Rules & Regulations

• Fighting of any kind will not be tolerated on or off the ice.
• Any player receiving a fighting major will automatically receive a 3-game suspension (NIHF event play only - game exchanges not included)
• Any breach of the code of conduct, abusive language, and violent conduct, disrespect of coaches, officials and peers will not be tolerated.
• The coach will handle such problems with the players/parents directly but if the problem continues, the coach may request a meeting with the player/parents, team officials and league representative.
• It is the intention of team officials to find amicable resolutions to all problems that may arise, but some issues may be resolved by disciplinary actions such as, suspensions, loss of playing time or removal from the team.
• Parents that directly interfere with the running of the team or the team’s philosophy, or refuse to abide by the team’s code of conduct will be considered problematic, and requested to meet with team officials or association executive.
• Any personal attack verbal or physical on any team official will not be tolerated and the parent or player involved will be removed from the team.

• Non-body checking - Referee discretion on 2/4/5 minute penalties for body checking
• Blue Line Icing
• Puck hitting Goalie Mask
• High Sticking the Puck
• Four-minute Penalty – Player stays in box even after powerplay goal
• Last 10 minutes of game – extra one-game suspension over and above suspension for the penalty itself.
• Player with 3 minor penalties is removed from the game
• One time out is permitted during games for Tournaments (Semi finals and Finals) only.
• No coach or bench member may step on the ice surface unless an injury occurs.
• There is no penalty if a player shoots the puck over the glass in their defensive end.
• Teams are allowed to change players on an icing call.
• Run the Clock Mercy Rule

• If a player bodychecks another player by dropping his shoulder and stepping into the opponent and does not cause this player to fall to the ice or into the boards is a minor checking penalty.
• If a player bodychecks another player by dropping his shoulder and checks the opponent to the ice or into the boards, that player will receive a more severe 4-minute penalty. If in the referee, opinion the offended player drops to the ice or into to the boards without resistance, a 2-minor penalty may be called.
• If a player deliberately bodychecks an opponent situation aggressively and causes the player to fall to the ice or into the boards violently, that player will receive a more severe 5-minute penalty and is removed from the game.
• For all 5-minute penalties (checking or fighting) the offending team will play shorthanded for the full 5-minutes whether powerplay goal(s) are scored. However, the offending team does not need to put a player in the penalty box to serve the penalty. (it is unfair for an innocent player to miss hockey because of the offending player) At the end of the 5-minutes, the team puts a player from the player's bench on the ice. 
• If a major penalty occurs before the last 10-munites of the game the player is removed from the game. Further review of the penalty will be conducted by league management for the potential of additional game suspensions being issued.  
• If a major penalty occurs in the last 10 minutes of the game, that player will be removed from the game and receive an automatic one-game suspension. Further review of the penalty will be conducted by league management for the potential of additional game suspensions being issued.  
• Additional game suspensions can be any number of games including expulsion of the player from the league if the major penalty is deemed to be an intentional act to injure another player.

These rules and suspensions are in place and will be adhered to during a showcase or tournament or in-game exchange between showcases and tournaments.

 

MATCH PENALTIES

 

• We will have Blue Line Icing
• Teams are allowed to make line changes after an icing.

• If a shot hits a Goalie in the mask the play will be immediately blown down and the play will be dead - NO GOAL!!. Game play after hitting the plastic neck protector that hangs down from the mask will be up to the Referee's discretion.
• We are doing this to provide safety to our Goalies and to make the call simple for the refs. This also provides coaches and parents a clear understanding of the call.
• Discussion has brought up the point of a puck hitting a Goalie Mask and the puck going directly in the net. Some coaches have asked for this to be called a goal because Goalie safety is not at risk.  While considering this we feel that any time a Goalie is hit in the mask potential injury is a possibility. The Goalies instincts are to move towards a puck even if it goes in the net because they often don’t know that it has gone in the net. Any movement by a Goalie that could be made with a mask ajar or off completely exposes the Goalie to injury. If the Goalie knows that as soon as his mask is hit the play is dead, they will not make any additional moves providing more safety.

• High sticking the puck will result in the play being blown dead automatically (no penalty called) 

• If a DEFENSIVE player high sticks a puck: In the defensive zone, the faceoff go to the closest spot in the defensive zone.

