Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MINNEAPOLIS — Youth hockey by all accounts is played as skillfully and respectfully as ever due to developmental advancements and safety enhancements mirroring NHL trends. This is still a contact sport, though. Teenage boys frequently take a stand-your-ground attitude to the ice even if dropping the gloves is taboo. Scrums can break out. Shoving and shouting might lead to a headlock or a stray punch. The benches might even clear. But USA Hockey rules formally ban fighting in amateur competition. It calls for a major penalty for the team plus an automatic ejection for the offending player.
