But when I looked up the official rule book, the intermission length was changed to 18-minutes a few years back.Īnother fun fact I came across is that the intermissions only begin once the last official leaves the ice rather than simply when the game clock hits 00:00. While writing this blog post, I was still under the impression that intermissions were 17-minutes long.
In the 1947-48 season, the NHL introduced sudden death overtime periods which also included 10-minute intermissions.īy the 1966-67 season, the intermissions were extended to 15 minutes.įollowing then, intermissions were 17-minutes for all nationally televised games or 15 minutes 30 seconds at a minimum (for all other games).
That is, the intermission clock commences once all players and officials are off the ice surface and not when the game clock hits 00:00.Īs of the 1927-28 season, NHL games standardized at 3x20 minute periods and 10-minute intermissions. Officially, the intermission begins once the last official (referee) leaves the ice. Typically, networks want to squeeze in 15-minutes of commercials per hour which they mostly play during intermissions. This is in addition to the scheduled TV timeouts during each period. Advertisementsįor viewers watching the game at home, the league uses the intermissions to advertise their sponsors through commercials. If you’ve ever attended any sporting event, especially a hockey game, the bathrooms get extremely packed during the breaks. Since many spectators enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, the need for the bathroom break is essential. Spectator Breaks: Food, Beverages and BathroomĪudience members can use the time to restock up on food and beverages as the game length in real-time is 2.5+ hours long. In addition, the team coaches discuss strategies to change the course of the game and regroup their players.
Players and coaches are returned to their respective dressing rooms so they can basically rest up between periods. Depending if you are attending the game or watching it on TV, the intermissions are used for the following purposes: Resurfacing of the iceĪs mentioned earlier, the intermission time is used to resurface the ice for optimal playing conditions. The 18-minutes mostly allows for the Zambonis (usually x2) to clean the ice, followed by the ice cleaning crew to mop away the any puddles and allow the surface to dry.