Penalty (ice hockey) the 1921–22 season, while five- and ten-minute penalties were added two years later. Both the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) recognize the common penalty degrees of minor and major penalties, as well as the more severe misconduct, game misconduct, and match penalties. A minor penalty is the least severe type of penalty. A minor penalty is two minutes in length. The offending player is sent to the penalty box and in most cases, his team will play shorthanded. If the offending player is the goaltender or a team is given a "bench minor" penalty (assessed against the
Match penalty under NHL rules, "butt-ending, goalies using blocking glove to the face of another player, head-butting, kicking, punching an unsuspecting player, spearing," and "tape on hands during altercation" must be called as a match penalty if injuries occur; under IIHF rules, "kneeing" and "checking to the head or neck area" must be called as a match penalty if injuries occur. Match penalty Match penalty is a term used in some sports for a player having committed such a serious offence that he or she is being sent off for the rest of the game. The term is used in bandy, floorball,