There were quite a few rules changes in college hockey before this season and for the first time, the NCAA hosted a webinar with NCAA Secretary-Rules Editor Steve Piotrowski to specifically talk about how those changes and areas of focus would affect women’s college hockey.
We talked about this for a while on this PodKaz episode, so if you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend listening to that.
But it’s also easier to understand and visualize these changes with the corresponding documents in front of you.
To start, here’s a link to the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 NCAA Rules Book pdf.
There have generally been small rule changes and tweaks each season – often the referee coordinator for each conference would bring them up briefly in pre-season media phone calls. This year, the rule change document is 13 pages long (in landscape orientation, but still).
For as long as I can remember, the DI rule book for men’s and women’s hockey has been the same, with the exception of one rule – it is the only rule within the book listed specifically as for women’s hockey only.
As written, it says:
94.1 Body Checking – Body checking is not permitted in any area of the ice. Body checking occurs when a player delivers a distinct and definable moment of impact using overt (blatant) hip, shoulder, arm or torso action in an attempt to separate the puck carrier from the puck.
PENALTY – A minor, major and game misconduct or major and disqualification, at the discretion of the referee.
It feels like every season we hear that the NCAA and the officials are putting a point of emphasis on some part of this rule without much success. The rule is open to a lot of interpretation and no two officials seem to have the same read on what is and is not allowed. So this year, in the rulebook itself, under the rule listing, there is a point of emphasis called “Modernizing the Application of Rule 94 (Body Contact).”
(FYI, all of this information can be found on pages 121 and 122 of the Rules Book).
In the webinar held for journalists and broadcasters, Piotrowski emphasized that every hit is not a check and wants everyone from officials to coaches and fans to be able to make a distinction between a collision and a penalty. What matters for body contact is timing, angle, force and intent.
“Officials are going to judge the action that created the contact, not just the outcome. If a player goes down, that doesn’t mean there’s automatically a penalty,” he said.
“A body check is a distinct, definable moment of impact using overt (blatant) hip, shoulder, arm or torso action meant to separate the puck carrier from the puck.”
From the Rules Book:
Definitions
(i) Body Contact – Women’s ice hockey permits competitive body contact that results naturally from angling, puck pursuit, and lane control in the course of legally playing the puck. Players may use body position to impede or contain opponents; however, forceful body checking intended primarily to separate the opponent from the puck through impact remains prohibited.
(ii)Legal Body Contact Mechanics – To be considered legal body contact, the initiating player must:
- Maintain a skating lane or angle consistent with the puck’s location.
- Deliver shoulder-to-shoulder contact from a position even or ahead of an opponent.
- Avoid contact initiated from a position behind an opponent where they reasonably cannot expect contact.
- Keep the stick on the ice or in a position to immediately play the puck.
- Avoid any distinct and definable moment of impact using overt (blatant) hip, shoulder, arm or torso extension to deliver force.
- Avoid any “explosive” upward or outward motion (driving through the opponent).
There are four types of contact that Piotrowski said need to be recognized as legal:
- Parallel possession pursuit – legal shoulder to shoulder moving in the same direction without any flagrant extension from a player
- End wall pursuit – providing there’s a steering mechanism involved, not a shove or force
- Forward angle and cut back – a defender holding an established lane doesn’t have to vacate it
- 50/50 puck battle – contact to win the lane as long as there is no opposite-direction hit
According to the Rules Book, “using body weight to separate an opponent from the puck while moving in the same direction is a fundamental defensive skill.”
What changes things is if there is no extension or “opposite direction” hitting motion.
“Contact from behind when the opponent cannot expect it may be a penalty,” said Piotrowski.
The things that officials will be looking out for as “red flags” and lead to them calling a penalty are: a distinct moment of impact, not continuous angling or shared lane contact, an opposite direction hit, contact from behind, driving through contact in an outward or upward motion with the body or the stick and an overt extension to deliver force.
As we spoke about on the PodKaz episode linked above, one of the videos used to illustrate the forward angle and cut back contact left us more confused.
In this episode of the #PodKaz @toddmilewski.bsky.social and I talked about one of the clips from the rules webinar we took part in. I wanted to share the video so folks knew what we were talking about. This is an example of legal body contact in women’s D1 NCAA hockeywww.uscho.com/2026/10/01/t…
— Nicole Haase (@nicolehaase.bsky.social)2026-10-14T20:07:06.443Z
The lifting of the Northeastern players arms seemed to fulfill the definition of arm extension to deliver force. But Piotrowski clarified that while the BU player fell down and the stick went flying, the Northeastern player was not initiating contact. With the cut back, the BU player had started a sequence that would initiate impact. It is natural, Piotrowski said, for us to raise our arms when impact is imminent to try and protect ourselves. He said the players’ arms come up at the last moment, which helps reinforce that their use here is not malicious.
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A few other rule changes, clarifications and updates beyond body contact:
- With offsides, what has changed is that a player must be in control of the puck with the stick before both skates cross into the zone. So the new rule is less about the exact location of the puck in relation to the player’s skates and the blue line. The guidance to the linesperson making the call is to let things play out in close situations.
- After a hand-pass or high-stick violation, the faceoff moves to the dot nearest the infraction that gives the offending team the least territorial advantage. There is no longer a pre-determined spot one zone back
- Hand passes fully in the defensive zone are now legal.
- One punch is no longer considered a fight. Fighting requires repeated punches or attempted punches. A single punch is roughing. In women’s hockey there’s a five minute major penalty for roughing/sucker punch.
- Shootouts are no longer automatic, but all women’s conferences have elected to have them.
- The facemasking rule covers all openings on the helmet now, not just the traditional cage.
- Head butting can draw a minor if the head butt is only attempted or is done non-forcefully. Forceful and egregious head butts get a major and game or disqualification.
- Checking from behind – removed “open ice” from rules language. Only enforced for contact into the boards or goal frame. An open ice hit will be called for charging or interference.
- Spitting is now a game disqualification. It’s a zero tolerance rule. If a player does it, they will automatically be given a disqualification.
- Throwing the stick outside the game area is now a game misconduct. If a stick is thrown into the netting, it still breaks this rule. This is about an individual player’s stick or forcing someone else’s stick from their hands and outside the game area.
- Another area of emphasis across men’s and women’s hockey this season is diving and embellishment. Piotrowski said to expect more embellishment penalties this season.