Officiating Question

[oldschool22]

In a league when regular play is 4 on 4 and overtime is 3 on 3, what happens when::

At the end of regulation, both teams have a guy in the box (0:30 left) for offsetting minors. And, one team has an additional guy in the box (1:30 left) for a minor.

For the OT, is it 4 on 3, or 3 on 2?

Keep in mind, the OT is Always 3 on 3.

We had a game last night in which in this scenario was played out in the OT at 4 on 3, which didn't seem right, since the OT has always been a 3 on 3 setup when at full the strength...

what is the verdict?

[prs77]

oldschool22:

According to inline rules the normal strength is 4 on 4. Therefore, you can't have less than 2 players on the floor at anytime.

The norm with offsetting minors being served, plus an extra penalty, would be to play 3 on 2 and after the 0:30 was up the extra guy should come out to make it 3 on 3, then the other two would return on the next whistle.

However, you state that your OT is always 3 on 3, which means you can't have less than 3 players on the floor at anytime. In that case, you should play 4 on 3 and when the 0:30 is over the strength would be 4 on 4 until the next whistle, where you would then go back to 3 on 3.

I'm curious, is the latter what happened?

I hope this helps!

[Mtour71]

Why couldn't you have less than 3 players on the floor in overtime? If you play 3 on 3 and the first two penalties are off setting, then you should play it 3 on 2. You can never have less than 2 players on the rink at one time.

[prs77]

Why couldn't you have less than 3 players on the floor in overtime?
If their league rules state the "OT is Always 3 on 3". Otherwise you can't have less than 2 players on the floor.


If you play 3 on 3 and the first two penalties are off setting, then you should play it 3 on 2. You can never have less than 2 players on the rink at one time.

You are correct in stating "You can never have less than 2 players on the rink at one time" if the league doesn't use modified rules. However, in this case I think they do.

Perhaps I'm not interpreting oldschool22's thread correctly, but he said "Keep in mind, "OT is Always 3 on 3".

That leads me to believe that in their league you can't have less than 3 players on the floor at anytime during OT.

We'll just have to wait for oldschool22's reply.

[William Bourque]

Which would also mean they can't call penalties in overtime if its "always 3 on 3".

I'm sure it can go 3 on 2, which the scenario you said i think would be the correct play on it.

[oldschool22]

To elaborate a little:
Standard play as always is 4 on 4. In OT, they always play 3 on 3. Any time someone gets a minor either in OT or one that carries into it, they play 2 on 3until the penalty is killed. It was the offsetting minors that made things goofy. I don't understand how a 3 on 3 would reset to a 4 on 3 because of offsetting minors and a power play. It would seem to me that a 3 on 2 for the balance of the non offsetting penalty would be correct.

As we all know, a 3 on 2 is a better opportunity than a 4 on 3, which is why I'm trying to figure out what the correct call is. Needless to say, we had a 4 on 3 instead of a 3 on 2 and didn't score in the OT. We did win in a shootout after that.

Hope this makes a little more sense.

[Defense1st]

I think I can explain it this way:
Barring any facility rule differences, OT is 3 on 3 in a normal situation. If the offsetting penalties were to occur during overtime there can only be 2 scenarios:
1. the penalized players go to the box for their 2 minutes plus a whistle rest and one more player from each team joins the 2 remaining players from their respective teams on the floor returning the teams to full strength as allowed in overtime (3 on 3) or
2. the penalized players go to the box for their 2 minutes plus a whistle rest and the 2 teams play 2 on 2.

Using scenario #1 above, if team A gets a 2nd penalty, Team B is now on a 3 on 2 power play. If the initial coincidental penalties expire before Team B scores on their man advantage, the unfortunate answer for those to players is they get to stay in the box until the whistle blows then proceed to their respective benches (although the player who is on the team still on the power play can then replace a player on the floor as the 3rd man for that team (team B in my example). Team A, the team on the penalty kill cannot ever have 3 skaters until the 2nd penalty either expires in time or expires by virtue of a goal being scored. At that point, the 2 teams would each be back to full strength (3 on 3 in OT).

