WHL announces rule changes ahead of Friday season opener

Ahead of the season opening on Friday, the WHL announced Wednesday that the league has made some changes to the rulebook for the upcoming season.

There are three major changes to the rules:

• Coaches can now challenge possible offside goals.

• Referees can review major and match penalty calls to confirm, reduce or rescind penalties entirely.

• No return to three-on-three overtime.

Read more:

• Saskatoon’s Trevor Jacek captures world championship relay gold with Team Canada
• ‘He loved the game’: Sask. hockey icon Melrose remembered by cousin, NHL great Clark
• Saskatchewan Rush to pick 10th in NLL dispersal draft after franchises fold

With the overtime rules, the WHL tested them during the pre-season in an effort to stop teams from stalling with the puck in overtime and instead urge them to attack.

The basics of overtime remain the same: If the game is tied after three periods, the two teams will play five minutes of overtime with three players and a goaltender on the ice for each team. If the game is still tied after overtime, a winner will be decided via shootout.

What changes, for fans who have not watched the pre-season, is that once a team has entered its opponent’s end of the ice with the puck, the attacking team cannot play the puck back over the blue line toward centre ice under most circumstances.

If the attacking team does play the puck over the blue line toward centre ice, the whistle will be blown, play will stop and a faceoff will take place back in the attacking team’s defensive zone. The attacking team cannot change its lines, and the other team will get to choose which side of the ice the faceoff happens on, just as it would on an icing call.

There are three exceptions to the “no-return” rule:

• If a team wins an offensive-zone faceoff cleanly and the puck comes out to centre before a player can retrieve it, play will continue instead of being blown down.

• If a player in the offensive zone is checked near the blue line, resulting in the player losing possession of the puck out to centre ice, play will continue instead of being blown down.

• If a player takes a shot that misses the net, it will not result in a stoppage of play unless a referee or linesperson determines the shot attempt was deliberately intended to exit the offensive zone.

Also of note: The “no-return” rule will not be in effect during any four-on-four or five-on-five play, but will be back in effect once a team is back on the power play or play returns to three-on-three.

The “no-return” rule is also non-reviewable.

As for the other two rule changes, if you have been around any of the WHL rinks during the pre-season, you may have noticed seven of these new cameras around.

One of the new replay cameras installed in the Art Hauser Centre behind one of the nets. (Nick Nielsen/paNOW)

Each rink has set up seven new cameras using the Spiideo system, the same replay system used by the AHL, OHL and various other sports leagues around the world, according to its website.

Coaches on the bench and referees in the penalty boxes will now be able to review different plays throughout a game on video tablets on the bench and in the penalty box. There are cameras set up above each goaltender’s crease, directly behind the goaltender at either end, one camera looking down each blue line and a seventh camera with a wide shot that shows the entire rink at once.

For coaches, that means they will be able to challenge offside reviews on scoring plays. Teams must make their challenge before the faceoff at centre ice following a goal, and teams are allowed to use their timeout should they need more time to review a potential challenge.

If a coach challenge is unsuccessful on the first challenge attempt, the offending team will be issued a delay-of-game penalty. Teams are allowed a second, third or even fourth challenge, but the second unsuccessful challenge and any following unsuccessful challenges will result in a double-minor penalty.

Finally, for the review of major and match penalties, referees will review all penalties of that nature to confirm their call, reduce major or match penalties to either a double-minor or minor penalty, or rescind the major or match penalty altogether.