A NEW USA HOCKEY POINT OF EMPHASIS

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT (BANGING THE BOARDS)

A bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior shall be assessed to any team whose player(s) or team officials bang the boards with a stick or any other object, including skates or arms, at any time, including after a body check regardless as to whether the check was penalized or not.

The spirit and intent of this rule is to eliminate unsportsmanlike behavior that is designed to “taunt” or “intimidate” an opponent through the celebration of an unnecessary or illegal body check.  Simply banging the stick, or other object, against the boards while on the player’s bench is not a penalty.  However, it is deemed to be unsportsmanlike conduct and should be penalized when done as a means of escalating dangerous and/or unnecessary physical play where there is no intent to legally gain possession of the puck. 

The correct procedure to apply this interpretation is to first warn the offending team once after the first violation.  Any further violation of this policy by the same team should be penalized by assessing a bench minor to the team under Rule 601(b)1 & 5.  This bench minor is to be served by a player on the ice at the time of the infraction.  Once this bench minor has been served, any further violations by the same team shall be penalized by assessing a bench minor penalty.

If a bench minor penalty for a violation of this policy is being served and before that bench minor expires another violation by the same team occurs that teams head coach shall be assessed a game misconduct under Rule601(e)1.