Pio to WCHA: "That Stuff in the Rulebook Still Applies"

Last week, the WCHA asked the NCAA Rules Committee to clarify their rules on hits to the head.

As a result, Steve Piotrowski, secretary-rules editor for the Rules Committee and head of CCHA officiating, released this memo, basically saying, "No seriously, when we put a rule in the rulebook saying you can't hit people in the head at all, we meant that you can't hit people in the head at all."

The actual rule states "A player shall not make contact with an opposing player's head or neck area in any manner." with the added note: "The rules committee instructs officials to use a zero tolerance policy in this area." It's hard to see what was so vague about that. The one clarification it makes, which I would have thought was pretty obvious, but I guess not, is that contact to the head can be a stand-alone penalty, though the suggested penalty in the actual rulebook only mentions calling contract to the head, with another infraction attached to hit.