Puck over the glass is not automatically a penalty every time.
Published
In an IIHF game, most pucks that leave the rink cause a whistle and a face-off. The automatic delay-of-game minor applies when a player shoots or bats the puck with a hand or stick directly out over protective glass from that player’s defending zone. Intent is not part of that particular test, but a deflection, the players’ bench, a face-off or the absence of protective glass can change the ruling.
Quick ruling: under IIHF Rule 63.2(III) for 2026/27, assess a minor when the puck was in the player’s defending zone at contact, was shot or batted by hand or stick, and went directly over protective glass. Do not apply that automatic penalty if it deflected, entered a players’ bench, went out directly from the face-off, or left where there was no protective glass. Deliberately putting the puck out can still be penalized separately under Rule 63.2(II), from anywhere on the ice.
Scope
The governing ruleset used here
This page applies the International Ice Hockey Federation Official Rulebook 2026/27, Version 1.0 (June 2026), chiefly Rules 15.5, 16.1, 27.1, 38, 63 and 85. The IIHF’s current rules page says its events and championships use the latest version published there; that page listed the 2026/27 book when checked on 27 August 2026.
This is an IIHF-event explanation, not a universal rule for every league. The NHL, NCAA, USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, domestic leagues, age grades and tournaments appoint their own rulebooks and may use different face-off or review procedures.
Two routes
Routine puck out, deliberate delay and automatic delay are different
Rule 85 governs the ordinary puck-out stoppage. Rule 63.2(II) penalizes a player who deliberately shoots or bats the puck outside the playing area from anywhere on the ice, during play or after a stoppage. Rule 63.2(III) is narrower but does not require intent: it penalizes the direct defending-zone puck over glass when all its factual conditions are present.
A referee can therefore rule “no automatic puck-over-glass penalty” because of a deflection and still penalize a clearly deliberate act under Rule 63.2(II). Conversely, a pressured clearance can be accidental in the everyday sense and still satisfy Rule 63.2(III).
Automatic test
Five questions decide the common call
Where was the puck? It must have been inside that player’s defending zone when contacted. The player’s skate position is not the determining factor.
How was it played? Rule 63.2(III) covers a shot or bat made with the stick or hand.
Was the path direct? The puck must leave the playing surface without a deflection.
Did it go over protective glass? The automatic provision does not apply where there is no protective glass.
Does an express exception apply? A puck entering a players’ bench or going out directly from a face-off is not penalized under this provision.
If all five answers support the offence, the player receives a minor penalty. Rule 16.1 makes that two minutes with no substitute for a skater. Under Rule 27.1, a penalized goalkeeper stays in goal while a teammate who was on the ice at the stoppage serves the minor.
Direct or deflected?
Glass, boards, sticks and bodies matter
Rule 63.2(III) calls the qualifying puck “direct (non-deflected).” A puck that first touches a player, stick, glass or boards does not meet that automatic route. This remains true whether the intervening contact was large or only a slight change visible on replay.
Do not turn that into the broader claim that every deflection guarantees no penalty. The officials can still apply Rule 63.2(II) if the player deliberately caused the puck to leave the rink. The deflection answers the automatic test; intent answers the separate deliberate-delay test.
Bench boundary
Into the bench is not the same as over its glass
IIHF Rule 63.2(III) expressly says the automatic penalty does not apply when the puck is shot into a players’ bench. It also says a puck shot over the protective glass surrounding the bench is penalized when the other conditions are met. The destination—not simply the fact that the puck crossed the boards—matters.
Rule 85.1 supplies the no-penalty restart. A puck entering through an open bench door normally returns to the nearest spot in the zone from which it was shot. If it enters the opponent’s bench through the open door, or hits an opponent leaning over that bench, the face-off is in the neutral zone adjacent to that bench.
Face-off exception
A draw that sends the puck straight out is not delay of game
If the puck leaves the playing area directly from a face-off, Rule 85.1 keeps the next face-off at the same spot and Rule 63.2(III) says no delay-of-game penalty is assessed, regardless of which player last contacted it. Once normal play has developed after the draw, the usual tests apply again.
What stops play?
Out, unplayable and still live are separate states
Out of bounds: Rule 85.1 stops play when the puck leaves the rink or strikes an overhead obstacle other than the boards or protective glass. Broken glass, lighting, a timing device or its supports also causes a stoppage.
Spectator netting: the whistle should stop play when an official observes contact. Players must continue until the whistle.
Top of the boards: a puck resting there remains in play and may legally be played by hand or stick.
Outside goal netting: the puck may be played there, but Rule 85.2 stops play if it remains lodged for more than three seconds.
Out of sight: Rule 85.3 directs an immediate whistle when a scramble or accidental fall hides the puck from the referee.
These are game-flow rulings. None by itself proves that a player committed delay of game.
Restart
The penalty call changes the face-off
If a penalty is assessed: Rule 15.5 normally places the face-off at one of the offending team’s two end-zone spots, with the team starting the power play choosing the side. Its stated exceptions include a penalty after a goal, a penalty at the end or start of a period, attacking-player encroachment beyond the end-zone circle, and infringements by both teams.
