Hitting a rival with a club (ice hockey)

Such a technique is traditionally considered a violation of the rules against players, since a club strike can result in injury to the player. As a rule, the player who committed such a violation is removed for two minutes. However, if he deliberately tried to incapacitate the enemy or his actions resulted in injury to the opponent, the offender may receive a more serious punishment up to a match penalty (5 + 20) and removal until the end of the meeting. The degree of punishment varies depending on the importance of the tournament, as well as the consequences of an opponent hitting with a club and the degree of damage he received. Typically, the penalties in matches of the Olympic Games and World Championships for this violation are much more stringent and frequent than in matches of the NHL and KHL.

However, even experienced hockey referees can make the erroneous decision to remove a player by confusing an opponent’s club with a club and holding his opponent with a club or without noticing the club’s contact with the player’s body. In the finals of the women's hockey tournament of the Winter Olympic Games in 2014 between the national teams of the USA and Canada, the American Hilary Knight was removed for two minutes per hit by an opponent with a stick (Canadian Haley Wickenheiser suffered). Both sides were dissatisfied with the decision: the Canadian team demanded to appoint a bullet, because it believed that the opponent had a stick, and the US team demanded to cancel the removal of the player, believing that the club had no contact with the player ^[4] .

IIHF

IIHL rules an opponent's club with a club is classified as a club hit with the club with both hands if the club does not touch the ice. This violation is punishable by a two-minute penalty in the ordinary case and a large fine of 5 minutes with removal until the end of the game and possible disqualification for the next match if the player injures the player or at least tries to do it ^[2] .

NHL

The NHL rules classify an opponent’s club with a club as an action in which the player, holding the club with both hands, puts a strong club hit on the opponent’s body with a club hook. However, in this case, only the judge decides how dangerous the opponent’s club was and what punishment should be assigned: removal for 2 minutes, formal until the end of the game (5 + 20) or additional disqualification for the next match. In the event of a 5 + 20 deletion, the player also pays a fine of $ 100. Disqualification for the next game is awarded if the offender deliberately tried to injure the opponent. The NHL commissioner has the right to impose an additional penalty on the player who violated the rules ^[1] .

KHL

According to the KHL Hockey Rules, if a player hits his opponent with his stick with one hand or with both hands with great force and amplitude over his body, hands or club, a player commits a violation that qualifies as a “club hit”. Also, this violation includes the case if a player knocked out a stick from an opponent’s hands, broke his stick or someone else’s, and it does not matter if the injured player owned the puck or not and whether there was contact between the players ^[3] . For attempting to injure a player, for injuring a player, for hitting a club with a stick in the groin or for swinging a club at an opponent during any conflict, the player receives a 5 + 20 minute penalty (removed before the end of the game) and automatic disqualification for the next match ^[3] . If the player taps or knocks the stick of the opponent from the bottom up in order to take the puck or prevent the opponent from accepting the pass from the partner, then this is not considered a blow of the opponent with a stick ^[3] .