What are Minor and Bench Minor penalties, and who serves them?

Minor (Rule 4.2): a two-minute time penalty. Any player except a goaltender is ruled off for two minutes of actual playing time and their team plays shorthanded.

• If the opposing team scores while a team is shorthanded from one or more Minor or Bench Minor penalties (or would be shorthanded because of a delayed one), the Minor with the least time remaining terminates. For a double Minor, the first Minor terminates. This does not apply to a goal on a Penalty Shot.
• Coincidental Minors to both teams do not leave either team shorthanded, and a goal never terminates them.
• If the officials forget to place a player in the penalty bench, no action is needed until it is noticed. If that player actually enters the game, they are on the ice illegally and any goals scored while they are on the ice are disallowed (the player is not penalized further, as it was the officials' error).

Bench Minor (Rule 4.3): a two-minute penalty served in the penalty bench by a player of the offending team who was on the ice at the time of the infraction; the team plays a player short for two minutes of actual playing time.

• If the referee can identify the player who committed the infraction (including players in the penalty bench), that player serves it.
• Otherwise the coach, through the captain, designates any player who was on the ice. For Too Many Players the coach may select any player who was on the ice.
• A second Bench Minor at the same stoppage must be served by a second player who was on the ice, so the team resumes play two players short.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rules 4.2 and 4.3. https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Officiating/Downloads/2026-28-hc-rulebook-e.pdf