Riverside Minor Hockey Association 2023 International Christmas Tournament
Rules and Regulations Governing Tournament Play
1. Play will be governed by the rules of Hockey Canada, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (O.M.H.A.) and O.M.H.A. Tournament Regulations with the additional provisions that follow.
2. The Tournament will consist of U14, U16 and U18 divisions.
3. Divisional play will be made up of the following:
a. U14 and U18 will consist of five (5) teams playing a four (4)-game Round-Robin for seeding after which the top four (4) teams will advance to the Semi-Finals. 1st Place will play 4th Place in one Semi-Final and 2nd Place will play 3rd Place in the other Semi-Final. The Semi-Final winners will advance to their respective Grand Championship Games and the losers will be eliminated.
b. U16 will consist of four (4) teams playing a three (3)-game Round-Robin for seeding. All four teams advance to the Semi-Finals. 1st Place will play 4th Place in one Semi-Final and 2nd Place will play 3rd Place in the other Semi-final. The Semi-Final winners will advance to the Grand Championship Game and the losers will be eliminated.
c. In all Semi-Final games, the 1st and 2nd Place teams will be the Home Team.
4. The home team for the Grand Championship Game will be the team that finished with the highest point total during the Round-Robin portion of the tournament. If the competing teams had the same point total, the tiebreaking formula will be used to determine the home team (see below).
5. The following point system for the Round-Robin portion of the tournament will be as follows: a win in regulation time earns three (3) points, a win in a shootout earns two (2) points, a loss in a shootout earns one (1) point and a loss in regulation time earns zero (0) points.
6. Round-Robin games and Semi-Final games in all divisions will consist of one ten-minute stop-time period and two fifteen-minute stop-time periods. U14 Round-Robin and Semi-Final games will have a flood before the game starts but will not have a flood during the game. U16 and U18 Round-Robin games will have a flood after every two periods of play (either after the first period or after the second period depending on how the schedule falls). U16 and U18 Semi-Final games will have a flood before the game and a flood after the end of the second period.
7. ALL Grand Championship Games shall be three, fifteen-minute stop-time periods with a flood before the game and a flood after the end of the second period.
8. If at the end of regulation time in a Round-Robin or Semi-Final game the score is tied, a three-player shootout will immediately take place (no overtime period) with the team scoring the most goals during the shootout being declared the winner. If the score is still tied at the end of the three-player shootout, a sudden death shootout will take place until a winner is declared. See shootout rules below.
9. If at the end of regulation time in a Grand Championship Game the score is tied, overtime will take place as follows:
a. The teams will not change ends and there will be no flood.
b. The teams will play one, five-minute, stop-time, sudden death overtime period with a goalie and FOUR skaters. If the score is still tied after the overtime period, a five-player shootout will take place with the team scoring the most goals during the shootout being declared the winner. If the score is still tied at the end of the five-player shootout, a sudden death shootout will take place until a winner is declared. See shootout rules below.
10. One, thirty-second time-out per team, per game, is allowed in Semi-Final and Grand Championship Games only.
11. Mercy Rule: A mercy rule will be in effect for all Round-Robin, Semi-Final and Grand Championship Games. In accordance with the OMHA Manual of Operations, if the difference in score becomes FIVE GOALS OR MORE at any time in the third period, the game clock will revert to a continuously running clock. The clock will not become a stop-time clock again until the trailing team brings the difference in score BACK TO WITHIN THREE GOALS OR LESS and it will not become a running clock again after that until the difference is again five goals or more. During a running clock, Minor Penalties will be three minutes (3:00) in length, Major Penalties will be seven-and-a-half minutes (7:30) in length and Misconduct Penalties will be fifteen minutes (15:00) in length. The only time the clock would stop during running time is for an on-ice injury and it would re-start immediately upon the injured player and training staff vacating the ice.
12. In the event a team forfeits a game, it shall be recorded as a 1-0 regulation time loss in the standings and will be awarded zero (0) points. The team they were to play will be awarded three (3) points in the standings for a win in regulation time.
13. For all divisions, ties in the Round-Robin standings (or to determine the home team in a Grand Championship Game, if necessary) will be broken using the formula below, IN SEQUENCE, FROM THE BEGINNING and EACH TIME, until all ties have been broken. In the event more than two teams are tied, once the highest place in the standings is determined, the remaining tied teams will start the tiebreaker again, in sequence, from the beginning. This will occur each time until all ties have been broken:
a. Head to head between all tied teams (all the tied teams MUST have played each other during the Round Robin to use this each step of the tiebreaker process. If one or more did not, proceed directly to (b))
b. Most Wins
c. Least Goals Against
d. Points per period (one point for period won, ½ point for period tied)
e. Least penalty minutes (for the purposes of this rule, Game Misconduct and Gross Misconduct penalties called on players, goalkeepers or Team Officials count each as ten minutes penalty time and Match penalties count as five minutes penalty time. Any penalty called against Team Officials counts for the purposes of this rule)
f. Coin Flip
14. All teams must be prepared to start their game fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
15. All players must use and properly wear the required protective equipment as prescribed by their own governing body’s rules and regulations.
16. Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) minimum suspensions apply to all tournament games. Automatic suspension lists are available online in the OMHA Manual of Operations or from the Tournament Chair. A player or team official who incurs a Match Penalty during the tournament shall be suspended for the balance of the tournament. ALL suspension reports are reported back to each region / district upon completion of the tournament.
17. Shootout rules shall be as follows:
a. Three players (Round-Robin or Semi-Final) or five players (Grand Championship Game) from each team shall participate in the shootout and they shall proceed in such order as the Head Coach selects. Players serving THEIR OWN Major Penalty, Misconduct Penalty, Game Misconduct Penalty, Gross Misconduct Penalty or Match Penalty at the end of playing time (regulation time in a Round-Robin or Semi-Final game and overtime in a Grand Championship Game) ARE NOT eligible to participate in the shootout. Players serving Minor Penalties or penalties on behalf of other players or team officials ARE eligible to participate.
b. The teams will not change ends. The visiting team shall shoot first. Teams shall take alternating shots, one at a time.
c. Once the shootout begins, the goalkeeper cannot be replaced in the shootout unless he/she is injured. No warm up shall be permitted for a substitute goalkeeper.
d. Each team will be given three shots (Round-Robin or Semi-Final) or five shots (Grand Championship Game), unless the outcome is determined earlier in the shootout. After each team has taken their respective number of shots, if the score remains tied, the shootout will proceed to a sudden death format. Players may not participate again during a shootout until all eligible players have participated, which includes the players from the original shootout. If, however, one team has fewer players eligible for the shootout than its opponent, both teams may select from among the players who have already shot. This procedure would continue until the team with fewer players has again used all eligible players.
e. Shootouts shall be governed by the Hockey Canada rules regarding the taking of Penalty Shots.
f. The Head Coach or Team Official in charge shall select their shooters as the shootout progresses. The Official Scorer shall keep track of shooters.
18. The Tournament Rules Committee reserves the right to make any and all decisions in the interpretation of Tournament rules, objections and protests. All decisions by the Tournament Rules Committee will be final.
19. The Riverside Minor Hockey Association, its sponsors or the Tournament Committee will not be held liable for any injuries, damages or thefts that take place before, during or after the Tournament.
20. All participants in Grand Championship Games will receive medallions. As well, each of these teams will receive a take home team trophy.