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Hockey Penalties Toughened for 2014-15

December 4, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Seasons are underway for teams participating in 12 winter sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments, with stronger penalties for excessive contact in ice hockey highlighting rules changes taking effect with the beginning of competition.

Eight sports including ice hockey began play during the final two weeks of November, with the remaining four sports beginning competition over the next 10 days – Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming and Diving on Dec. 6, Boys Basketball on December 8 and Boys and Girls Skiing on Dec. 13. Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Bowling teams began competition on Nov. 29, and Lower Peninsula teams may begin Dec. 6.

Changes to ice hockey penalties resulting from opponents being forced into the boards continue a focus on improving safety by establishing different levels of severity based on the flagrance and violence of the offending act. 

Any excessive contact – including checking, cross-checking, elbowing, charging or tripping – that causes an opponent to be thrown violently into the boards will receive a 5-minute major penalty; previously this boarding infraction resulted only in a 2-minute minor penalty unless the contact was flagrant. If the flagrant or violent check causes a player to crash headfirst into the boards, a 5-minute major will be assessed as well as either a 10-minute misconduct or game disqualification depending on the severity of the offending check. Players disqualified from ice hockey games are not allowed to play in the next two games as well. 

A 5-minute major penalty also will be assessed to any player who pushes, charges, cross-checks or body-checks an opponent from behind in open ice. Previously, this excessive contact came with a 2-minute minor penalty and 10-minute misconduct. 

A handful of notable rules changes also go into effect for girls and boys basketball:

  • Intentional fouls were redefined to include excessive contact with any opposing player – not just the shooter – while the ball is live or until an airborne shooter returns to the floor. All excessive contact committed by any player will be ruled intentional.

  • Also, additions to the definition of personal foul were added to eliminate excessive contact on ball handlers outside of the lane area. The following additions constitute a foul when committed against the ball handler/dribbler: placing two hands (fronts or backs of hands) on the player, placing an extended arm bar (forearm away from the body) on the player, placing and keeping a hand on the player, and contacting the player more than once with the same hand or alternating hands.

  • The rule for players releasing to the lane on a free throw attempt was changed to its previous version; a player occupying a marked lane space again may enter the lane on the release of the ball by the free throw shooter. Players behind the free throw line extended and 3-point arc behind the free throw line must wait until the free throw attempt touches the ring or backboard or has ended (touches the floor) before entering the lane. This was the rule prior to the 1994-95 season.

  • Players may wear arm sleeves, knee sleeves, lower leg sleeves and tights, but all sleeves and tights must be black, white, beige or the predominant color of the team’s uniform. All team members wearing sleeves or tights must wear the same color. Knee braces do not count as part of this uniform regulation.

    • A significant change for wrestling affects team tournaments stretching multiple days, including the MHSAA Finals, for which weigh-ins are conducted each day. An athlete must weigh in at the same weight both days in order to continue competing after the first day of the tournament. Previously, an athlete could compete at whatever weight he or she weighed in at on the first day and then the new weight, if different, on the second day. Beginning this season, that wrestler may not compete the subsequent days of the team event if he or she weighs in at a different weight after the first day. 

    The 2014-15 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 21, and wraps up with the Boys Basketball Finals on March 28. Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates: 

    Boys Basketball
    Districts – March 9, 11 & 13
    Regionals – March 16 & 18
    Quarterfinals – March 24
    Semifinals – March 26-27
    Finals – March 28 

    Girls Basketball
    Districts – March 2, 4 & 6
    Regionals – March 10 & 12
    Quarterfinals – March 17
    Semifinals – March 19-20
    Finals – March 21

    Bowling
    Team Regionals – Feb. 27
    Singles Regionals – Feb. 28
    Team Finals – March 6
    Singles Finals – March 7 

    Girls Competitive Cheer
    Districts – Feb. 20-21
    Regionals – Feb. 28
    Finals: March 6-7 

    Girls Gymnastics
    Regionals – March 7
    Team Finals – March 13
    Individual Finals – March 14 

    Ice Hockey
    Pre-Regionals – March 2-6
    Regional Finals – March 7
    Quarterfinals – March 10-11
    Semifinals – March 12-13
    Finals – March 14 

    Skiing
    Regionals – Feb. 9-13
    Finals – Feb. 23 

    Swimming & Diving
    U.P. Girls & Boys Finals – Feb. 21
    L.P. Boys Diving Regionals – March 5
    L.P. Boys Finals – March 13-14 

    Wrestling
    Team Districts – Feb. 11-12
    Individual Districts – Feb. 14
    Team Regionals – Feb. 18
    Individual Regionals – Feb. 21
    Team Quarterfinals – Feb. 27
    Team Semifinals & Finals – Feb. 28
    Individual Finals – March 5-7

    Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced

    By Geoff Kimmerly
    MHSAA.com senior editor

    January 23, 2014

    The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2013-14 school year have been announced.

    The program, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.

    Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 608 scholarships have been awarded.

    Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, the final two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.

    Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification, and could have more than one finalist. Dearborn Heights Crestwood, Hastings and Marlette each have three finalists this year. Fourteen schools each had two finalists: Bay City Central, Bloomfield Hills Marian, Dearborn, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Manistee Catholic Central, Marquette, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, Midland Dow, Saginaw Swan Valley, Sturgis, Traverse City Central, Walled Lake Western and Yale.

    Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.70, while the average of the application pool was 2.16. There are 75 three-plus sport participants in the finalist field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.

    Of 407 schools which submitted applicants, 55 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,701 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement.  Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website.

    The applications were judged by a 63-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 4; Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 11, and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 18. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.

    To honor the 32 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 22, at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.

