The points of emphasis and rules in college hockey will remain the same this season, but there are some significant changes on the horizon beginning with the 2008-09 season.

The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee implemented rules changes last year and they were added for a two-year term.

The rule changes that will continue into this season include:

. Doling out a five-minute major and game misconduct or disqualification for a hitting-from-behind infraction that involves checking a player into the boards or the goal cage;

. Waving off icing when the pass made is deemed receivable (i.e., a pass that hops over the intended recipient’s stick);

. Eliminating contact to the head;

. Forbidding players in the goal crease to disrupt the goalie’s ability to play the position visually or physically;

. Allowing players to direct the puck into the net with their skate as long as the puck was first propelled by a stick as a pass or shot. It can’t be kicked in.

The committee also expressed the need to continue calling obstruction penalties and indicated its concern that players are trying to draw penalties through diving.

Overall, Ty Halpin, the NCAA liaison to the NCAA Rules Committee, said the feeling among the committee members is the sport is in “pretty good shape.”

“Our games are exciting. The one thing the committee has talked about, philosophically, is finding ways to create more scoring chances,” said Halpin.

However, the 2008-09 season will probably see changes ranging from a new refereeing system in Division I to a possible method to break ties.

So this is likely the final year of the one referee-two linesmen system in Division I.

“The committee and the rest of the administrators and officials feel very strongly that we need two referees to do our game now. The players are faster and the games are faster,” said Halpin.

That means they will implement a two-referees-one linesman system currently being used in Division III or the two referees-two linesmen system being used in the NHL.

Maine coach Tim Whitehead has long favored a two referees-two linesmen system because “you’re putting the officials in position to succeed more often and you’re developing a lot more officials.”

Halpin said they will obtain feedback about ways to break ties over the course of the season.

In the current NCAA format, teams play five-minute sudden death overtimes and if nobody scores, the game remains a tie.

One proposal would have a shootout following the five-minute overtime.

Other proposals have included the current NHL system with a five-minute overtime with four skaters apiece followed by a shootout if nobody scores in OT and a four-on-four for five minutes and then a three-on-three for five more minutes possibly followed by a shootout.

“There are way too many ties,” said Whitehead. “BU [Boston University] had nine ties last year. Why not decide [the games]? I like the four-on-four and three-on-three format.”

In the NHL, teams are awarded one point if they tie after regulation and the team that wins in overtime or the shootout gets another point.

In college, teams earn a point for an overtime tie but nothing for an overtime loss.

Halpin said if a tie-breaking change is implemented, the NCAA will have to come up with a formula to decide how it will impact the Ratings Percentage Index and Pairwise Rankings.

Another possible rule change involves hand passes.

Currently, in college hockey and the NHL, a player can make a hand pass to a teammate only in the defensive zone.

They could elect to stick with it the way it is, expand it to allow hand passes in the neutral zone, allow hand passes in every zone or eliminate hand passes altogether.

Halpin said rules changes for the 2008-09 season will be decided during their meetings in Indianapolis next June.