Ottawa Morning Hockey League

1. RULES

CAHA rules will apply in addition to the following League rules.

2. WAIVER FORMS

2.1 All players and team officials participating in games shall sign the hockey waiver prior to their first game to be approved to play in the League. All players must be at least 19 years of age prior to the start of the current season.

2.2 It is the responsibility of the Team Captain to ensure that all players sign the league waiver.

3. MINIMUM NUMBER OF PLAYERS

3.1 A team must have at least 5 skaters plus a goalie by game start time to begin a game. If a goalie is not ready at this time, the start of the game will be delayed until the goalie is on the ice and a minor penalty (DELAY OF GAME) will be assessed to the goalie.

If a Goalie is not present and dressing by 15 minutes before the start time, then the team captain or representative will assign a player from the team to play goalie, In this case the team will be given a grace of 10 minutes past the game start time to have a goalie dressed and on the ice, the team will start with a penalty. After 10 minutes the team will forfeit (at the ref’s discretion) and a score of 1 – 0 will be recorded. No player stats will be recorded for this game.

3.2 Team Captains will be responsible for screening and inviting spares to play.

4. GAME TIME

4.1 The games are one period in length and run from 5 minutes AFTER start time to 50 minutes after start time (example: 7AM start time is 7:05 to 7:50)

· Winning team will receive 2 points

· Both Teams will receive 1 point for a tie

(There will be NO overtime)

4.2 There will not be any stop time except for playoffs when the score is within 2 goals or less then the last 3 minutes shall be stop time.

5. PENALTIES AND SUSPENSIONS

MINOR PENALIES:

All minor penalties will be 3 minutes running time from the drop of the puck.

**NEW** Faceoffs after a penalty will be in the defending zone

**NEW** All minor penalties in the last 3 minutes of the game will result in a regular penalty (5 on 4) with the player sitting in the penalty box for the remainder of the game and is ineligible for any penalty shots. Should the offensive team not score on the power play, they will be awarded a Penalty Shot at the end of the game. This shot will be taken by the offended player. The penalty shot will only be taken if upon scoring, it will tie or win the game. This Penalty Shot rule is not applicable in the playoffs as stop time is instituted. If the goalie has left the ice for an extra attacker he will be allowed to return to defend the penalty shot. The referee can award goals in certain situations as per the CAHA rulebook.

**NEW** Any puck shot DIRECTLY over the glass by a defensive player from the defensive zone will result in a penalty. Intentional or not! (NHL Style)

**NEW** A deliberate icing of the puck in the last 3 minutes of the game will result in a penalty shot. The “deliberate” is at the discretion of the official, attempting a pass or just dumping the puck out of the zone will not result in an infraction.

**NEW** Since there are no penalty box attendants, players are allowed to rotate from the penalty box to the bench without going onto the ice when the penalty has expired, This is to avoid having a penalty box door not properly closed on exit.

MAJOR PENALTIES

All major penalties will be 5 minutes running time from the drop of the puck.

Note 5a) Major penalties may carry an additional minimum one (1) game suspension.

5b) these penalties will be further reviewed by the League’s Convener where additional suspensions could be given.

5.1 Any misconduct after the conclusion of the game may result in a MINIMUM TWO (2) GAME SUSPENSION!

5.2 FIGHTING

OM Hockey abides by a zero tolerance for fighting; participating parties will be ejected from the game, an additional 4 Game suspension will be issued, as well as a review from the convener and team captains.

5.3 Players receiving majors, misconducts and match penalties may also be given (depending on their past history) a choice of paying a “Personal/Performance Bond” to remain in the League.

5.4 Disciplinary decisions WILL BE FINAL AND CANNOT BE APPEALED.

5.5 Any player receiving three (3) penalties during the same game will be ejected. Any player being ejected for three penalties for the fourth time during the entire season will automatically receive a 1 game suspension and an additional game suspension for each similar subsequent ejection.

5.7 No player may serve another team player’s penalty except in the following situations:

i) a penalty assessed to a goalie,

ii) a major penalty assessed to a player having been ejected from the game

iii) any minor penalty assessed to a player having to leave the game because of an injury.

5.10 Any and all players, upon ejection from the game, for any reason whatsoever, must immediately proceed to the dressing room. He may not stick around to watch the remainder of the game behind the glass.

5.11 Any player who deliberately threatens the safety and well-being of any player or Team captain will receive a minimum season-long suspension.

5.12 Suspended players are not allowed to be near the bench area during a game.

6. GOALIES

6.1 Goalies will not serve their minor penalties, but will be replaced in the penalty box by another player on that team. The team, will however play short-handed in the same manner as if a skater were penalized. For misconducts and match penalties, depending on their severity, the goalie may be allowed to continue the game at the discretion of the officials and will be dealt with when the disciplinary committee next meets.

6.2 Any goalie receiving three (3) minor penalties in a game will not be ejected from the game but will however be assessed an automatic one (1) game suspension and therefore will not be permitted to play for that team’s next regularly scheduled game.

