Good point, but I don’t think egregious actions should fall under that umbrella. Yes you consent to a certain level of risk with play that’s under the general rules of the game, but a deliberate cross-check to the mouth with intent to injure, for example (happened in a local game last spring), is in no way part of the regular course of a hockey game. If we were to draw lines, I’d say a match penalty could constitute a potentially criminal act.

I think it’d be interesting to see such a case go to court today.