Man down/up posession in overtime

by **MidwestLaxer** on Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:42 pm

I was recently at a game where the score was tied. Team A had a 1 minute personal foul called on them with about 30 seconds left in the game. Team B's manup unit took a shot with a few seconds left, missed, and Team A's goaltender "backed up" the shot and was awarded the ball with about 2 seconds left. The whistle blew, and regulation time expired with Team A's goalie holding onto the ball.

At the beginning of the first overtime there was a faceoff.

My question: is there something special about overtime which causes a face off in this situation instead of Team A starting with the ball?

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by **More Cowbell** on Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:46 pm

I'm not positive, but I think there would only be no face if Team B ended with the ball, since they were the team that was man up

by **LaxRef** on Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:32 pm

More Cowbell wrote:I'm not positive, but I think there would only be no face if Team B ended with the ball, since they were the team that was man up

Incorrect! If either team has possession in an uneven situation, possession carries over, even into OT. However, if there's an even situation or (NCAA) a flag-down creating an even situation when the period ends, there's a face-off even if one team has possession. (In NFHS, if there's a flag down to end the period, the next period always starts with the offended team in possesion.)

by **laxfan25** on Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:27 pm

I had an MCLA game the other day, and as we came into halftime there was a man in the box and a team ended with possession. The man-down team asked if halftime was just like carrying penalties over between quarters. I said yes, that it is the break between the second and thrid quarters. They were a little surprised, saying that in their previous game they went to a faceoff under similar circumstances. I have no way of knowing the actual situation, but hopefully the crew got it right!

by **LaxRef** on Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:57 pm

laxfan25 wrote:I had an MCLA game the other day, and as we came into halftime there was a man in the box and a team ended with possession. The man-down team asked if halftime was just like carrying penalties over between quarters. I said yes, that it is the break between the second and thrid quarters. They were a little surprised, saying that in their previous game they went to a faceoff under similar circumstances. I have no way of knowing the actual situation, but hopefully the crew got it right!

You never know, but it could be one of those things where they thought it had to do with halftime but really it was that the period ended with both teams down one player or something.

This is the trouble with trying to learn rules by watching the game: the exceptions occur too infrequently for anyone to learn the patterns, but there are many exceptions (and exceptions to exceptions!). Add to that the confusion created by the different NFHS, NCAA, NLL, and MLL rules, and it's hopeless: you really need to crack that rulebook!