So there you are, on the edge of your couch … yelling at Patrick Marleau skating the puck up the boards - he dekes right, he dekes left (usually by now the puck has been stolen and the other team has a 3 on 1 breakaway … but in this instance … ) Patrick is up the ice and *boom* he is down! *said in my best John Madden voice* - whistle blows, the play is stopped!

I consider tripping to be one of the “soft” penalties in hockey … soft meaning the calls can be interpreted on the ice and the ref’s have to make a split second decision.  According the the NHL Rule Book, Tripping is defined as:

“A player or goalkeeper shall not place the stick, knee, foot, arm, hand or elbow in such a manner that causes his opponent to trip or fall.

Accidental trips which occur simultaneously with a completed play will not be penalized. Accidental trips occurring simultaneously with or after a stoppage of play will not be penalized.

If, in the opinion of the Referee, a player makes contact with the puck first and subsequently trips the opponent in so doing, no penalty shall be assessed.

A minor penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who shall place his stick or any portion of his body in such a manner that it shall cause his opponent to trip and fall.”

The reason this rule is in place is to give players a “reasonable scoring opportunity.”  You will see many tripping instances when an offensive player carries the puck into the neutral or attacking zone and beats the defensemen towards the goal.  The defensemen (not wanting to look like he just had his lunch fed to him) will then try to “gain possession of the puck” in a way that trips the player with “Control of the puck.”  In the NHL rule book - “Control of the puck” means the act of propelling the puck with the stick, hand or feet. If while it is being propelled, the puck is touched by another player or his equipment, or hits the goal or goes free, the player shall no longer be considered to be “in control of the puck”.

Bottom line is … if you do not have the puck and you are trying to keep the attacking player in front of you.  Make sure you hit the puck first before you take out the guy with the puck!

We also have the Penalty Shot to watch out for - According to the NHL Rule Book:

“When a player, in the neutral or attacking zone, in control of the puck (or who could have obtained possession and control of the puck) 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.

In order for a penalty shot to be awarded for a player being fouled from behind, the following four (4) criteria must have been met:

(i)  The infraction must have taken place in the neutral or attacking zone (i.e. over the puck carrier’s own blue line).

(ii)  The infraction must have been committed from behind.

(iii)  The player in possession and control (or, in the judgment of the Referee, the player clearly would have obtained possession and control of the puck) must have been denied a reasonable chance to score. The fact that he got a shot off does not automatically eliminate this play from the penalty shot consideration criteria. If the foul was from behind and he was denied a “more” reasonable scoring opportunity due to the foul, then the penalty shot should be awarded.

(iv)  The player in possession and control (or, in the judgment of the Referee, the player clearly would have obtained possession and control) must have had no opposing player between himself and the goalkeeper.”

As always - I hope this helps … if you have anything to add to the post please, feel free to leave a comment below (Bill Highfield)!