Minor penalties in hockey are relatively easy to understand: they are minor infractions that don’t necessarily end the game, but they do allow the other team to attack. In the last two games of the Sharks-Blue Jackets series, each team was guilty of a pair of minor penalties. In both instances, a fight broke out following a minor fight, which carried over into the following period, resulting in a Double Minor Penalty. What is so special about Double Minor Penalties in hockey? Let’s take a look.
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Double Minor Penalty = More Than Two Minutes In The Box
The common thread in both bouts of the Sharks-Blue Jackets series was a culmination of minor struggles that spiraled into a battle of wits and a fight. In each game, the teams were involved in a relatively clean game of hockey until a few minor skirmishes broke out. Then, the infractions started stacking up. In both games, the teams ended up with two minor penalties apiece. These are not fighting or game-changing penalties; these are minor infractions that don’t necessarily end the game, but they do allow the other team to attack.
Two-Minute Fighting Ban
After the teams finished their fighting duties, the officials handed out two-minute fighting bans, a penalty that is usually reserved for a deliberate attempt to start a fight. These are considered the most severe penalties in hockey, and they are also among the most difficult to call correctly. They allow the other team to attack in a very short amount of time, usually after a minor or major penalty has been assessed.
More Than Two Minutes In The Box: Special Situations
The teams were still struggling with a pair of minor penalties when an important situation was assessed. The officials had to make a quick decision on whether or not to send the players down to the box to cool off. Sometimes, two minutes in the box means two minutes, and other times, it means the clock stops and the officials must decide whether or not to send the players down to the box for dangerous play. In these two instances, the teams were still fighting as the seconds ticked away, so the officials had to make a judgment call.
Why Are Minor Penalties Important?
Every player on the ice must follow the rules of the game, and the officials must maintain a safe environment for all involved. Sometimes, minor infractions will arise that end up causing a fight to break out. The fact that these penalties lead to a fight shows how important it is to keep the game clean and how the officials must stand guard against minor infractions that could cause bigger problems. This also shows the importance of the minor penalties in hockey. Without them, the game would become all about who could throw the hardest punch and who could skate through the loopholes the best. That would make the game too dangerous to watch and too unbalanced to truly enjoy.
The important thing to remember about minor penalties in hockey is how quickly they can escalate into a major problem. Because they are so quick to blow up, minor penalties serve as an early warning system: if you want to keep the game safe and clean, you must always play by the rules and infractions like these can help you do that. It would be a shame for a game that is already so exciting to watch responsibly blow up in such a shocking way that it becomes completely pointless.
So, next time you see a minor infraction in the heat of the game, watch out: it could mean trouble. And, if that happens, all the better for you and for hockey.