Level check: four calls that change with the age group

Craft note: practice advice, not a rule.

The same play can have two right answers in USA Hockey depending on the classification on the game sheet. Before the opening face-off, read the level off the scoresheet and say it out loud in the crew talk.

These four change by level in the 2025-29 book:

• Shorthanded icing is allowed from Youth 15-Only, Girls 16U, High School and Adult; below that, a shorthanded team is still called for icing (624(b)(1), p. 196).
• Delayed offside applies from Youth 15-Only, Girls 16U, High School and Adult; at 14U and younger offside is immediate (630(d), p. 202).
• Body checking is not allowed at 12U and younger, in all Girls' and Women's classifications and in non-check Adult play (604, p. 179).
• Neck laceration protectors are required for every player and goalkeeper below Adult (304(g), p. 48).

If the level is not on the sheet, ask the scorekeeper and both coaches before the puck drops, not after the first icing.

Rules mentioned: 624(b)(1), 630(d), 604, 304(g), USA Hockey 2025-29 Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey. The rulebook (PDF)