Awarded goal (ice hockey)

In ice hockey an awarded goal is an unusual situation in which a goal is awarded to a team rather than scored. A penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except the goaltender. However, when such a lost opportunity occurs and the opposing team has pulled their goalie to allow for an extra attacker, a goal is simply awarded without a penalty shot taking place.^[1]

Background

In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to (see also own goal). Typically, a player on the team attempting to score shoots the puck with his/her stick towards the goal net opening, and a player on the opposing team called a goaltender tries to block the shot to prevent a goal from being scored against his/her team.

Under normal circumstances, a penalty shot is awarded to the player who lost the opportunity to score due to the penalty. Said player is given a one-on-one opportunity against the offending team's goaltender to score a goal. However, if the goaltender has been pulled, the would-be scorer would be taking the penalty shot unopposed. Because of the virtual certainty of a goal being scored in such a situation, most ice hockey rule books do not require the token shot to be taken and automatically award the goal.

References

• Podnieks, Andrew (2007). The Complete Hockey Dictionary. Fenn Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55168-309-6.