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TORONTO — The Professional Women’s Hockey League will introduce on-ice changes and tougher penalties for certain penalties during its second season.

The PWHL made changes to its rules before the start of the regular season on November 30.

The six teams that opened their training camps on Nov. 12 gathered Tuesday in Toronto and Montreal for three-team integrated camps that will include simulated games.

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A shorthanded goal ending a power play for the opposing team was among the innovations the women’s league incorporated into its inaugural season.

A new “no escape rule” requires players from a penalized team, with penalty time on the clock, to remain on the ice until action resumes. This could lead to a situation where teams start a penalty with three attackers and a defender until a substitution chance is possible in the match.

A delay of game penalty will be assessed against a team that intentionally places too many players on the ice to cause a stoppage and create confusion as to which players should remain on the ice when the new rule is enforced.

A major misconduct and a game misconduct will be the default penalty for an illegal hit to the head, unless officials determine upon review that the hit was accidental or that the head was not the primary point of contact .

The penalty for headbutting has been upgraded to a major foul and a game misconduct, while that same punishment has been added to the rulebook for any player who grabs a player’s chin guard, face guard or throat guard. opponent, or who pulls an opponent’s hair.

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Other rule changes include a faceoff in the offensive zone after a shot in the offensive zone is deflected out of play and the replacement goaltender being allowed a brief warm-up if the starting goaltender is pulled for a mandatory medical evaluation or injury.

Coaches may challenge a delay of game for a puck over the glass. The team is assessed an additional delay of game penalty if the challenge is lost.

“We are always looking to make the game safer for our players and more fun for our fans,” Jayna Hefford, PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, said in a statement.

“We believe these rule innovations make progress toward both of these goals. »

The PWHL’s rulebook for its inaugural season was released just hours before puck drop for the league’s first game on Jan. 1.

The changes were reviewed by the league’s Rules and Competitions Committee chaired by Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Meghan Duggan, and approved by league operations.

The PWHL also announced a few key dates on Tuesday, including the November 26-27 waiver period, March 1 draft declaration, March 2 trade deadline, March 3 roster freeze date, the end of the regular season on May 3 and the start of the playoffs on May 6. .

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