Official's Guide to NFHS High School Ice Hockey Grades 9-12 2026-27

The NFHS Ice Hockey Rules Committee's overall goal is to cut violent and reckless play, which it calls the main threat to player safety. There are three points of emphasis:

1. Sportsmanship

• Taunting opponents, including jumping into the glass by the opposing student section, has no place in high school hockey.
• Coaches, players and goalies must keep their language free of inappropriate or abusive remarks.

2. Health and safety

• Every player and goalie must be properly equipped, including neck laceration protectors.
• Body checking is for gaining possession of the puck, not punishing or intimidating.
• Boarding and checking from behind are among the most dangerous plays, and the player initiating contact is responsible.
• Hits to the head, fighting, blindside hits, late hits and unnecessary contact must be eliminated.

3. Game management by officials

• Face-offs: position players properly and make fair drops.
• Icing: apply the rule correctly.
• Offside: keep proper positioning. Missing an obvious offside undermines the game's credibility.

Period length, overtime format and video review can all vary from state to state, because they depend on what each state association adopts.

Pre-game meetings (required under NFHS rules):

• Captains and referees meet before the game.
• Head coaches meet the officials and verify that their players are properly equipped.

Rosters and bench:

• Maximum 20 players in uniform, including goalkeepers.
• Up to three captains and alternates, in any combination.
• Up to five non-players on the team bench.
• A roster correction after the game starts is allowed only if the error was inadvertent, with a minor penalty.
• Players beyond the game roster may be on the ice for the pre-game warm-up.

Uniforms:

• The visiting team wears dark jerseys.
• Numbers go on the back and on both sleeves.
• New for 2026-27 (Rule 2-1-2c): jerseys may show the school name, nickname, logo and mascot, and the player's name.

Electronic equipment can't be used to dispute a ruling, but video may be used on the bench for coaching.

Required for every player:

• HECC-certified helmet and facemask
• Neck laceration protector (required for players and goalkeepers)
• Skates, gloves and padded hockey pants
• Protective cup or pelvic protector
• Shin guards, elbow pads and shoulder pads
• Tooth and mouth protector (non-clear color)

Penalties:

• Missing or illegal required equipment: misconduct on the first offense. A player who returns still in violation gets a game misconduct.
• Helmet off on the players' bench or penalty bench: misconduct.
• Exposed jewelry: misconduct, then game misconduct.
• A player wearing an electronic device (camera or microphone) on the ice: misconduct, then game misconduct. Team personnel may not use electronic devices to communicate with players during play.
• Neck guard missing or dislodged: the player may not stay on the ice during play. A minor penalty if they don't go to the bench when told to.

Other NFHS equipment rules:

• Torn, ripped or unzipped pants are not permitted.
• Casts and splints are allowed only if adequately covered and approved by a physician.
• Goalie stick: the widened part of the shaft may extend up to 28 inches. A goalie can't play with a broken stick (minor).
• New for 2026-27: if a goalie's catching glove or blocker comes off, stop play immediately.

Coincidental penalties: an equal number of minors offset under both rule sets. A delayed penalty that's wiped out by a goal must still be recorded.

Icing:

• Icing is called immediately when the puck crosses the goal line. NFHS doesn't use hybrid icing.
• A short-handed team may ice the puck.
• Teams may change players after icing the puck.
• Correct application of the icing rule is a 2026-27 point of emphasis for officials.

Offside:

• A player is onside if a skate is in contact with the blue line.
• Delayed offside and tag-up are used.

Face-off locations:

• After a non-coincident penalty: in the offending team's defending zone.
• When the attacking team causes a stoppage in its attacking zone: in the attacking zone (USA Hockey moves it to the neutral zone).
• After an icing, or a penalty that creates a short-handed situation: officials pick the end-zone spot. New for 2026-27 (state option, Rule 9-1-12): a state association may instead let the non-offending team choose the face-off location.

Face-off procedure: the attacking center places their stick first (visiting center at center ice), players must be stationary, and the center is ejected on the first violation.

Approved NFHS systems:

• RR: two referees
• RRL: two referees and one linesperson
• 2R-2L: two referees and two linespersons

If an official can't continue:

• 2R-2L becomes RRL
• RRL becomes 2R
• 2R becomes one referee (R)

Face-offs: the referee drops the puck at the start of each period and after goals, with a linesperson option. A center who commits the first face-off violation is ejected from the face-off, and players must be stationary for the drop.

Linespersons may report an unobserved minor penalty to the referee. (USA Hockey limits this to "injury potential" minors.)

Equipment: all on-ice officials must wear a half-shield facemask.

Signals: for icing, the back official's non-whistle arm is raised to 60° above horizontal. For delayed offside, the non-whistle arm is vertical and the whistle arm is angled toward the line.

Stoppage: under NFHS rules, stop play immediately for an injured player, regardless of which team has the puck. (USA Hockey waits until the injured player's team has possession for a non-serious injury. NFHS does not.)

Concussion or unconscious player: NFHS rules require that a player who shows signs of a concussion, or was unconscious, may not resume play without approval from a health care professional.

Injured goalkeeper: NFHS allows a "reasonable amount of time" for an injured goalie to recover. USA Hockey allows none.

Goalie equipment (new for 2026-27): if a goalie's catching glove or blocker comes off, play is stopped immediately.

A puck resting on top of the goal netting is unplayable (immediate stoppage). A puck on the outside of the netting below the crossbar is in play.

Under NFHS rules, a disqualification is a 5-minute penalty, immediate ejection and an additional suspension of at least one game. A player can receive only one disqualification per game.

NFHS has no separate instigator penalty.