Batting the puck into the net off an opponent

[John Robertson]

I'm not a referee, just a fan. Here's my question:

Wild scramble in front of the Team A's net. The puck pops into the air. A player from Team B swats the puck with his hand. The puck hits Team A's goaltender's leg and goes into the net. No goal, right?

Same situation, except that after the puck is swatted it deflects off another Team A player's leg (not the goalie) and then goes into the net. I understand this should be ruled a goal.

If this is true it doesn't make sense to me. Why should the rule be different if the puck goes in off a goalie or a defenceman?

[RefWEB]

Originally Posted by John Robertson

I'm not a referee, just a fan. Here's my question:

Wild scramble in front of the Team A's net. The puck pops into the air. A player from Team B swats the puck with his hand. The puck hits Team A's goaltender's leg and goes into the net. No goal, right?

Same situation, except that after the puck is swatted it deflects off another Team A player's leg (not the goalie) and then goes into the net. I understand this should be ruled a goal.

If this is true it doesn't make sense to me. Why should the rule be different if the puck goes in off a goalie or a defenceman?

Unless the team A gains posession and control of the puck after the bat, then in both situations, the ruling should be no goal.

[RIRef]

No goal in both situations

[Hock9]

may need to check your rules on that. admitedly it's been a while since i've read either the pro or the ncaa rule book, but i do recall there being a difference as to whether the puck hit a defender (in which case possession changed [which isn't the same thing as control]), or whether it hit the goalie and went in. honestly, i can't recall whether the difference pertained to a hand pass, high stick, or both....but one rule set clearly did call out the difference, at least a few years ago.