Tournament Rules

1. This is an Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) sanctioned tournament in which OMHA and OHF rules apply. An OMHA representative will be available during the tournament to answer any questions regarding OMHA policies and procedures.

2. By entering this tournament, all coaches and/or managers on behalf of their teams, must release the OMHA, Stirling & District Minor Hockey Association (SDMHA) and the Tournament Committee and all officials, referees, sponsors, volunteers, arena management and all concerned with the tournament from any and all liability of injury or accident which may be incurred by any player or team official while participating in coming to or going from the tournament.

3. Participation in the tournament is implied agreement with the tournament rules. 

4.  This is a body contact tournament.

5. Suspension rules used for the tournament will be the same as found in the OMHA Manual of Operations. It is the offending team’s responsibility to ensure that all tournament suspensions and carry-over suspensions are adhered to. Violations during the tournament will result in the forfeiture of the affected games. The Tournament Committee will assist if there are any questions or clarifications regarding rule and suspension interpretations.

6. A player who receives a Match Penalty in the tournament must not play any further games in the tournament and your Regional Director must be informed IMMEDIATELY of the match penalty.

7. The decision of the Referees is final, no appeals will be heard. It must be emphasized to all coaching staffs and parents that the Tournament Committee cannot and will not overturn any penalty issued before, during or after a game regardless of the circumstances. The suspension appeal process can be found in the OMHA Manual of Operations.

8. Interpretation all of rules and regulations will be at the discretion of the Head Convener. All decisions made by the Head Convener will be final.

9. All participants, team officials and guest are expected to adhere to the OMHA Code of Conduct. Parents and guests are the responsibility of the team. Inappropriate parent or guest behaviour towards the competing team, any children, referees, coaches, arena staff, tournament staff, OMHA staff and/or other parents may result in the expulsion of the TEAM from the tournament. Assistant Conveners will be present at each game to monitor behavior. 

10. A total of 17 players, 2 goalies and 5 team officials may be signed to an entry form. All players must be registered on an official approved roster including AP players.

11. Each team will carry home and away jerseys. Home will wear light and visitors will wear dark. In the event of a conflict, the home team will change sweaters.

12. A member of the coaching staff must report to the arenas’ tournament table (or on-site Assistant Convenor) 45 mins prior to their scheduled game to complete a game sheet.

13. Only carded persons are allowed on the bench. Each team must have a carded trainer.

14. All OMHA teams must wear mouth guard for all OMHA sanctioned events. Non-OMHA players are only required to wear mouth guards if that is a requirement of their parent body. 

15. To help move the tournament along in a timely manner, all teams are expected to be ready to play 15 minutes prior to their scheduled game time.

16. There will be a 3-minute warm-up prior to each game. During round robin play, to start the each game the time clock will be set to 14:00 and commence once both teams are on the ice. At 11:00 the buzzer will sound indicating the end of warm-up but will continue to run. Teams are expected to be lined up ready to start the game prior to the clock reaching the 10:00 mark indicating the start of the period. Officials will be ready to drop the puck at 10:00. Should a team or teams not be prepared the clock will continue to run until play has commenced at which normal stop time rules will commence. Game play will not start prior to the clock reaching 10:00.

17. In the event that a game cannot be played due to mechanical breakdown of arena equipment, or any unforeseen facility related event, a 1-1 tie will be awarded and a financial return of $100 will be given to the affected teams.

18. Standings will be determined with 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss. The top 4 teams following the round robin will proceed to a semi-final round with the winners playing in the tournament championship game.

19. For seeding purposes, the home team shall be the team with the most points during the round robin. If 2 or more teams have the same number of points, the tie breaking rules below shall apply.

20. Game times will be as follows:

• U15 Round Robin ‐ 10‐10‐10 / No Overtime / No Time‐Outs.

• U18 Round Robin ‐ 10‐10‐15 / No Overtime / No Time‐Outs.

• Semi-finals - 10-10-15 /1 30 second Time‐Out per team per game during regular time/ 5 minute (3-on-3) Sudden Victory Overtime period if necessary / Shootout if necessary. No timeouts during Overtime.

• Finals ‐ 15‐15‐15 / Flood between 2nd and 3rd period/ 1 30 second Time‐Out per team per game during regular time/ 5 minute (3-on-3) Sudden Victory Overtime period if necessary / 3 minute (2-on- 2) Sudden Victory Overtime period if necessary / Shootout if necessary. No timeouts during Overtime.

21. If necessary, after the overtime, there will be a three player shoot out controlled by the referee conducted in the same manner as a penalty shot. The home team will shoot first. If no winner is declared, each team will choose a fourth player to shoot. This formula will continue until a winner is declared. No player may shoot a second time until the entire roster has shot, regardless of the size of the roster. For statistical purposes, the winner of the shoot out will receive credit for 1 goal added to the score of the game after the overtime.

22. All tournament games must comprise 3 stop time periods scheduled as per OMHA Regulation 10.2a)& 10.2b). However, when any team is ahead by five or more goals in the second period the tournament will utilize ‘straight time’. Any penalties, during this time, will be 3:00 minutes running time. In this situation the game will proceed under ‘straight time’ unless the gap is reduced to three goals, at which point the clock will revert back to stop time. The only time the clock would be stopped during time is if an on-ice injury should occur.

23. Fair play and sportsmanship are valued by the tournament committee; however in the interest of keeping games on schedule, handshakes between teams will be limited to the tournament finals. Teams will shake hands following the warm-up. At the completion of the championship games teams will remain on the ice lined up on their respective blue lines for the trophy and medal presentations.  

TWO (2) TEAM TIE BREAKING RULES

A - Team Winning head to head

B ‐ Goal %

Highest % as calculated by: Goals For / (Total Goals For + Against)

C  ‐ Highest Plus/Minus

Calculated as: Total Goals For – Total Goals Against

D ‐ Fewest Goals Against

E ‐ Fewest penalty minutes (all penalties combined including misconducts)

F – Coin toss - Furthest travelling team calls the toss.

MULTIPLE TEAM TIE BREAKING RULES

This will determine the placing for all the top (tied) teams:

A ‐ Goal %

Highest % as calculated by: Goals For / (Total Goals For + Against).

B ‐ Highest Plus Minus (+/‐)

Calculated as: Total Goals For – Total Goals Against.

If 2 teams remain tied, the 2 tied teams proceed to Two Team Tie Breaking Rules above.

If 3 teams remain tied, the 3 teams remaining tied move to tie breaker C.

C ‐ Fewest Goals Against

If 2 teams remain tied, the 2 tied teams proceed to Two Team Tie Breaking Rules above.

If 3 teams remain tied, the 3 teams remaining tied move to tie breaker D.

D ‐ Lottery Draw

Remaining tied teams names placed in a hat ‐ first team name drawn wins.

This will take place after last game of Round Robin games for the division at the tournament desk by the tournament convenor.