what is pim in hockey

In hockey, PIM stands for Penalty Infraction Minutes, but it is more commonly referred to as Penalty Minutes. It is a statistical category that tracks how many penalty minutes each player or team accrues throughout a game. PIM is the cumulative total of time that a player has spent in the penalty box due to on-ice infractions and is calculated by game and by season. Penalties can be 2 minutes (minor), 5 minutes (major), or 10 minutes (game misconduct) in length. PIMs are given out by the referee when a player violates the rules of the game, and they are expressed as the summation of penalty minutes amassed by a player or team over some time. Penalty minutes are not good in hockey, as giving teams a man advantage can prove very costly.