Be the Referee: Ice Hockey Overtime

January 19, 2017

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains high school overtime rules for ice hockey.

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Ice Hockey Overtime - Listen

It has often been said that one of the most dramatic moments in sports is in a hockey game that is a one-goal game or tied late in the game.

In ice hockey at the high school level, MHSAA regulations deal with overtime and how ties will be broken in the postseason tournament. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, up to four separate 8-minute sudden-victory overtime periods will be played. In other words, once a team scores a goal, the game is over and that team wins.

If these four 8-minute overtime periods do not produce a winner, then the game continues with 8-minute periods of 4-on-4 on each side.

Past editions
Jan 12: Free Throw Change - Listen
Jan. 5: Ratings - Listen
Dec. 22: Video Review - Part 2 - Listen
Dec. 15: Video Review - Part 1 - Listen
Dec. 8: Registration - Part 2 - Listen
Dec. 1: Registration - Part 1 - Listen
Nov. 24: You Make the Call - Sleeper Play - Listen
Nov. 17: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Nov. 10: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
Nov. 3: The Goal Line - Listen
Oct. 27: Help Us Retain Officials - Listen
Oct. 20: Point After Touchdown - Listen
Oct. 13: Untimed Down - Listen
Oct. 6: Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen
Sept. 29: Preparation for Officials - Listen
Sept 22: You Make the Call: Returning Kickoffs - Listen
Sept. 15: Concussions - Listen
Sept 8: Equipment Covering the Knees - Listen
Sept. 1: Play Clock Experiment - Listen
Aug. 25: Clipping in the Free Blocking Zone - Listen

Be the Referee: Intentional Grounding Change

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

August 23, 2022

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Intentional Grounding Change - Listen

New this year in football is a change to intentional grounding.

What’s staying the same? A quarterback in the free block zone – who throws a pass to an area with no receiver nearby – will continue to be flagged for intentional grounding. That’s a five-yard penalty and loss of down.

So what’s different? Now … a quarterback outside of the free blocking zone can legally throw the ball away as long as the pass lands past the original line of scrimmage. This used to be flagged for grounding, but is now legal.

In fact, this rule doesn’t just pertain to the quarterback. Any passer, outside of the free blocking zone, can throw the ball away as long as it lands past the line of scrimmage.