Icing (ice hockey) facts for kids

Icing in ice hockey is a rule the happens when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the other team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched but it is not icing if the player shoots the puck from behind the halfway line of the ice into the goal. If the goal went into the net it would be counted as a goal. There is also automatic or no-touch icing which is used mostly in lower-level professional hockey leagues like the ECHL and Central Hockey League, It was enforced in 1990 after Luděk Čajka, a Czech player rushed to get to the puck in an icing situation, he crashed into the boards, suffered severe spinal injuries, and died a few weeks later. Sometimes the goaltender will raise his hand for icing also.

If icing is waved off by a referee it is either because:

• The team committing the icing is shorthanded, (penalty killing).
• The linesman believes that a player on the other team (other than the goalkeeper) could have played the puck before it crossed the goal line.
• In the NHL, the linesman deems the icing is the result of an attempted receivable pass.