Ice Hockey Rules Explained: Charging Penalty

The game of ice hockey can be a little bit tricky for an uneducated fan to understand. In order to understand the game, you must be familiar with the different penalties that often occur during the duration of the game. Charging is one call that often tends to confuse a fair number of fans due to the fact that it is not a penalty that is often called.

Charging occurs when a player illegally runs, jumps, or charges into an opponent. Often the rule of thumb used by referees when deciding whether or not a check is legal or whether it is a charge is if the player takes more than two full strides towards an opposing player before contact is made.

A charging penalty can be called as either a minor or a major penalty. If a referee calls it as a minor penalty, then the offending player only has to serve a two minute penalty. However, if the referee decides that the charge was malicious enough to warrant a major penalty, then the offending player will have to serve a five minute penalty. If a player injures an opponent by way of a charge, then the referee has no choice other than to give the offending player both a major penalty and a game misconduct. The player will then be forced to leave the ice and will be done for the rest of the game and the following game.

A charging penalty does not have to be called only when one player makes contact with another player. If a player decides to hit the opposing team's goalie, then a major or a minor penalty can be called on the player. It is never legal to hit a goalie in hockey, so if a goalie is hit you can usually assume that the call will either be for charging or for interference.

In order to realize that the referee has called a charging penalty, you have to be familiar with the penalty signals. The signal for a charging penalty is when the referee takes both of his hands, makes them into fists, and then rotates them around one another for a couple of seconds. He or she will do this when communicating the penalty to the scorekeeper, so be sure to watch the whole time the player is being escorted to the penalty box to ensure that you see the call.