Cross-checking is an infraction in the sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 of ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 where a player checks

Checking (ice hockey)

Checking in ice hockey is any one of a number of defensive techniques. It is usually not a penalty.- Types :There are various types of checking:...

 an opponent by using the shaft of his or her stick

Ice hockey stick

An ice hockey stick is a piece of equipment used in ice hockey to shoot, pass, and carry the puck. Ice hockey sticks are approximately 150–200 cm long, composed of a long, slender shaft with a flat extension at one end called the blade. The blade is the part of the stick used to contact the...

 with both hands. In the rules of the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

, cross-checking is defined in Rule 59.

While body checking is allowed, the use of the stick increases the risk of injury to an opponent. The most common penalty

Penalty (ice hockey)

A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

 is a two minute minor, served by the offender. However under certain circumstances the referee

Official (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during game play, and off-ice officials, who have an...

may assess a major penalty (plus automatic Game Misconduct) or a Match Penalty if the action is judged to be an attempt to injure the player.