There are a number of different penalties, depending upon the seriousness of the infractions. For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the penalty box, and his team has to play without him for a short amount of time. This gives the other team an opportunity for a power play, a play with the other team a man down.
| Minor Penalty | For a minor penalty, the offender is ruled off the ice for two minutes actual playing time. No substitute is allowed. If a team scores while the opposing team is shorthanded following one or more minor penalties, the first of these penalties automatically ends, provided that the goal was not scored because of a penalty. When the minor penalties of two teammates end at the same time, their captain designates which player will resume play first. A minor penalty is given for violations like holding, tripping, elbowing, roughing, boarding, high-sticking, too many players on the ice, and illegal equipment. |
| Bench Minor Penalty | This penalty is imposed when an offense is made by a team or when the actual offender is unknown. A bench minor penalty lasts for two minutes and is served by a team member designated by the manager or coach through the team captain. |
| Major Penalty | For the first major penalty in a match, an offender is ruled off the ice for five minutes. For his second major penalty he is ruled off the ice for 15 minutes. A third major penalty will remove the player from the game for the rest of the match. A substitute is allowed after 5 minutes of a major penalty. When a player receives a major and a minor penalty at the same time, the major penalty is served first. This penalty is given mainly for fighting. |
| Misconduct Penalty | A player who receives a misconduct penalty is sent off the ice for 10 minutes. A substitute player is permitted to replace a player serving a misconduct penalty. After the penalty, the player may rejoin the game only when play has stopped. This penalty is given chiefly for improper behavior toward an official. |
| Game Misconduct Penalty | A player who receives a misconduct penalty is not permitted to play the rest of the game. A substitute is allowed at once. A second misconduct penalty by a player is automatically a game misconduct penalty. This penalty is given for more serious offenses against the officials. |
| Match Penalty | The offender is removed for the rest of the game, and excluded from future games until his/her case has been dealt with. This penalty is given for injuring or trying to injure an opponent. |
| Goalkeeper's Penalties | No goalkeeper can be sent to the penalty bench for a minor, major, or misconduct penalty. These penalties are served by a teammate on the ice and chosen by the team captain. For a second major penalty, a goalkeeper receives a game misconduct penalty. If given a game misconduct or match penalty, the goalkeeper is replaced by another player—but not by the substitute goalkeeper. The player receives the goalkeepers’ full equipment and privileges. A goalkeeper leaving the crease to enter an altercation incurs a bench minor penalty for the team. |
| Delayed Penalties | If a player is penalized while two teammates are serving penalties, that player must still go to the bench at once. However, the player’s penalty time begins only when the penalty of one of the other two players ends. A substitute may take the players place on the ice until the penalty time begins. In such a case, any player whose penalty expires can return to the ice only if play is stopped or the substitute is removed. |
