Tony Buffa wrote: > I vaguely recall a rule in college hockey, way back in the good ole days > (say mid 60s and earlier) in which the offense was prohibited from > throwing checks in their offensive zone. It was called, logically enough, > "no checking in the offensive zone." Now I may have dreamt it. It has > been 32 yrs since I watched a college live. Anyone out there care to > comment on whether this is a figment of my imagination? > If it did exist, I don't recall it reducing the violence much. According to the 1966-67 rule book (the earliest that I have), Rule 12 Section 2a: No player may be body-checked unless he is in possession of the puck. A defending player may body-check an attacking player only when the defending player has both skates ENTIRELY behind the red line dividing the Neutral Zone. A player is in possession of the puck (even though he has passed or shot the puck) until that puck is controlled by an opponent or a teammate. Also, a player may be body-checked if the defensive player has started his body-check before the pass or shot was controlled by a teammate or opponent. Penalty - Minor Then follows some examples. This same rule appears each year until 1972-73 when it was eliminated on a trial basis. (The rule number did change along the way.) It apparently became permanent a year later. Ralph Baer RPI '68, '70, '74 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.