Delayed Penalties

26.1 Delayed Penalty - If a third player of any team is penalized while two players of the same team are serving penalties, the penalty time of the third player shall not commence until the penalty time of one of the two players already penalized has elapsed. The third penalized player must proceed at once to the penalty bench. He may be substituted for on the ice to keep the on-ice strength at no less than three skaters for his team.

26.2 Penalty Expiration - When any team has three players serving penalties at the same time and because of the delayed penalty rule, a substitute for the third offender is on the ice, none of the three penalized players on the penalty bench may return to the ice until play has stopped. When play has been stopped, the player whose penalty has fully expired may return to the ice.

During the play, the Penalty Timekeeper shall permit the penalized players to return to the ice, in the order of expiration of their penalties, but only when the penalized team is entitled to have more than four players on the ice. Otherwise, these players must wait until the first stoppage of play after the expiration of their penalties in order to be released from the penalty bench.

When the penalties of two players of the same team will expire at the same time, the Captain of that team will designate to the Referee which player will return to the ice first and the Referee will instruct the Penalty Timekeeper accordingly (this is done to expedite the release of a player from the penalty bench when the opposing team scores on the power-play).

26.3 Major and Minor Penalty - When a major and a minor penalty are imposed at the same time on different players of the same team, the Penalty Timekeeper shall record the minor as being the first penalty.