not utilized (to make himself “bigger” and therefore considerably lengthening the distance his opponent must travel to get where he is going); his free hand is not used and he does not take advantage of his body position to deliver an otherwise illegal check.
Pick: A “pick” is the action of a player who checks or otherwise illegally prohibits the movement of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck. A player delivering a “pick” is one who moves into an opponent’s path without initially having body position, thereby taking him out of the play. When this is done, an interference penalty shall be assessed.
Free Hand: When a free hand is used to hold, pull, tug, grab, or physically restrain an opponent from moving freely, this must be penalized as holding. The free hand may be used by a player to “fend
off” an opponent or his stick, but may not be used to hold an opponent’s stick or body.
In the video below, please disregard the clips on body checking... no checking is allowed in inline hockey... Also, please notice in the video that body contact is allowed in regards to positioning for the puck.
VIDEO
2. FACE OFF SPOT - Off goal post
Any time the puck is shot by the attacking team in the defending zone, and it hits the goal posts without touching anyone of the defending team and goes out of play. The face-off will take place at center court. The AAU manual does not specifically mention this. But, anytime the attacking team puts the puck out of play, the face-off comes to center court.
I got clarification from the head official at AUU Joel Louer....
"The faceoff comes outside if it's off the goal post. The NHL keeps it down low but just started that last season. The new AAU/AIHL might add that when they revise and print the new rulebook next year but for now it comes outside."
When and if this change is added to the 2015 rule book, I will advise everyone.
3. HOOKING OR REVERSE STICK CHECK
This had been an issue for some players and came up for conversation on Wednesday night. The main issue is the reverse stick press. Turning the stick blade over on top of an opponents stick. The rule in question is rule 52.1 Hooking.
Hooking is the act of using either end of the stick in a manner that
enables a player to restrain an opponent.
When a player is checking another in such a way that there is only stick-to-stick
contact, such action is not to be penalized as hooking.
Turning the stick blade over on top of the stick of an opponent for the purpose of pressing the stick and preventing the opponent from playing the puck is also allowable. If done, it must be on the lower portion of the stick and for the sole purpose of preventing the opponent from playing the puck. However, if done in a manner that impedes the progress of an opponent, or contact is made higher up on the stick, a penalty for hooking should be assessed.
I sough clarification and confirmation on this so as to make it clear that a reverse stick press is NOT a hooking penalty.
Per Joel Louer head official at AAU:
"Stick on stick should never be considered hooking unless it gets up in the hands."
Still not seeing this done by some ref's... Please remember to single with your whistle 5 seconds before you drop the puck.
Whistle
73.3 Procedure -
As soon as the line change procedure has been completed by the Referee and he lowers his hand to indicate no further changes, the Referee conducting the face-off shall blow his whistle. This will signal to both teams that they have no more than five (5) seconds to line up for the ensuing face-off. At the end of the five (5) seconds (or sooner if both centers are ready), the Referee will conduct a proper face-off.