At NO TIME can their be 4 skaters on the rink for either team when the rules state overtime is a 3 on 3 situation, unless one team pulls their goalie.

I have actually witnessed this scenario when a team received a power play with 16 seconds left in a 2nd overtime with the faceoff deep in the shorthanded teams end. The team was so tired that they felt taking a 4 on 2 advantage on that particular faceoff gave them a better chance of scoring in those last 16 seconds. They used 2 skaters to immediately screen the goalie, defended by only 1 opponent; won the face off to the slot for a 1 timer which hit a leg and redirected to the backdoor where it was slammed in for a g-w-g. Risky but successful.

Using scenario #2, in the 2 on 2 situation the penalized player goes to the box but is replaced on the floor by a bench player (this negates the power play advantage as the offending team must have 2 players on the floor minimum). This player's penalty would not start until the coincidental penalties end and the team that should have recieved the power play actually gains the man advantage at 3 on 2. It does not seem fair, but until someone proves to me otherwise in writing, I would insist that this is the only way possible to carry out the rules under AAU or USAHIL. This is no different than stacked penalties during regulation 4 on 4 play.

Phil Steur

[Mtour71]

I think I can explain it this way:
Barring any facility rule differences, OT is 3 on 3 in a normal situation. If the offsetting penalties were to occur during overtime there can only be 2 scenarios:
1. the penalized players go to the box for their 2 minutes plus a whistle rest and one more player from each team joins the 2 remaining players from their respective teams on the floor returning the teams to full strength as allowed in overtime (3 on 3) or
2. the penalized players go to the box for their 2 minutes plus a whistle rest and the 2 teams play 2 on 2.

Using scenario #1 above, if team A gets a 2nd penalty, Team B is now on a 3 on 2 power play. If the initial coincidental penalties expire before Team B scores on their man advantage, the unfortunate answer for those to players is they get to stay in the box until the whistle blows then proceed to their respective benches (although the player who is on the team still on the power play can then replace a player on the floor as the 3rd man for that team (team B in my example). Team A, the team on the penalty kill cannot ever have 3 skaters until the 2nd penalty either expires in time or expires by virtue of a goal being scored. At that point, the 2 teams would each be back to full strength (3 on 3 in OT).

At NO TIME can their be 4 skaters on the rink for either team when the rules state overtime is a 3 on 3 situation, unless one team pulls their goalie.

I have actually witnessed this scenario when a team received a power play with 16 seconds left in a 2nd overtime with the faceoff deep in the shorthanded teams end. The team was so tired that they felt taking a 4 on 2 advantage on that particular faceoff gave them a better chance of scoring in those last 16 seconds. They used 2 skaters to immediately screen the goalie, defended by only 1 opponent; won the face off to the slot for a 1 timer which hit a leg and redirected to the backdoor where it was slammed in for a g-w-g. Risky but successful.

Using scenario #2, in the 2 on 2 situation the penalized player goes to the box but is replaced on the floor by a bench player (this negates the power play advantage as the offending team must have 2 players on the floor minimum). This player's penalty would not start until the coincidental penalties end and the team that should have recieved the power play actually gains the man advantage at 3 on 2. It does not seem fair, but until someone proves to me otherwise in writing, I would insist that this is the only way possible to carry out the rules under AAU or USAHIL. This is no different than stacked penalties during regulation 4 on 4 play.

Phil Steur

Actually there is a scenario where you can have 4 players on the rink. If a team has a 2 man advantage going into overtime, you would not punish them by playing 3 on 2. You start the overtime 4 on 2 and after the penaltys expire you would go back to the 3 on 3 procedure.

Bck to the original statement. I dont think he meant its only 3 on 3, I think he meant they always start 3 on3. It should have been 3 on 2 in the original statement.