If there is no penalty: Rules 85.1 and 85.5 generally use the nearest spot in the zone from which the puck was shot, or the zone where it deflected out. For a neutral- or defending-zone origin, officials choose the eligible spot giving the offending team the least territorial advantage. Rule 85.4 separately places a puck deflected out by an on-ice official at the nearest spot in the zone where it struck the official.
Rule 85.7 also requires any game-clock or penalty-clock time lost after the puck went out to be restored; video may be consulted to set the time accurately.
Video review
IIHF review can remove a called penalty, not create one
Under IIHF Rule 38.2(IV) for 2026/27, a team may challenge an assessed Rule 63.2(III) puck-over-glass minor on the objective claim that the puck deflected from a player, stick, glass, boards or similar contact. The challenge must be made before play resumes. It cannot challenge a non-call to add a penalty, and it cannot re-litigate a judgment call such as whether an act was deliberate.
A conclusive review removes the incorrect penalty. If the call is not overturned, Rule 38.7 adds a two-minute bench minor for the team’s first unsuccessful challenge; after one or more earlier unsuccessful challenges, another failure brings a four-minute double bench minor. A technical failure that prevents review leaves the on-ice call in place but carries no failed-challenge penalty.
Goalkeepers
The goaltender is not exempt
A goalkeeper can commit the same Rule 63.2(III) puck-over-glass offence because the provision applies to any player. Rule 63.2 also covers distinct goalkeeper delays: deliberately causing a stoppage outside the crease, racing out and jumping on the puck instead of playing it, improperly freezing the puck in the crease when not being checked, and playing the puck in the restricted area behind the goal. The restricted-area minor is not assessed when the goalkeeper plays the puck while maintaining skate contact with the crease.
A save that merely deflects out does not satisfy the direct puck-over-glass test. Officials must identify what the goalkeeper did after or instead of the save, rather than treating every puck over glass from the goal area alike.
Worked case 1
The skater is outside the blue line; the puck is not
Situation: a defender’s skates have crossed into the neutral zone, but the puck remains just inside the defending-zone side of the blue line when the defender lifts it directly over protective glass.
IIHF 2026/27 ruling: minor penalty under Rule 63.2(III). The decisive location is the puck at contact, not the player’s skates.
Worked case 2
A clearance clips an opponent’s stick
Situation: a defending-zone clearance grazes an opponent’s stick and then crosses the protective glass.
IIHF 2026/27 ruling: no automatic Rule 63.2(III) minor because the puck did not go out directly. Unless the officials find a separate deliberate act under Rule 63.2(II), stop play and locate the face-off under Rule 85 at the nearest eligible spot in the zone where the deflection sent it out.
Worked case 3
The puck enters an open bench door
Situation: a player shoots from the defending zone and the untouched puck travels through the open door into the opposing bench.
IIHF 2026/27 ruling: no automatic puck-over-glass minor because Rule 63.2(III) excludes a puck shot into a players’ bench. Rule 85.1 puts the face-off in the neutral zone adjacent to the opponent’s bench. Evidence that the player deliberately targeted the bench would require the separate Rule 63.2(II) analysis.
Worked case 4
The face-off win flies directly out
Situation: a centre wins a defensive-zone draw and the puck immediately goes straight over the glass without another touch.
IIHF 2026/27 ruling: no penalty. Rules 63.2(III) and 85.1 expressly exempt a puck going out directly from the face-off, and the draw is repeated at the same spot.
Decision path
How to rule the replay
Confirm a stoppage. Did the puck actually leave the playing area, hit netting or an obstruction, become unplayable, or remain legally live on the boards or goal netting?
Check deliberate delay first. A deliberate act can be penalized from anywhere under Rule 63.2(II).
Freeze the moment of contact. Was the puck in that player’s defending zone?
Trace the puck. Was it shot or batted with hand or stick directly over protective glass, or did it touch something first?
Apply the express exceptions. No automatic minor for entry into a bench, a puck directly off the draw or an area without protective glass.
Choose the consequence. Penalty and end-zone power-play face-off, or a Rule 85 no-penalty face-off.
Check review rights. An assessed Rule 63.2(III) penalty can be challenged for an objective intervening deflection before play resumes.
Common mistakes
Four shortcuts that give the wrong answer
“Over the glass always means two minutes.” Zone, direct travel, protective glass and the express exceptions all matter.
“It was accidental, so there is no penalty.” Intent is unnecessary for Rule 63.2(III).
“A deflection ends every delay inquiry.” It defeats the automatic route, but not a separately proven deliberate act.
“Replay can add the missed penalty.” IIHF Rule 38 permits this challenge only to nullify an assessed puck-over-glass minor.
Checked on 27 August 2026 against the IIHF Official Rulebook 2026/27, Version 1.0 issued in June 2026, and the IIHF page identifying its latest published rules as controlling for IIHF events and championships. Event technology rules and competition regulations may supplement review operations. Non-IIHF leagues and national associations are outside this page’s scope.
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