Face-Off Procedures
2010-2011 Season
Official’s Stance
Explain the official’s stance when conducting a
face-off
 Feet shoulder width apart
 Free hand at side
 Knees bent slightly
 Feet one foot from
Face-off dot
 Puck held belt
High in close to body
Common Faults
What are some of the mistakes officials
make when conducting face-offs?
 Feet too close, too far apart
 Knees not flexed, not square to the dot
 Feet too close to dot
 Bent over
 Puck being presented or drop telegraphed
Spot the Faults
Positioning of Centres
 Feet clear of face-off restraining line
 Visiting team sets up first
 Toe of stick touching the ice in
designated area
 Stick not moving
Positioning of Other Skaters
 Feet outside circle
 Body and stick onside
 Sticks back of hash marks but may be
inside circle
Encroachment – Front Official
 Initial shoulder check
 Centres and players in front
Encroachment – Back Official
 After front official has completed
shoulder check
 Players behind partner dropping the
puck
Violation Procedure – Front Official
What steps must the front official
take when a face-off violation
occurs?
Team Red
 Verbally eject centre
out!
 Communicate what the violation was
Winger is
not on-side!
Violation Procedure – Back Official
And the back official?
 Blow whistle
 Hand signal to indicate violating team
 Hold position, do not approach the circle
Puck Drop Common Faults
 Beginning to exit while dropping the
puck
 Up and overhand motion
 Dropping the puck too hard or too
soft
Face-Off Exit
 Pause to let the puck clear, look for
clear route and back away towards
boards
 Move quickly back to the line along
the boards
 Keep the puck in sight, skate
backwards if it is safe to do so
 Release your partner from your blue
line with a head nod
Face-Off Tips
 Be ready ahead of the players
 Ensure other officials are ready
 Encourage players to line up correctly as
they arrive
 Don’t coach players who line up incorrectly
 Provide no warnings of ejections
 Establish a standard early and maintain it
Rule 10.2 (g) – Face-Offs
All face-offs in the neutral zone shall be conducted at the designated face-off
spots as dictated by reason for the stoppage of play.
The face-off location will be determined by the offending team losing the
most territorial advantage
When a stoppage of play occurs between the end zone face-off spots and the
nearest end of the rink, the face-off shall be the nearest end zone face-off spot,
unless otherwise stated in the rules.
Centre ice face-offs will be only conducted at the start of each period,
following the scoring of a goal, premature substitution of the goaltender
or in accordance with Rule 10.5 (f )
Any other stoppage of play in any zone not caused by either team, the
ensuing face-off shall be at the nearest face-off spot excluding the centre
face-off spot.
The
defending
team creates
a zone
whistle
by shooting
Face-off
takes
at end
face-off
dot
Where
willplace
the face-off
take place?
the puck over the glass
D
A
D
The
Theface-off
attacking
moves
team
outside
creates
of
a whistle
the
offensive
by shooting
zone tothe
Where
will the
face-off
take
place?
the closest
puck out
face-off
of play
dot
A
D
A
The
The
face-off
puck Where
is
will
in take
the
will
neutral
place
the face-off
atzone
the face-off
and
takeisplace?
shot
dot out
in the
of play
neutral
zone closest
by the
to the
attacking
offending
team
team’s zone
D
A
When
a attacking
team creates
a stoppage
in the
with the
The
team creates
a stoppage
justneutral
outside zone,
the offending
Where
will
the face-off
take place?
puck between the dot
and
opposing
team’s
blueline, the faceteam’s
blueline
off is at the closet dot
D
A
The
The face-off
puck strikes
is always
an
Where
official
in the
willinside
zone
the face-off
that
the blue
thetake
puck
lineplace?
and
goesgoes
off an
out
official
of play
Face-Offs – True or False Page 106
1. The centre taking the face-off shall have the toe of his
stick touching the ice in the designated area. True
2. A whistle is given when you relieve your partner at
the blue line. False
3. When exiting the face-off you always back towards
the net. False
4. As the back official your only duty is to watch your
partner’s blue line when he is conducting the
face-off. False
5. Except for the centre taking the face-off all other
players shall be outside the circle or 20 feet away.
False
Face-Offs – Multiple Choice
Page 106
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
3.
a)
b)
c)
d)
When conducting a face-off the
______ sets up first.
Team on the power play
Team on the penalty kill
Team that arrives at the face-off dot
Visiting team
2.
D
c)
d)
You can eject the centre for all the
following infractions except:
Standing with feet on the restraining
lines
Not having toe of stick touching the
ice in the designated area
Not keeping the stick stationary
D
Using the wrong handed stick
When conducting the face-off you
should:
Have your feet shoulder width apart
and an arm’s length away from dot
Stand sideways for quick exit and be
one foot from dot
C
Have feet shoulder width apart and
be one foot from dot
Have feet shoulder width apart and
bend over the dot
4.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Common puck drop faults are:
Beginning to exit while dropping puck
Up and overhand motion
Dropping puck too hard or too soft
All of the above
a)
b)
D