Rinkclock
Guide

The hockey timekeeper's guide

The timekeeper runs the game clock, puts every time penalty on the penalty clock, writes the game sheet, and opens the box door at the right second. Four rules cause most mistakes: coincidental penalties, the stacked third penalty, which penalty ends on a power play goal, and in Canada since 2026-27, how a delayed minor counts when a goal is scored. Each has a guide below, with worked examples computed by the same engine that grades the drill.

Guides

The job in one minute

In stop time the game clock runs only while the puck is in play. A penalty is assessed at a stoppage; its time is playing time, so it runs only with the game clock and carries into the next period. A team never has more than two players serving time penalties at once. A minor ends early when the other team scores while the penalized team is short because of it; a major never does. Coincidental penalties cancel for strength and stay off the clock. Misconducts put a player in the box for ten minutes without making the team short, and the player waits for a stoppage.

The penalty code sheet lists the offence codes, and the free daily period lets you try it all with a narrator, a console and a sheet.

Sources

Checked on 27 September 2026 against:

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Last reviewed . First published .

Frequently asked questions

What does a hockey timekeeper do?

Runs the game clock, posts penalties on the penalty clocks, records every penalty on the game sheet, and lets each penalized player out of the box at the right moment.

Is there a difference between the game timekeeper and the penalty timekeeper?

In the rulebooks, yes: one runs the game clock and the other the penalties. At most minor hockey games one or two volunteers do both jobs from the same bench.

Are these guides official?

No. They paraphrase the published rulebooks, with rule numbers and the date they were checked. Rinkclock is not affiliated with any hockey body, and your league's own rules come first.