HBHL GAME RULES AND PROCEDURES

REGISTRATION

      All players must be registered individually through the league website in order to be eligible to play in the league.  Registration is for current HBHL Season and  consists of a 10 game regular season. (Playoff and Championship games along with trophies are supplied by the league.)
Registration happens in one of three ways:

      1) You may register a full team:
            If you are representing a team acentually the team admin, you act on behalf of the team. You are responsible for the collection of all funds, i.e. registration and fines; as well as the organization of your team within the HBHL rules and regulations.  Check the game sheets to confirm player attendance.  

      2) You can register as an individual (currently with no team) and be placed on a team:
             If you register as an individual player you will be placed on a team where positions may be available. The HBHL executive will monitor the ‘Individual’ team to make sure that you and your teammates are comfortable and understanding of the rules and regulations. 

      3) You can register by joining a team:
             If you are registering for a team you were invited to join then you would pay the team admin or the league convenor your registration fee discussed with your team admin.

POINT SYSTEM

      REGULATION WIN: 3 Points
      SHOOTOUT WIN: 2 Points
      SHOOTOUT LOSS: 1 Point
      REGULATION LOSS: 0 Points

GAME DURATION

Regular season league games are three (3) periods.

      First Period is ten (10) minutes stop time;
      Second Period is ten (10) minutes stop time;
      Third Period is twelve (12) minutes stop time.

      Games that end tied after regulation will have a 3 player shootout during the regular season.  The shootout both teams will take shots simultaneously. * NOTE: CoEd Shootouts alternate sexes starting with a female.

SHOOTOUTS IN REGULAR SEASON & PLAYOFF ROUNDS

      Regular Season

                   Teams choose three (3) players for the shootout. Each player is entitled to one (1) breakaway opportunity. The team that has the most goals after the 3 selected shooters wins the game.  If there is a tie in goals once again, the shoot out rounds will continue with one shooter per team until the tie is broken.  Players may not shoot a second time until all players on one team or the other have participated.

      Playoff Rounds
             Teams choose five (5) players for the shootout. Each player is entitled to one (1) breakaway opportunity. The team that has the most goals after the 5 selected shooters wins the game.  If there is a tie in goals once again, the shoot out rounds will continue with one shooter per team until the tie is broken.  Players may not shoot a second time until all players on one team or the other have participated.  

TIMEOUTS

      Each team is allowed two (2) timeouts per game and no more than one (1) per period. Timeouts are generally thirty (30) seconds in duration.

MERCY RULE

*** The mercy rule is only in effect in the third period. ***

      If one (1) team falls behind by a total of five (5) goals, then the game becomes running time where the clock will not stop.
      If the trailing team narrows the goal margin to less than five (5) goals, then the clock will return to stop time.

PLAYOFF ROUNDS

      4 team division - everyone makes playoffs 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 format
      6 team division - top four (4) make playoffs bottom 2 will not make the playoffs.

      Playoffs will be best 2 of out 3 Game Series - In each game of the series a winner must be determined and the game can not end in a tie.  For Semi-Finals it will be 5 minutes of Overtime followed by a 5 player shootout for every game of the series including game 3.  For the Championship Finals, games 1 and 2 will have a 10 minute Overtime followed by a 5 player shootout. For game 3 of a Championship Final, there will be no shootout but continous 10 minutes overtimes until a winner is declared.

PLAYOFF QUALIFYING TIE-BREAKER ORDER

In the event that two (2) or more teams are tied in points upon closure of the regular season the following format will be applied to determine qualifying and seeding for the playoffs:

1. Total Regulation Wins
2. Total Points
3. Personal record between the tied teams
4. Team with higher plus (+ goals) rating
5. Team with higher goals for
6. Team with lowest goals against
7. Team with fewest combined penalty minutes

PLAYOFF QUALIFICATION

• A player must be registered on the league website AND must participate in four (4) regular season games in order to qualify for playoff participation.
• A goalie does not have a minimum number of games played but MUST be on your roster and registered on the league website before the final game of your season.
• It is very important that the team representatives check all game sheets immediately after game play to make sure that there is a match between your records and the leagues.
• If a player is not registered and not on your roster during the season he is not eligible to play no exceptions.
• If there is an error (i.e. player participated and wasn’t checked off on the game sheet) and it is not reported to the league office within 24 hours then the error proceeds unchanged. The League Convenor will monitor player participation.

PLAYERS IN UNIFORM

      A team must have six (6) players in uniform by scheduled game time. If at the scheduled game time, a team does not have six (6) players in uniform then the team loses by default. It is the discretion of the official to grant a ten (10) minute grace period before calling a game default. A defaulted game results in a 3 - 0 loss and a fine.

      If there are 6 players in uniform and no goalie dressed then a runner assumes the goalies position but may not cover up the ball in the goal crease or a penalty will be assessed.  

      Teams are allowed to borrow goalies provided the borrowed goalie is not from the same division and the goalie plays in the same division level or lower division level that the team plays in. Goalie must be registered in the HBHL. You may not borrow goalies in the playoffs.

GOALTENDERS IN UNIFORM

      It is required that teams have a goaltender dressed for each game. A back-up goaltender dressed and ready for play is allowed.

      If a team decides to ‘pull’ their goaltender and does not have a back-up goaltender ready then they are allowed only one (1) minute before the game continues. A runner must assume the goaltender position.

      If a goaltender is injured and has to be replaced then a team is allowed ten (10) minutes before the game commences.  

MANDATORY EQUIPMENT

      Please refer to the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation (OBHF) website for equipment requirements   OBHF EQUIPMENT PAGE

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

      Any team / player / fan involved in questionable conduct on arena property (including parking lot) will be suspended / asked to leave the premises / banned for the night or from further league play for the balance of the season.