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Hockey can be a very intense game. It involves many different types of penalties. But that is only to be expected any game that has blood in the rule book is sure to require frequent intervention of the referees.

Penalties come in a variety of categories. There are both minor and major penalties, and variants of those. There are also severe misconduct, game misconduct, and match penalties which can be incurred. Below is a basic explanation of these penalties and how they are enforced.

Minor penalties account for most of the penalties assessed in hockey. A player who gets tagged for a minor penalty is removed from the ice and sent to the penalty box for two to four minutes of game time. His team plays minus one player during this period of time. That is called playing short handed. If the opposing team manages to score a goal sometime during the penalty period, then that penalty is effectively ended and the player returns to the ice. If both teams have players who receive minor penalties concurrently, then neither team is considered to be playing short handed, so if either team scores, this does not end the penalty, however, the penalty time is reduced by half. In the event that multiple players on one team are serving minor penalties simultaneously they are put into the penalty box, but the penalty time does not begin to run down until the previous player is removed from the penalty box. If the opposing team scores while there are multiple players serving penalty time, then the first major penalty is ended, , however the remaining players serve their entire penalties, unless additional goals are scored until all players are out of the penalty box.

Common infractions which result in a minor penalty include: holding, holding the stick, cross-checking, interference, delaying the game, tripping, hooking, slashing, roughing, and high-sticking. Sometimes, a player may incur a double minor. A penalty resulting in a double minor could be high-sticking that results in a laceration. Incurring a double minor means the player will serve two consecutive minor penalties. This penalty is typically assessed when a player is caught high-sticking and causes a laceration to the opposing player. If a goal occurs during a double minor then the first penalty expires, however, the second penalty must still be served out as a regular minor penalty. If the entire team is assessed a penalty as a whole, this is called a bench minor. Any player, other than the goalie, might be selected to serve the bench penalty.

More severe offences result in more severe penalties, major penalties. Major penalties are usually assessed for offences such as: spearing, charging, butt-ending, or boarding. These usually require the player to sit in the penalty box for five minutes. The team plays short-handed for the five minute penalty. If the opposing team scores a goal during this period, the penalty does not expire. In the event that both teams have players serving major penalties then they may substitute for those players. Fighting is the most common cause for major penalties being incurred.

If a player is assessed three major penalties during one game, he earns a misconduct penalty. A misconduct penalty results in the player who earned it being removed from the game for a period of ten minutes. During this time the team may substitute in another player. Once the penalty has expired, the player is able to return to the ice when the game next stops, unless he has incurred additional penalties.

Generally, misconduct is called for various types of unsportsmanlike conduct or in the event that a player has incurred two or more major penalties during one game. If a player is assessed a game misconduct penalty, he is ejected from the game. The team can immediately bring in a substitute player since the penalty was assessed against the individual player and not the team.

If a player is ejected from game play three times over the course of the season, he is banned from play for one game. This results, not only in lost time playing, but also a loss of salary for that game. The money is usually donated to a charity supported by the league. Additional disciplinary actions are possible if the player is ejected from subsequent games.

Match penalties also result in the player being ejected from the game. A match penalty is assessed if a player attempts to deliberately injure another player. The team must select any player other than the goalie to serve a five minute major penalty and he cannot be substituted for on the ice, meaning the team plays short-handed for that five minute penalty. Players who receive a match penalty are suspended from their next game and often are subjected to hearings with the possibility of lengthier bans.

When a scoring opportunity has been lost because of an infraction by the other team, then the team who lost the scoring opportunity is given a penalty shot. They are allowed one unimpeded (except for the goalie) shot at the goal.

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