Question

A player is assessed a minor penalty and then their team is assessed a bench minor penalty during the same stoppage of play. The player's Coach requests that the player also serve the bench minor penalty? Should the Referee permit this?

Answer 1

No, the Referee should not permit a player to serve both their own minor penalty and the bench minor penalty as it goes against ice hockey rules intended to ensure the team is short-handed for the required time for each infraction.

Step-by-step explanation:

In ice hockey, when a player is assessed a minor penalty and their team also receives a bench minor penalty during the same stoppage of play, it is typically required for a different player, who was on the ice at the time of the infractions, to serve the bench minor penalty. The rationale behind this is to ensure that the team is penalized by playing short-handed for the appropriate amount of time for each infraction. The rules generally do not permit a player to serve both their own minor penalty and a bench minor, as this would give the team an undue advantage by effectively combining the penalties into a single time frame. Therefore, the Referee should not allow the coach's request for the player to also serve the bench minor penalty.