Section 5: Rules of Play
5.1 Game Duration
- Regulation: 3 periods × 20 minutes of running time (clock stops on whistles). 15–18 minute intermissions between periods with ice resurfacing.
- Overtime (preliminary rounds): 5 minutes of 3-on-3 sudden-death play. If still tied, a shootout determines the winner.
- Overtime (elimination/medal games): 20-minute periods of 5-on-5 sudden-death until a goal is scored. No shootout in elimination games.
- Shootout: Best of 3 shooters per team. If still tied after 3 rounds, sudden-death single rounds until one team scores and the other does not.
5.2 Offside
An attacking player may not precede the puck into the attacking zone (beyond the blue line). If an attacking player's skates are in the attacking zone before the puck completely crosses the blue line, offside is called. Play is stopped and a face-off is held in the neutral zone. Delayed offside: if the puck is shot into the attacking zone and all attacking players clear the zone (tag up by touching the blue line), play continues without a stoppage.
5.3 Icing
Icing occurs when a team shoots the puck from their own side of the centre red line across the opposing team's goal line without it being touched. Under IIHF rules, no-touch icing is in effect: the whistle blows automatically when the puck crosses the goal line, regardless of which player would reach it first. This is stricter than NHL hybrid icing. Exceptions: icing is not called if the team shooting the puck is short-handed (penalty kill), or if the puck passes through the goal crease.
5.4 Face-Offs
Face-offs restart play after stoppages. The visiting team's centre places their stick first. Players other than the two centres must remain outside the face-off circle or behind the hash marks until the puck is dropped. Violation results in the centre being replaced by a teammate.
5.5 Body Contact
- Men's hockey: Body checking is permitted. A legal body check requires shoulder-to-shoulder or hip-to-body contact on an opponent who possesses or has just played the puck.
- Women's hockey: Body checking is prohibited under IIHF rules. Incidental contact is permitted, but deliberate checking results in a penalty.
- Checking from behind: Always illegal in both men's and women's hockey. Results in a minor + misconduct, or a major + game misconduct depending on severity.
- Head contact: Any check targeting or making primary contact with the head is penalised — typically a major penalty + game misconduct.
5.6 Fighting
Under IIHF rules, fighting is treated as a match penalty: the player is ejected from the game and receives an automatic minimum 1-game suspension. Instigators receive additional suspensions. This is significantly stricter than NHL rules, where fighting is a 5-minute major with no automatic suspension. The IIHF zero-tolerance approach to fighting reflects the international standard that prioritises skill-based play.