To restart play in hockey, players from opposite teams engage in a puck drop or face-off. During this play, the ref will sometimes kick one of the players out of the restart.
Players get kicked out of face-offs because a player is not set in position within 5 seconds of the referee being ready, a player touching their opponent before the puck hits the ice, or a player’s stick blade not completely being on the ice when the puck is dropped. These three reasons are the core of why a player is excused from the face-off circle.
Those 3 reasons are the most common errors in ice hockey when it comes to face-offs. Let’s explore what they mean on the ice.
5 Seconds to Spare
After a whistle blows, you will see the refs quickly skate to a face-off circle, indicating where the battle will happen. As both teams make their way to the face-off circle, you will see all the players line up, and then the referee holds his arm straight out over the ice ready to drop the puck. He is very still until he drops the puck. Once he is in that position, players on either side of the referee must be in the correct position within 5 seconds, or they are excused from the circle.
You will often see players try to line up last, giving themselves the best advantage to win the face-off. This strategy is risky because if lining up takes to long, the ref will make a judgment call and choose one player to remove from the circle. Rarely do you see the referee kick both players out of the face-off circle, although it does happen. If both players are in the correct position (both skates facing straight at the other player, not at any angle), but one player is giving instruction to teammates, the referee will drop the puck anyways.
Touching the Other Player
The two players engaging in the face-off must not touch each other. For obvious reasons, this gives a distinct advantage to one player, and the puck would never get dropped as the players would be jockeying for position. Whoever initiates contact with the other player is excused from taking the draw. Yes, the players’ sticks touching is a violation. As soon as the puck leaves the ref’s hand, the players can move about as they choose: it is not wise to go for the other player’s body or try to move him, because the puck will already be on the ice and someone else will have been by to take it.
You will see the other 8 players around the circle getting very close to each other. In a normal face-off position, there are 2 players from each team lined up right next to each other. These players are touching for sure. Often times they will be talking to each other, and one only knows the words being exchanged. If you are really lucky, the puck will drop, and not 2 seconds later there are 2 pairs of gloves on the ice as well with players punching each other in a fight.
Put Your Stick on the Ice- Who puts stick down first?
In order for a face-off to be deemed ready, the players must be still, skates forward, and sticks completely on the ice. This does not mean the tip of the stick on the ice, and the back of the blade up in the air. It means the whole stick blade. Having only part of the stick blade down on the ice gives that player an advantage over the other. They can knock the other player’s stick off and grab the puck easier. If players are to get away with cheating during the face-off, this is the most common action. It is hard for the referee to see if the blade is all the way on the ice from his angle.
The player representing the visiting team must put their stick down on the ice first. It is debatable whether this is a clear advantage or not. Some say it allows the home team player to adjust his position ever so slightly to have a better chance at sweeping the puck back to his team. Others say it is 50/50 and someone has to place their stick down first, allowing the flow off the face-off to progress.
What do Other Players Do?
Another reason a player can get booted from the face-off circle is their teammates doing something illegal. The most common occurrence is encroachment. There are 5 clearly marked circles around the ice rink, and players not engaging in the face-off must stay on their half of the circle, behind the lines in the ice. Players on the edges on opposing teams get close and entangled often, trying to push the opposition into the circle, getting their teammate ejected from the face-off. At times, both players will be told to exit if their teammates can’t get it together. This is often the ref sending a message to the team.
As soon as the puck is dropped, most players rush to the puck and try to take control. Teams in the offensive zone will often run plays off the face-off win. Some are more organized than others, with coaches using their one timeout late in the game to draw up a play and make sure all players are on the same page. In the defensive zone, there is pretty set play to get the puck out of the zone and up the ice. On defense, you want to get the puck out of the zone as quickly and effectively as possible, without a turn over in nurtural ice or icing the puck completely.
Who Takes Faceoffs?
It is simple: the best face-off player on the ice at the time takes the face-off. Well obviously, but how do you know? Each line knows who the best player on the ice is to take the puck drop. This skill is practiced over and over again as a young athlete and developed over time. The best faceoff players are a cross between reaction time and strength. Whoever can get to the puck the fastest and pull back with more strength than the other player will win. A lower center of gravity helps this play as well. If you are shorter you can usually get to the puck quicker.
Face-off ejections happen constantly throughout the game. I feel like almost every face-off there someone getting tossed. It was happening so often the NHL made a rule: If your team ices the puck and you make an illegal move on the ensuing face-off, the ref will hold a 1 up in the air, signifying a warning. If you make another illegal move, your team is assessed a 2-minute minor penalty. Because this is a common occurrence, everyone must be sharp in their skill here. Lines get mixed up sometimes, but the majority of face-offs are taken by the same 2 players on each line. Winning face-offs is a big deal. It’s puck possession which should lead to points.
What do Refs Say During the Faceoffs?
This is a fun one. Refs say a number of things mostly pertaining to governing and policing the play. With players constantly gawking at each other and trying to delay the puck drop, referees are often yelling at each player to be quiet and play the game. As the NHL grows older and recording game talk becomes more abundant, we hear the funny stuff the players say to refs and back and forth. As any professional league’s relationship with their governing friends dressed in black and white, the NHL is no different. There does appear to be a lot of laughter and jokes made during games.
NHL referees do a good job of governing play, and few times do they let games get out of hand. The goal of the ref’s dialogue with players during face-offs is to start live-action as soon as possible after the stoppage in play. In fact, that is one of their main objectives: keep the flow of the game going as smoothly as possible with as few interruptions as possible.
