Towing the line

They are two of the most asked questions from casual or novice hockey fans.

How do players know when it's time to get off the ice? How do they know who comes on when someone goes off?

Line changes. Or organized chaos.

"We'll just call out who's up (on the bench)," explained Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Coach Mark Carlson. "There are all different kinds of scenarios, but we'll always call the next line that is up. It just really depends on a lot of different things."

Carlson talked in-depth last week about line changes. These are the basics: there are generally four forward lines (a center, left wing, right wing) that dress for a game and three pairs of defensemen.

Before a game, Carlson produces a line chart, listing who is on a particular line or defense pairing. Guys are then told who follows whom on the ice.

"We try to take 40-seconds shifts," Carlson said. "We're supposed to change when we're on offense, not when we're going back on defense. We're supposed to change after 40, 45 seconds, so we still have energy. You've got to have good offensive-zone control, you try to change one guy at a time. Those are some of the keys."

Things change, obviously, as the game progresses and certain situations arise, such as a power play or penalty kill.

"It could depend on your opponent, if you want a certain matchup," Carlson said. "It might be you're watching the other team's changes and their rotations to possibly get the matchup you want.

"You've got situations after a penalty kill or a power play where there are certain guys you might use. You might mix people up there to get them some ice (time). Sometimes it might be the middle of a game, and you all of a sudden juggle lines, using all different sorts of combinations."

The home team in every game gets to send its players on the ice last during a stoppage in play, so it's able to match lines better. In the second period, teams have further to travel to their bench for changes because they attack at the other end of the ice.

If line changes aren't handled smoothly and efficiently, the opposing team can take advantage and have a better chance to score. Or there could be a penalty called for too many men on the ice, a too-common occurence for the RoughRiders the past month.

Rules say a substituting player can come onto the ice when a teammate is within five feet of the bench and not playing the puck.

"Yeah, I guess I'd just call them communication issues. You just try to get it corrected," Carlson said. "Ultimately it's the player's responsibility to know who they (follow). They're supposed to call out 'I've got JJ, I've got Mark.' They do that, and they know who they have."