(Canadian Hockey Association) Rules: Face-offs, when the Referee finishes the line change procedure the Referee/ Linesman conducting the face-off will blow his whistle to signal that the players have 5 seconds to be ready for the face-off. Face-off encroachment; for all face-offs No Sticks or Skates are allowed in the grey area through from the side boards all the way through to the other side boards. All players’ skates except the centers must be outside the large circle area, sticks are allowed inside the circle but not in the grey area shown on the diagram above. Face-off encroachment violations or teams/centers not being ready to face-off after the 5 seconds will result in the offending team’s center being ejected from the face-off. The player(s) committing the encroachment/ violation will not be allowed to take the face-off. Multiple encroachment violations during one stoppage off play could result in the team receiving a delay of game penalty at the discretion of the Referee.