Side by side
| Topic | Hockey Canada 2026-28 | USA Hockey 2025-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Minor length | Always 2:00 (Rule 4.2) | Pro-rated: 1:00 for periods of 12 minutes or less, 1:30 over 12 and under 17, 2:00 for 17 to 20 (Rule 402) |
| Major | 5:00 and always a game misconduct; the coach names a player from the ice to serve (Rule 4.4) | 5:00; the player serves it unless it comes with a game misconduct, when a substitute serves (Rules 403(a) and (d)) |
| Misconduct | 10:00, substitute on at once, out at the first stoppage after (Rule 4.7) | 10:00, which an affiliate may shorten for short periods, out at the next stoppage (Rule 404) |
| Delayed minor and a goal | Counts as 2:00 left in deciding which minor ends, new for 2026-28 (Rule 4.2(b)) | The first delayed minor is recorded but deemed expired, unless the team was already short by a minor (Rule 409(b)) |
| Delayed minor, full strength, goal | Not assessed (Rule 4.15(b)) | Written on the sheet as expired (Rule 409(b)) |
| Coincidental order | Written procedure: cancel as many as possible, one player short, no extra player off, then order of occurrence (Rule 4.5(d)) | Equal numbers cancel; extra penalties served normally (Rules 402(f) and 403(c)) |
| Coincidental on the clock | Not a power play, so not posted as one (Rule 4.5) | Not recorded on the timing device (Rule 507(b) Note 2) |
| Two expire together | Out in the order the penalties were reported (Rule 4.14(c)) | The captain chooses who returns first (Rules 402(d) and 408(b)) |
| Time-out | One per team, 30 seconds (Rule 6.17(e)) | One per team, 60 seconds (Rule 636(f)) |
| Penalty shot goal | Nobody released (Rule 4.2(b) Note 1) | Nobody released (Rule 402(c) and Casebook) |
The difference that changes a sheet
Away is short by a minor. The referee raises an arm on home, then away scores short handed before home touches the puck. The two rulebooks write different sheets. Under the Canadian rules the team scored on is not short, so the delayed minor is assessed and served (the 2026-28 notes to Rule 4.2(b)). Under USA Rule 409(b) the first delayed minor is recorded but deemed expired whenever the other team scores during the delay.
- P1 10:00 Penalty: Away #4, tripping (TRIP), minor
- P1 9:30 Delayed penalty signalled: Home #6, hooking (HOOK), minor. Play on.
- P1 9:00 Goal: Away
What the sheet and the door should show
a short handed goal during a delayed call, Canadian rules
| Team | P | # | Served by | Offence | Min | Off | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 4 | TRIP minor | 2 | 10:00 | P1 10:00 | P1 8:00 | |
| Home | 1 | 6 | HOOK minor | 2 | 9:00 | P1 9:00 | P1 7:00 |
Box door
- Away #4 at P1 8:00 (time expired)
- Home #6 at P1 7:00 (time expired)
- P1 10:00 Penalty: Away #4, tripping (TRIP), minor
- P1 9:30 Delayed penalty signalled: Home #6, hooking (HOOK), minor. Play on.
- P1 9:00 Goal: Away
What the sheet and the door should show
the same play, USA rules
| Team | P | # | Served by | Offence | Min | Off | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 4 | TRIP minor | 2 | 10:00 | P1 10:00 | P1 8:00 | |
| Home | 1 | 6 | HOOK minor, expired on the goal | 2 | 9:00 | P1 9:00 | P1 9:00 |
Box door
- Away #4 at P1 8:00 (time expired)
What Rinkclock does where a rulebook leaves a choice
Where two penalties expire together, the USA rulebook lets the captain choose who returns first; Rinkclock uses the order the penalties were recorded, as the Canadian rulebook does, and says so. For coincidental penalties with unequal counts, Rinkclock applies the Canadian cancellation order in both profiles, which gives the USA casebook's answers for the situations it lists. Majors and misconducts keep their full lengths in the USA profile, because shortening them is an affiliate's option, not the default. The USA profile also stops at the youth rule for a major plus game misconduct, where a substitute serves; adult play differs.
Common mistakes when you switch between the two
- Using 2:00 minors in a USA game with 15 minute periods, or 1:30 minors in a Canadian game.
- Letting a Canadian major be served by the penalized player, who is gone with a game misconduct.
- Adding a game misconduct row to every USA major.
- Timing a 60 second time-out in a Canadian game.
- Applying the 2026-28 delayed minor rule in a USA game.
Every mode in Rinkclock runs under either profile; the practice page has three scenarios per situation for each, and the free daily period runs under the one you pick.
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.