sportsjabber.net

One of the penalties that I along with many others hate is rule 63 (Delaying the Game). More specifically the part that talks about a player recieving a penalty for shooting the puck over the glass.

“When any player or goalkeeper, while in his defending zone, shoots *the puck directly (non-deflected) out of the playing surface, except where there is no glass, a penalty shall be assessed for delaying the game.”

On one hand, I can see where the league is coming from. They don’t want players deliberately shooting the puck over the glass to prevent scoring opportunities, and allow their team a chance to recuperate. But nothing is more deflating then seeing a guy who’s just trying to flip the puck down the ice, only to have it go over the glass.

The penalty, 2 minutes…which may not sound like much, if you don’t watch hockey. But for those who watch with any regularity, you know that it can be a tense 2 minutes, if your team was assessed the penalty.

So whats the solution?

Personally I think it should be treated like an icing penalty, with the team whose  assessed the delay of game having to keep the same players on the ice, while the other team is free to switch lines if the want. Or perhaps you set it up so that it’s up to the refs digression, if he thinks the delay was intentional or not. But 2 mins for an accident is a bit too much, which is why its so unpopular.