Every so often, goaltenders get penalized for various infractions, & the
team is forced to send an alternate player to serve the time.  I recently
saw this again at a game, & it made me wonder - have goaltenders ever had
to serve their own penalties?  As far-fetched as it sounds, who knows?
 
My companion & I were actually kicking around some of the pros and cons if
there were such a rule.  It could be fun to watch, but then again, it
could be problematic.  On one hand, it would seem unfair (adding insult to
injury, so to speak) to bring in the backup, who is admittedly cold, to
play while the primary netminder serves the time.  On the other, one can
imagine some interesting developments once the goalie's penalty time is up
& he must go back on the ice.  Presumably, he'd race back to the bench to
allow a regular skater to join the play.  But, what if the play is right
by the box, or the goalie becomes part of the play on the trip back to the
bench?  Similar to a goalie roaming from the crease & be considered "in
play", the goalie could get involved in the play in this situation.  Now,
not having the same equipment as the regular players, most goalies may be
at a disadvantage in mobility, speed, & puck handling ability.  And, with
those potential disadvantages, there may be more opportunity for injury if
the other team decided to take advantage of the situation.
 
I've never seen or heard about such a policy.  All I can imagine is that
many, many years ago, there may have been a rule like this.  If so, it was
probably abolished after people realized that it created more problems
than it intended.
 
Anyway, just curious...
 
 
\_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_
Dave Hatfield
ULowell'86              Go RiverHawks!!
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