Be the Referee: Hockey Penalties
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
February 6, 2024
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 – Hockey Penalties - Listen
The three most common penalties in high school hockey are tripping, slashing, and hooking. What’s the difference between them?
It’s pretty self-explanatory.
Tripping is when a player uses the stick to make another player fall.
Slashing is when a player swings the stick at another player, whether contact is made or not.
And hooking is using your stick to slow an opponent down, usually the puck handler.
Hooking differs from holding in that hooking involves the use of the stick to slow an opponent down, while holding is done with the hands.
All of these penalties – tripping, slashing, hooking and holding – will result in at least two minutes in the penalty box.
Previous Editions
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen
Be the Referee: Pass Interference
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
November 3, 2026
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 – Pass Interference - Listen
How well do you know the rules regarding pass interference and passes behind the line of scrimmage? Let’s find out.
The blue team has the ball. The quarterback throws a forward pass to a receiver who is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Before the receiver can make the catch, a red team defender makes contact with him, and the pass falls incomplete.
Is this defensive pass interference?
The answer is no.
Under high school football rules, pass interference restrictions only apply to forward passes that cross the line of scrimmage. Because this pass was thrown to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage and did not cross it, there is no pass interference.
The same rule applies to backward passes. Pass interference cannot be called on a backward pass, regardless of where the receiver is positioned.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Oct: 27: Field Hockey Substitutions - Listen
Oct. 20: Foot Save in Volleyball - Listen
Oct. 13: Soccer Advantage - Listen
Oct. 6: Defensive Holding - Listen
Sept. 29: Minimum Number of Volleyball Players - Listen
Sept 22: Soccer Changes - Listen
Sept: 15: Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen