Penalties stiffen for high school hockey

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The group that governs Minnesota high school sports announced tougher penalties for illegal checking in the wake of a horrific injury to a 16-year-old player.

The Minnesota State High School League announced late Saturday that checking from behind will now be a five-minute major penalty, instead of a two-minute penalty. Boarding, defined as any move that sends a player violently into the boards, will be an automatic five-minute major penalty instead of an optional two- or five-minute penalty.

Contact to the head also becomes an automatic five-minute major penalty, instead of allowing an official to use discretion in choosing between two- or five-minute penalties.

The changes took effect immediately.

Two Harbors High School hockey coach Steve Wasko says the changes in penalty times is a good thing. “We had to make a change, and the bottom line is the safety of our players,” he said.

Wasko serves on the executive board of the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association. He’s counting on officials to make a call when infractions occur and on players to play responsibly. “We all need to work harder to make our game safer for everybody,” Wasko said.

“This will encourage the reduction and removal of unsafe play,” said Craig Perry, the MSHSL associate director in charge of hockey. “It will be one of the steps we’ll take to change the culture of high school hockey.”

The “major” designation puts the player's team at greater risk of being scored on because it must play short-handed for the full five minutes. Boys’ hockey will see more effects, because checking is not allowed in girls’ hockey, Perry said. But if there is checking in a girls’ game, the stiffer penalties will be enforced.

The league made the changes after Jack Jablonski, a Benilde-St. Margaret's School student, severed his spinal cord when he went head-first into the boards after being checked in a December game. He is not expected to walk again.

A week later, St. Croix Lutheran High School senior Jenna Privette was injured while playing hockey. As of last week, she still had no feeling in her legs, her mother said. Despite initial reports that Privette was illegally checked, the MSHSL determined she was not hit, but fell to the ice on her own.

Perry said the changes, approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations, will be in effect on an experimental basis for three years.

MSHSL Executive Director Dave Stead said he's never seen a major change approved so quickly and implemented midseason.

“This wasn't a knee-jerk reaction,” Perry said. “We are educators, and everyone is unified to change the culture for the best. We've had this on our minds for quite some time.”

Wasko said so far, coaches have responded well to the changes. “The coaches association has heard that there’s a positive reaction among the coaches about making a change in the way calls are made.”

Andover High School junior Nick Manney, a summer league teammate of Jablonski, said players need to be more aware.

“Checking is a big part of the game, but there's a line players have crossed way too many times. A lot of kids think hitting is cool and to knock a guy out is OK. It's not. It was getting to the point where we needed a change after the horrible incidents of late,” Manney said. “I'm glad that change is here.”

Wasko says that the players’ welfare is on everyone’s mind when a game starts. “I don’t think there’s a parent out there who isn’t nervous every time their child is on the ice.”

The league will post a video on its website to help teach players, coaches, and officials about proper checking techniques and illegal hits.

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