Yeah, and that is quite a grey area, because there are a
few things that sometimes happen in that split second when
a player is almost going to hit another, who has the puck,
the speed of both players, or the one attacking is usually
travelling faster, players are very big, boards are very hard, shoulder
pads are very hard, and 'sometimes' the player who is going
to be hit makes a quick little move right before hit, which
causes 'hit' to be worse. No bodys fault really, but can
put referee in a position where they have to make a big
decision about 'intent' or not, or if the person was hit
in the head because he all of a sudden ducked down, the
referee has to decide about that, and many times it is just
a 'mean' hit, and player doing hitting must be penalized,
and film is sent to league for evaluation, and player is
suspended.
Everything is'nt 'cut and dried', when high speed is involved.
It is a very physical, rough tough game, with lots of
body contact, and we all love that aspect of the game,
that is hockey, and of course the player must be protected
from serious injury as best he can.
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