Official Tournament Rules
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Official 2009 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships Tournament Rules
1. The winner of a captain's coin toss will determine which goal to defend.
Teams will switch goals after first half.
2. All players must wear helmets and hockey skates. Protective equipment is
optional but highly recommended.
3. No goalie equipment or goalie sticks permitted.
4. All teams must have light and dark jerseys or uniforms.
5. There will be one off-ice pond official to monitor the play (scoring, time,
puck reset, and arbiter of infractions).
6. Penalties will be called for rule infractions. Penalties called by referees
are final. A minor penalty will result in possession of the puck awarded to
the opposing team. Referees will have the discretion to also award a goal to
the opposing team when a minor penalty is flagrant and/or a team is consistently
playing in a reckless manner.
7. Any major penalty, which includes any action that could possibly injure
another player, will result in that player being ejected from the tournament.
The team that received the ejection will play the remainder of the tournament
short-handed (3 vs. 4). Off-ice pond official will determine major penalties.
8. Abuse of officials will be considered a major penalty. This includes yelling,
swearing, or arguing about calls.
9. No checking is allowed. Such action will result in a minor penalty unless
deemed serious enough to be a major (see off-ice pond official).
10. No slapshots allowed. Such action will result in a minor penalty.
11. Players cannot fall or lay on the ice in an effort to protect the goal
area. Such action will result in a minor penalty.
12. Goaltending is not allowed. A player may not patrol, "camp out" or
remain stationary in the crease area and act as a goaltender. A defender may
deflect the puck in the crease area, but the defender must do so while continuing
to move through the crease area. The crease area is defined as an imaginary
box extending out four feet from the outside corners of the goal.
13. Contacting the puck with a stick above the waist will result in a loss
of possession.
14. Saucer passes (i.e. pucks that are lifted low, below the knee) are acceptable.
15. If a puck goes out of bounds, the last team to touch it loses possession.
During restart, the defender must give his opponent 2-stick lengths of space.
16. There are no off-sides or icing calls.
17. Goals must be scored from the attacking side of center ice.
18. Referees will call out the score after each goal. This includes goals scored
by players or awarded from minor penalties.
19. Teams must give their opponents 1/2 ice after a goal is scored or an infraction
takes place.
20. Games will be composed of two 15-minute halves with a 2-minute halftime.
21. In the event of a tie during both qualifying and championship games, the
play will move to sudden death format.
22. All games are running-time and substitutions can be made during play ("on-the-fly")
or while a puck is being retrieved. There is no stoppage of play after a goal
is scored, or after a penalty is awarded. It is up to each team to ensure that
there are only four players on the ice.
23. Players can only play on one team.
24. Substitutions must be made by 8:00 a.m. on January 18 at the Player Information Table in the warming house tent. No other substitutions throughout the tournament are allowed. The four to six players that are on your roster at 8:00 a.m. on January 18 must be the same players that play on your team throughout the tournament.