Posted by Tom on January 16, 1998 at 02:04:26:
In Reply to: Re: Coincidental penalties posted by Mike Landers on January 01, 1998 at 14:02:42:
My understanding, after watching several years of American hockey, is that whether the penalties are coincidental depends entirely upon the situation. Essentially, for penalties to be marked coincidental, they must actually occur coincidentally.
For instance, if two players decide to exchange words and both get called for roughing, the penalties will be coincidental because they occurred as one. On the other hand, if one player slashes another, and the 'victim' retaliates with a high-stick, the play will be 4 on 4.
That's purely my interpretation of the rules, and it certainly seems to fit the pattern as far as I can tell. Hope that helps.