• If an OFFENSIVE player high sticks a puck:  In the offensive zone, the faceoff will go to the blueline spot in the offensive team’s neutral zone.

• In the NEUTRAL zone:  The faceoff will go to the nearest spot of that offending teams end

• In our efforts to make the hockey safer in the non-body checking game, we are going to discourage penalties by making certain that the player who takes a 4-minute penalty serves the complete time for the penalty.
• This means that if a team is scored on shorthanded, the team will return to full-strength however the player will stay in the box until the end of the penalty time and returns to the ice at the first whistle after the time is complete.
• The motivation of this rule is to make players aware that inappropriate actions in a game that might lead to injury will not be tolerated in the NIHF. The only method of getting this point across is to make players serve the full penalty they have been assessed.

Example of how a penalty is served;

• When a player receives a 4-minute penalty at the 10:00 mark, they proceed to the penalty box and 4:00 minutes is put on the clock. The timekeeper records the time of their return to the game on the game sheet as the 6:00-minute mark. If no power play goals are scored the player returns to the ice at the 6-minute mark.  

For all other scenarios below the player who received the 4-minute penalty stays in the penalty box until the 6-minute mark. After the 6-minute mark, the player must wait for a whistle before leaving the box because his/her team returned to full-strength and already has 5 skaters on the ice. Yes, we are aware that this player may be in the penalty box for longer than 4-minutes if there is no whistle for a period of time after his penalty expires. We are satisfied with this because 4-minute penalties are assessed for serious body contact or similar infraction. This rule is in place to discourage players from committing this type of foul.  

Rules for situations where power play goal(s) are scored during the 4-minute penalty:

Scenario 1:

• A power play goal is scored after the 8-minute mark the team puts a player on the ice from the player's bench and returns to full-strength. 

Scenario 2:

• A power play goal is scored before the 8-minute mark the penalty clock is reduced to 2-minutes left in the penalty.  If no other power play goal is scored during the second 2-minutes of the penalty the team puts a player on the ice from the player's bench when the penalty clock expires and returns to full-strength. 

Scenario 3:

• A second power play goal is scored during the last 2-minutes of the penalty, the team puts a player on the ice from the player's bench and returns to full-strength. 

RUN THE CLOCK MERCY RULE

• If the score is ever 5 goals apart after the start of the third period the clock will run (no stop time) unless the score gets back within 3 goals.   

TIMEOUTS:

• There are no timeouts in regular season games, which includes all games in Showcase style events
• When we run a Tournament style event there is 1 time out in Semi-Final and Final games only.

 

SUSPENSIONS

 

• Any player who receives 3 minor penalties in a game will be ejected for the remainder of that game only. A 4-minute body-checking penalty is considered 1 penalty unless it is a second 4-minute penalty that game. If the 3rd minor penalty occurs in the last 5 minutes of the game, the player will receive an automatic 1 game suspension.

• Any player receiving a 5-minute major penalty at any time in a game will miss the balance of that game and at least one more game. The League Commissioner will review all major penalties for additional game suspensions as warranted.
• If a player receives a 10-minute misconduct in the last ten minutes of a game, the player is automatically suspended for the next game. There is no appeal of this rule.

PLAYER AND/OR COACH SUSPENSIONS

• If a player or coach is under suspension, they are not permitted in the dressing room, the dressing room area, or on the players’ bench before, during or after a game. A player can practice with his team while under suspension but cannot play a game until the suspension has been served. Any player or coach who is serving a suspension must be listed on the game sheet as serving game 1, game 2 etc. of his/her suspension.
• If a player receives a suspension in an exhibition or tournament game, the suspension will carry over to the next game exchange, tournament or playoff game.
• Coach suspension includes no interaction with Players or Assistant coaches before or during the game, including yelling instructions from the seating area or at ice level. 

• The Midget divisions will use a 3 referee system
• Major Penalties will be assessed a 3 game suspension
• Any major penalty during a tournament or showcase will result in automatic expulsion from the complete event and possibly carry over to further games in Game Exchange or next Showcase/Tournament.

ALL PLAYERS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH AAU