The rule before the change
Both rulebooks start from the same idea. If a team is below the other team's strength because of one or more minors and is scored on, one minor ends (Canadian Rule 4.2(b), USA Rule 402(c)). The USA casebook adds the working method: the minor with the least time on the penalty clock ends, a major can never end, and a double minor is two separate minors. Nothing ends when the teams are at equal strength, for example four on four.
- P1 10:00 Penalty: Home #4, tripping (TRIP), minor
- P1 9:00 Penalty: Home #6, hooking (HOOK), minor
- P1 8:30 Goal: Away
What the sheet and the door should show
two home minors and a power play goal
| Team | P | # | Served by | Offence | Min | Off | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 4 | TRIP minor | 2 | 10:00 | P1 10:00 | P1 8:30 | |
| Home | 1 | 6 | HOOK minor | 2 | 9:00 | P1 9:00 | P1 7:00 |
Box door
- Home #4 at P1 8:30 (ended by a goal)
- Home #6 at P1 7:00 (time expired)
What 2026-28 added
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association's summary of the new Hockey Canada rules, published 2 September 2026, puts it simply: officials must now consider delayed minor and bench minor penalties when deciding whether a penalty ends after a goal. The rulebook text of Rule 4.2(b) and its Note 1 spell out how: a team is treated as short if it would become short because of a delayed minor or bench minor, and for choosing the minor to end, a delayed minor counts as a penalty with 2:00 left. Interpretation 1 gives the referee two questions: is the team scored on short, or about to be because of a delayed time penalty, and is that because of a minor or bench minor? If both answers are yes, the minor with the least time ends.
The case that changes is four on four with an arm up. Each team has a minor running; the referee signals a delayed minor on away; home scores. Under the old reading the teams were even, so nothing on the clock ended. Under 2026-28, away is treated as short by the delayed minor, so its running minor, with less than 2:00 left, ends, and the delayed minor is assessed and served.
- P1 5:00 Penalty: Home #8, tripping (TRIP), minor
- P1 4:30 Penalty: Away #3, hooking (HOOK), minor
- P1 4:00 Delayed penalty signalled: Away #6, slashing (SLASH), minor. Play on.
- P1 4:00 Goal: Home
What the sheet and the door should show
four on four, a delayed minor, and a goal (Canadian 2026-28)
| Team | P | # | Served by | Offence | Min | Off | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 8 | TRIP minor | 2 | 5:00 | P1 5:00 | P1 3:00 | |
| Away | 1 | 3 | HOOK minor | 2 | 4:30 | P1 4:30 | P1 4:00 | |
| Away | 1 | 6 | SLASH minor | 2 | 4:00 | P1 4:00 | P1 2:00 |
Box door
- Away #3 at P1 4:00 (ended by a goal)
- Home #8 at P1 3:00 (time expired)
- Away #6 at P1 2:00 (time expired)
The same play under the USA Hockey 2025-29 profile gives a different sheet:
- P1 5:00 Penalty: Home #8, tripping (TRIP), minor
- P1 4:30 Penalty: Away #3, hooking (HOOK), minor
- P1 4:00 Delayed penalty signalled: Away #6, slashing (SLASH), minor. Play on.
- P1 4:00 Goal: Home
What the sheet and the door should show
the same play under USA 2025-29 rules
| Team | P | # | Served by | Offence | Min | Off | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 8 | TRIP minor | 2 | 5:00 | P1 5:00 | P1 3:00 | |
| Away | 1 | 3 | HOOK minor | 2 | 4:30 | P1 4:30 | P1 2:30 | |
| Away | 1 | 6 | SLASH minor, expired on the goal | 2 | 4:00 | P1 4:00 | P1 4:00 |
Box door
- Home #8 at P1 3:00 (time expired)
- Away #3 at P1 2:30 (time expired)
USA Rule 409(b) records the first delayed minor as imposed but deemed expired when the fouled team scores, and nothing on the clock ends because the teams were even at the time of the goal (USA Casebook, Rule 409 Situation 12).
Other cases worth knowing
- Full strength with an arm up: the delayed minor is the only minor in play, so it is the one that ends. Under Canadian Rule 4.15(b) it is not assessed at all; under USA Rule 409(b) it is written on the sheet as expired.
- Short by a major with a delayed minor on the way: in both books the delayed minor is the one that goes. The major is served in full.
- Short by a minor with another delayed minor on the way: the running minor, with less than 2:00 left, ends; the delayed one is assessed.
- A shorthanded goal against a team with an arm up: under the Canadian rules the scored on team is not short, so the delayed penalty is assessed.
- Two minors with equal time left: the one that happened first ends (Canadian Rule 4.15(b) Note 2).
Common mistakes
- Ending the minor taken last instead of the one with the least time left.
- Ending a major, or a coincidental minor, on a goal.
- Releasing a player after a penalty shot goal.
- Clearing a double minor completely when the goal came in its first half.
- Applying the old Canadian reading at four on four with an arm up, now that 2026-28 is in force.
The practice page has a delayed call situation with three scenarios in each profile, and the free daily period generates them too.
Sources
Checked against these sources on 27 September 2026. Rules are paraphrased with their numbers, never quoted at length. Leagues and associations add their own rules; where yours differ, follow them.
- Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028. PDF from the Hockey Canada officiating downloads page. Sections 4 (types of penalties), 5 (officials, including Rules 5.5 penalty timekeeper and 5.7 game timekeeper) and 6.17 (time of game and time-outs). Read 27 September 2026.
- OMHA, Hockey Canada Playing Rule Changes for the 2026-27 Season, 2 September 2026. The Ontario Minor Hockey Association's summary of the 2026-28 changes, including Rule 4.2(b) on delayed minors and bench minors when a goal is scored. Read 27 September 2026.
- USA Hockey Official Rules of Ice Hockey 2025-29. PDF from the USA Hockey rules and resources page. Rules 401 to 409 (penalties), 506 (game timekeeper), 507 (penalty timekeeper) and 636 (time of game and time-outs). Read 27 September 2026.
- USA Hockey Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey 2025-29. The casebook situations under Rule 402, including the table of which penalty ends on a goal and Situations 11 to 23. Read 27 September 2026.