Ice hockey penalties

A minor penalty terminates automatically if the opposing team scores while the penalised team is short-handed. Where several are being served, the one that terminates is the one with the least time remaining on the clock.

Coincidental minor penalties to both teams do not cause either side to be short-handed, so neither expires on a goal. On a double-minor, if the non-offending team scores during the referee's delayed signal, one of the two minors is washed out and the player serves the remaining two minutes — announced as a double-minor but showing only two minutes on the clock.

A major penalty is five minutes. Although a major does cause a team to be short-handed, the penalised player does not leave the penalty box when the opposing team scores a goal: they must wait for the entire major to expire.

That is the clearest practical difference between the classes. A minor can cost a single goal; a major guarantees five minutes of disadvantage regardless of how many are conceded. If a player assessed a major has been removed from the game or is injured, their team must place a substitute in the box immediately to serve it.

A misconduct penalty removes a player, other than the goaltender, for ten minutes — but a substitute may immediately replace them, so the team is not short-handed. A player whose misconduct has expired remains in the box until the next stoppage of play.

A game misconduct removes the player for the remainder of the game; twenty minutes are recorded against them in the match records. Any player, coach or team official incurring one is reported to the Proper Authorities, who may impose further disciplinary measures under the IIHF Disciplinary Code.