RULES

PLAY

1) Each team must have a minimum of 5 players and may have a maximum of 9 players on its roster.

2) Games can only be started with each team having 4 players and are played to 25 minute running time. However, teams may only win by a maximum of 7 goals, ie. if a team wins 15-2 the score will be recorded 9-2.

3) Teams will be placed in divisions based on information provided at time of registration and organizers will make every effort to place teams in divisions with players of the same gender, age.

4) Rosters may be expanded to a maximum of 9 players and changes to the roster may only be made up to three weeks before the start of the tournament.

No roster substitutions are allowed after the deadline of three weeks.

5) All players must carry ID during Check-in and throughout the event as tournament officials reserve the right to check ID at any time throughout the event and to disqualify players and/or their entire team for not carrying ID, for submission of false information, use of non-roster players, unauthorized substitutions, and/or bad sportsmanship of any kind.

6) All games will be played 4-on-4, plus the goaltender (i.e. 4 out players plus one goalie on the street at all times). A team may play without a goaltender, if it chooses to do so, at any time during the games.

7) Faceoffs will only occur at the start of the game.

8) A team must return to their side of centre after a goal is scored and may only cross centre once the ball or offensive players crosses centre.

9) All changes may be made during ‘stop time/ball out of play’ or ‘on the fly’ and must be completed within five feet of the team bench (team benches are on either side of centre)

10) There can be no goal changes made during games, except in the case of injury. If a goalie leaves a game due to injury, he/she cannot return to the game as a position player.

11) When the ball is covered by the goaltender, the defending team gets possession of the ball behind their net. The other team must give the team with the ball 10 feet of space to make a play. The team with possession is allowed 10 seconds to put the ball in play.

12) When a ball leaves play:

If the ball goes over the rink fencing BY THE OFFENSIVE TEAM:

The defending team receives possession of the ball behind the net and opposing team must give the team with the ball 10 feet of space to make a play and will have a maximum of 10 seconds to put the ball back into play.

If the ball goes over the rink fencing OFF THE DEFENSIVE TEAM:

The offensive team receives possession of the ball in one of the corners and opposing team must give the team with the ball 10 feet of space to make a play and will have a maximum of 10 seconds to put the ball back into play.

If the ball leaves play on either side of the rink fencing, the non-offending team will play the ball in from the point it went over the rink fencing. The game official will always determine which team will receive possession. The team with the ball 10 feet of space to make a play and will have a maximum of 10 seconds to put the ball back into play.

Teams are permitted to shoot directly at the goal after an out of play shot and there is no requirement for a pass to a teammate.

13) After a goal is scored:

There is no face-off. The team that was scored on gets possession and may execute play immediately.

The team that just scored must always clear and cannot cross the centerline until the ball, or an offensive player, crosses that line. If there is a deliberate delay of game, ie. not moving the ball forward for a period of 10 seconds, a penalty shot by the team that was scored on a penalty shot will be awarded against the offending team. The game official (s) have the discretion of delay of game and will issue a warning to the offending team before issuing a penalty shot.

TIME

1) Teams will be given a two minute warm-up before each game.

2) If a team doesn’t arrive on time a five minute forfeit allowance will be strictly enforced.

3) Games will be 25 minutes in length running time, separated by a one minute break

4) A mercy rule will be in effect and the maximum number of goals a team may win by is 7 and we will be using the Goals For Against the Goals Against formula so not allowing goals is much more important especially for tie breaking procedure

5) there are no times outs

TIE BREAKING PROCEDURE

1) Points

2) Record between teams if applicable (if 2 teams are tied) If more than 2 teams are tied then go to step 3

3) Wins

4) Goals percentage (%) for and against (which is goals for divided by the sum of goals for and against) use a many decimal points as needed; i.e.,

Goals for

Goals for + Goals against

5) Goal differential + or -

6) Goals for

7) Goals against

8) Shoot out:

a) Five shooters from each team shoot. The highest overall score from the five shooters wins,

b) If the score is still tied then the remaining players shoot (players 6-20). The players go one to one for sudden victory, (should one team have less players then their opposition both teams will be permitted to start from player one)

c) If the score is still tied, begin again from the player one and continue until everybody has again been used. Continue this one to one procedure until there is a winner in this sudden victory shootout.

NOTE:As per the Maple Leaf Cup rules, although teams may win by more than a 7 goal spread, the official scores will not be recorded with more than a 10 goal difference, ie. 15-2 victory will be recorded 9-2.

PENALTIES

1) There is no body contact, however incidental contacts will occur during regular play. There will be no slashing, hooking tripping, crosschecking, high sticking, or additional stick/body checking of any kind. Any penalty will result in a penalty shot for the other team.

More serious offenses, including, but not limited to, spearing and/or butt-ending, intent to injure shall result in an individual being immediately removed from a tournament. The Maple Leaf Cup events are open to the general public any offence that is deemed not to be a part of the game may also face legal consequences.

2) Fighting is unacceptable and will always result in the individual (s) being removed from tournament. Further, there shall be no rough play of any kind and a penalty will result in a penalty shot, but may be punished more severely based on severity at the discretion of the referee.

3) Any player that gets penalized three times during one game for incidents mentioned above will be disqualified from participating in the remainder of that game. Teams that lose a player may not replace that player on the floor and thus must play short-handed for the balance of the game.

4) Slapshots are only allowed in all games. A slapshot is any shot that involves a wind up that begins above the shooter's waist.

5) Highsticking the ball will not result in a penalty shot, but play will be whistled down and change of possession will be granted to the opposing team.

6) The result of all penalties is a penalty shot awarded to the other team and can be taken by any player on the opposing team. After the penalty shot, the ball will always be played behind the goal of the defending team.

SHOOT OUTS

Ties will stand in the round robin portion of the tournament, but if the game ends in a tie in an elimination game (except for a Championship Final) the teams will go into a shootout to determine the winner.

Each team will nominate 3 players from their own team to participate in the shootout. Each of these shooters will be given one breakaway on the opposing goaltender. The team with the most goals at the end of the shootout will be declared the winner.

If the score remains tied after the initial shootout round, the shootout will move to sudden death format and any player may shoot.

Sudden death shoot out rounds continue until a winner is declared.

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

1) Goaltenders should bring their own goaltender equipment and game official or tournament committee reserves the right to reject the use of this equipment if it is deemed unsafe.

Pads may be no wider than 12". Pad measurements can be requested during any game by the team captain. If pads are found to be illegal, the pads are banned from the event, and a penalty shot is awarded to the opposing team. If the pads are found to be legal, a penalty shot is awarded for delay of game against the team who requested measurement, for delay of game.

2) All sticks are subject to safety standards, ie. must be at least 2 inches width along any part of the blade. Any type of stick purchased for retail purposes may be used except for a plastic blade. There is no curve rule and thus all curves will be allowed.

3) We strongly recommend that gloves, helmets, shin guards are worn.

RAIN PLAN

1) All games will continue as scheduled rain or shine except for thunderstorms or any severe weather conditions.

2) Always report to your designated rink for the start of the game unless notified by the tournament committee

SCHEDULES

The tournament schedules as they appear on the web site are final and it is important for all teams to be ready to play at their scheduled start time.