Teams


Teams will be comprised of at least ten skaters and a goalie. Players for each team will be chosen through a draft and each team will be divided as evenly as possible across all ability levels.

Each team will have a designated captain who will be responsible for passing along league information, ensuring their team fields sufficient players, scheduling officials, etc.

Half Time Players


All �Half Time Players� will play in 8 or less games plus half of the playoff games, as they are designated as �Half Time Players� and were drafted as such.

Use of Alternate Players


Alternate players may only be utilized if a team is at 8 skaters or less and the alternate must be at or below the ability level of the rostered player. Captains will be responsible for securing alternate players and the alternate player must be chosen from the approved Alternate Player list. Any other players will require HNIGF Committee approval.

If a team does not have at least 8 players, then the team without the sufficient number of players will automatically forfeit their game. However, the game can/will still be skated and stats tracked accordingly with approval from opposing captains, though the forfeit will be tracked as a loss in the team standings.

Alternate players will pay $15 per game and the fee will be collected before they play. No alternate player will play until they have paid their fee/fees to date.

Rostered players may not play for another team.

Games


Game slots will be 50 minutes in length, comprised of a 5-minute warm-up, two 25 minute run time periods and a 5 minute break between periods.

If a game is tied at the end of regulation play, then a shoot-out will be held to determine a winner. Three players from each team (chosen by the opposing team�s goalie) will go head-to-head and if the score is still tied after the initial three shooters, then a sudden death shoot-out will continue until a winner is determined. Any shooter beyond the first three will be chosen by the opposing team�s captain.

If there is a 2 goal differential in the last period of a game, the final three (3) minutes will be stop time. If the score differential changes to 3 goals or more during the final three minutes, then the game will revert back to running time.

2 points will be awarded for a win, 0 for a loss, and 1 for a shoot-out loss.

Play

USA Hockey rules will govern play and HNIGF imposes the following additional guidelines:

� No body checking
� There is no limitaton for the numer of goals any one player may score in any one game.
� No fighting. Players involved in fighting will be ejected from that game, assessed a $25 fine for the first offense and the fine will need to be paid in full prior to the player skating in another game. If the player is involved in a second fight during the season, then the player will be ejected from that game and the HNIGF Committee will rule on the extent of punishment beyond the second game ejection.
� Slap-shots are allowed.

Draft


A draft will be conducted prior to the season in order to form teams. The respective captain of each team will participate in the draft or the captain�s designated replacement if they are not able to attend.

The Captain�s names will be placed in a hat and drawn out one by one to determine the order in which they will pick. The order will run from first to last and last to first until all the rostered players have been drawn.
Goalies will be part of the draft.

Once the draft is complete, trading of players will be accepted as long as they are agreed upon between the captains conducting the trade(s). No trades will be allowed after the night of the draft and the rosters are set.

Playoffs


All teams will be eligible for playoffs and the tournament will be a double elimination format.
1. Points
2. Wins
3. Head-to-head record
4. Goals for/Goals Against differential

If a playoff game is tied at the end of regulation, then a sudden death playoff will be played as follows:
1) 4 on 4 for the first 5 minute overtime
2) 3 on 3 for the second 5 minute overtime.
3) 3 on 3, no goalies and the goal can only be scored in the team's offending zone inside the blue line.