    To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale), and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

    Farm Bureau Insurance, one of Michigan's major insurers, has a statewide force of more than 400 agents serving more than 380,000 Michigan policyholders. Besides providing life, home, auto, farm, business and retirement insurance, the company also sponsors life-saving, real-time Doppler weather tracking systems in several Michigan communities.             

    The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.

    2013-14 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

    BOYS CLASS A
    Stone Manczak, Bay City Central
    Zachary Segall, Berkley
    Andrew Barton, Birmingham Seaholm
    Rami Kadouh, Dearborn
    Samuel A Mousigian, Dearborn
    Jared Hagan, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
    Jalal Taleb, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
    Brad King, Garden City
    Ryan S Fischer, Grandville
    Kenneth Elkin, Grosse Pointe North
    Chris Kruger, Holt
    David Doyle, Linden
    Craig Ekstrum, Marquette
    David Walter III, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
    Nate Fisher, Midland
    Vikram Shanker, Midland Dow
    Tanner Vincent, Novi
    Trevor Denoyer, Petoskey
    Kellen Scott Michael, South Lyon
    Kyle Dotterrer, Traverse City Central
    Cody James McKay, Utica Ford
    Devin Kimberlin, Walled Lake Northern
    Mitchell Dennis, Walled Lake Western
    David J Walczyk, Walled Lake Western

    GIRLS CLASS A
    Anna Haritos, Auburn Hills Avondale
    Saige Tomczak, Bay City Central
    Jessica Hacker, Bay City Western
    Tatyanna Dadabbo, Bloomfield Hills Marian
    Clare Nienstedt, Bloomfield Hills Marian
    Tala Taleb, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
    Caroline Ann Hagan, East Lansing
    Elizabeth Cowger, Fenton
    Paige Blakeslee, Gibraltar Carlson
    Mallory Beswick, Grand Haven
    Claire Elise Borchers, Grand Haven
    Joslyn Mae TenBrink, Jenison
    Jessica Graves, Lowell
    Gabrielle Gencheff, Marquette
    Fiona B Shea, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
    Kallisse R Dent, Midland Dow
    Rachel Barrett, Milford
    Grace Kao, Okemos
    Kirsten Avery Chambers, Riverview
    Meghan Datema, Rockford
    Elianna Shwayder, Saline
    Molly Peregrine, Traverse City Central
    Sarah O'Connor, Waterford Kettering
    Jenna Ciennik, Waterford Mott

    BOYS CLASS B
    Tye Wittenbach, Belding
    Carl Steinhauser, Berrien Springs
    Ryan Spaulding, Freeland
    Joseph Corey, Grand Rapids West Catholic
    Nicholas Linck, Grand Rapids West Catholic
    John Gatti, Grosse Ile
    Matt Johnson, Hastings
    Richard Cassell, Jackson Lumen Christi
    Ben Woodruff, Jackson Northwest
    Ismail Aijazuddin, Madison Heights Lamphere
    Zachary A Ohs, Monroe St Mary Catholic Central
    Michael T von Kronenberger, Ogemaw Heights
    Anthony William Canonie, South Haven
    Trenton Karle, Three Rivers
    Daniel Kosiba, Vicksburg
    Noah Nicholl, Yale

    GIRLS CLASS B
    Greer Elizabeth Clausen, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
    Abigail Brown, Caro
    Lindsey Brewis, Dearborn Divine Child
    Bailey Baker, Eaton Rapids
    Callie Jensen, Gladstone
    Grace Bosma, Hastings
    Kylee Nemetz, Hastings
    Amanda M Metz, Otsego
    Alexandra J Grys, Portland
    Kiersten Mead, Saginaw Swan Valley
    Courtney T Reinhold, Saginaw Swan Valley
    Roxane L Strobel, Spring Lake
    Peyton Boughton, Sturgis
    Alea Penner, Sturgis
    Angela Maurer, Williamston
    Alana Koepf, Yale

    BOYS CLASS C
    Ty Michael Rollin, Beal City
    Matthew S Johnson, Fennville
    Carter Ballinger, Jonesville
    Luke Joseph Smigielski, Mancelona
    Dakota Hall, Marlette
    Bradley Schaub, Marlette
    Kyle Baxter, Mayville
    Stephen T Erwin, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
    Jason Beckman, Shelby
    James Barber, St Charles
    Devin Morrow, Three Oaks River Valley
    Nicholas DeSimpelare, Unionville-Sebewaing

    GIRLS CLASS C
    Korinna Corbin, Addison
    Kirsten Olling, Breckenridge
    Elizabeth Baker, Bronson
    Melissa Dowell, Clinton
    Amanda Reagle, Homer
    Mandy Haferkorn, Iron Mountain
    Megan Chapman, Ishpeming Westwood
    Keara Wilson, Marlette
    Grace Leighton, Mendon
    Allie Kendall, Saginaw Nouvel
    Kari Feddema, Schoolcraft
    Erin McDonnell, Traverse City St Francis

    BOYS CLASS D
    Grant Hohlbein, Adrian Lenawee Christian
    Bret Hiveley, Au Gres-Sims
    Tyler Anthony Johnson, Bear Lake
    Jeremy Bigalke, Manistee Catholic Central
    Ben Feliczak, Manistee Catholic Central
    Steven McKenzie, Marcellus
    Alec Firack, Pickford
    Harding Fears III, Southfield Christian

    GIRLS CLASS D
    MacKenzie Ciganick, Bellaire
    Julie Ahnen, Bessemer
    Sara Inbody, Deckerville
    Vanessa Freberg, Eben Junction Superior Central
    Kari Borowiak, Gaylord St Mary
    Lyvia Deaver, Jackson Christian
    Erin Gast, Lake Linden-Hubbell
    Jennifer Malcolm, Plymouth Christian