Definition

Noun: * (Ice hockey): The act of a player shooting the puck from behind the center red line (from within their own defensive half) across the opponent's goal line, where it is not touched by an opposing player. This results in a stoppage of play and a subsequent face-off in the offending team's defensive zone.

Usage

• This term is used exclusively in the context of ice hockey to describe a specific rule infraction.
• It is a compound noun that functions as a single concept within the sport's terminology.
• Example: "The defenseman was penalized for icing the puck to relieve pressure from the forecheck."

Advanced Usage

• "Hybrid Icing" / "No-touch Icing": Modern rule variations intended to increase player safety. Under these rules, play is stopped for icing as soon as a defending player (other than the goaltender) reaches the face-off dot first, rather than requiring them to touch the puck.
• "Icing is waved off": The referee cancels the icing call, typically because:
  • The opposing team's goaltender touches the puck.
  • An opposing player could have played the puck before it crossed the goal line.
  • The team committing the infraction is shorthanded (playing with fewer players due to a penalty).

Variants and Related Words

• Ice (verb, in this context): To commit the infraction of icing.
  • Example: "Don't just ice it; look for an outlet pass."
• Icing (noun): The common shortened form of "icing the puck."
  • Example: "The referee's arm went up to signal icing."

Synonyms

• There are no direct synonyms for this specific sports rule. Related conceptual phrases include:
  • Clearing the puck illegally (from behind the red line)
  • A long dump-in (that results in an infraction)

Related Phrases

• Icing call: The official decision by a referee or linesman to stop play for this infraction.
• Icing the kicker (American Football): An idiom borrowed from hockey, meaning to call a timeout just before a placekicker attempts a field goal, in an attempt to disrupt their focus. This is a metaphorical use of the term from a different sport.

Noun

1. (ice hockey) the act of shooting the puck from within your own defensive area the length of the rink beyond the opponent's goal