Tournament Rules

Noonan Winter Classic Official Rules:

1. All games are 10 minutes in length
2. All games start with an “NHL” type faceoff
3. All players must wear helmets, skates, elbow pads and shin pads at a minimum
4. Referee can assign a penalty to any player at any time, resulting in an automatic goal for the opposing team and a loss of possession
5. No checking is allowed – checking is a penalty that will result in a minimum of one goal for the opposing team but can be more based on the referee’s judgement
6. No slapshots are allowed – this is also a penalty that will result in a goal for the opposing team
7. Players can not fall or lay on the ice in front of the goal area to protect the goal – this is a penalty
8. 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 three feet from the outside corners of the goal.
9. Contacting the puck with a stick above the waist will result in a loss of possession
10. Saucer passes are OK
11. Both players must touch the puck before shooting. The referee can lift this rule for any team at any time.
12. If a puck goes out of bounds, the last team to touch it loses possession. During restart, the defender must give their opponent 2-stick lengths of space.
13. There are no off-sides or icing calls.
14. Goals can be scored from any area of the rink but will be restricted to the offensive half if a team has a 5 goal lead.
15. Teams must give their opponents 1/2 ice after a goal is scored or an infraction takes place.
16. Ties are allowed in pool play and the game will end
17. If a tie occurs in tournament play, there will be a 1 minute break followed by a sudden-death overtime that will last for 2 minutes. If a goal is not scored in that time – there will be a “shootout” where players will alternate shots from center ice to determine a winner. 2 round minimum.
18. Scoring for the Pool Play round is 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss.
19. Tiebreakers in the Pool Play round is as follows:
a. Most Points
b. Head to Head result
c. Goal Differential (Max 6 goal differential per game)
d. Least Goals Allowed in all games
e. Coin Flip
20. After a game is completed, all skaters on the ice MUST participate in clearing snow for the next game.
21. Parents / skaters will be relied upon to referee games and update the scoreboard.
22. Above all, have fun!