A player charged with a major penalty is sent off the ice for five minutes.
The most common major penalty is fighting. If both fighters receive five or ten-minute penalties, substitutions can be made.
At the referee’s discretion, an infraction commonly deemed a minor penalty can be increased to a major. This usually occurs if an opponent has been seriously injured, or if the referee believes there was a deliberate attempt to injure.
A player charged with a major penalty involving serious injury or attempt to injure is ejected from the game.
If a penalized player is ejected, a teammate is assigned to serve his major penalty. No substitution is allowed.