6.3 **NEW ** Any hard direct shot to the goalies mask, the play shall be blown dead immediately. The play will continue should a fluttering puck/soft deflection come in contact with the goalies mask (referee's discretion). If a shot of any kind goes directly off the goalies mask and directly into the net, it shall be a good goal.

7. EQUIPMENT

7.1 All players shall wear full CSA approved hockey equipment and helmets. Players without proper helmets and chin straps (no substitute whatsoever) will NOT be permitted on the ice during a game. If such a player does happen to get onto the ice and participate in the game, he will be assessed a minor penalty and immediately ejected until he fixes or replaces the item in question

7.2 All players shall wear a minimum of a half visor. If insurance needs dictate, full face masks or face shields may also become necessary for all players.

7.3 Any player who plays a game and is notified by a League official of an equipment or sweater violation is prohibited from playing another shift on the ice until the violation has been corrected. Failure to abide will result in a one game suspension to the aforementioned player.

8. SWEATERS

8.1 Teams shall have two (2) full matching set of sweaters with numbers for each player participating in the game. The goaltender will be allowed to wear a sweater that is the predominantly major color of the team. He is also the only player on the ice allowed to play without a number.

8.2 **NEW** The Home Team shall wear Black and take the Home Players Bench.

9. OFFSIDES AND ICINGS

The determining line for an icing call will be a team’s defensive blue line. The red line will not be used when considering two line passes.

9.1 Offensive zone players must stay out of the Goalie Crease. If an offensive zone player is in the goalie crease, the play will be whistled dead and the face-off will be outside the offensive zone at the offside dot.

10. SLAPSHOTS AND BODY CHECKING

Slap shots are allowed.

Body Checking is not allowed.

11. CHANGING OF PLAYERS

11.1 **NEW**Players may change at any time. However, the referee will enforce the hurry up face off rule where the puck will drop 7 seconds after the referee has blown the whistle at the face-off dot. Play will be whistled dead should a player gain an advantage coming into the faceoff late.

11.2 **NEW** Line changes in the last 3 minutes must be on-the-fly, EXCEPT after a goal or penalty or during Playoff stop-time. A Penalty Shot will be assessed for any team caught changing after a whistle in the last 3 minutes.

12. GAME OFFICIALS The game officials and have the last word regarding any situation on the ice. Including Stats

13. PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY

13.1 Players must have played five (5) regular season games with a team to be eligible to participate with that team during playoffs and may play on only one team per division during the playoffs unless approved in writing by the League Convener.

13.2 If a team’s goalie has a legitimate reason for not being available for a playoff game, a replacement goalie may be used; however, he must be approved by the League Executive.

14 Regular Season Tie-Breaker

1) Most wins
2) Most Head to Head Wins between the tied teams

3) Goal Differential (Goals for minus Goals against) Note : Difference between goals scored by a team and the goals scored against that team.
4) Goals for divided by goals against
5) Best performance against 1st place team in division of tied teams
6) Least penalized team
7) Decision by team captains Committee

15. PLAYING WHILE UNDER SUSPENSION

15.1 The following penalties will be assessed to any team that is found to be using a player while he is under suspension, or an illegal player, or a player using an alias:

A) The final score of the game in which the suspended player participated will be recorded as “0" for the team using the illegal player. The opposing team will keep their score and if they had not scored will be awarded a 5-0 win.

B) The illegal player will have an additional five (5) game suspension.

C) The team using the suspended/illegal player will also have their team representative PLUS their top point getter (rep will not count as top scorer) suspended for that team’s next game.

15.2 No suspended player may play on any team in this League until AFTER he has served his complete suspension.

16. DRESSING ROOMS Dressing rooms are to cleared within thirty (30) minutes after completion of each game.

17. ROOM KEYS

Keys for the dressing rooms at Nepean Sportsplex & Walter Baker can be obtained from the rink attendants.

NOTE: OM Hockey is not responsible for lost or stolen items within the change rooms.

18. GAME SHEETS AND LINEUPS

The game sheets will be provided by one of the team captain and will be located between the benches. Players will mark points, goals and assists as awarded by the officials.

NOTE: Team captain (or representative) and Only Team captain may assist the officials with awarding points to players. This will be at the official’s discretion.

19. Player trades

Team captains can discuss, negotiate and submit for approval player trades throughout the season. Trades need to be approved by the league organizer.

20. ** NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE TO BE BROUGHT INTO DRESSING ROOMS OR RINK AREAS BY PLAYERS. This is stipulated in our contracts with the City of Ottawa. Smoking is also prohibited in the dressing rooms.

Emergency changes to the rules: The League Convener reserves the right to make any emergency changes and/or additions to the above rules. Teams and Team captain will be advised in writing as soon as possible.

21. The League was formed to provide area hockey players an opportunity to participate under recreational non-contact rules. Injurious actions by players to others and disrespect towards players and or ice managers play no part in this League. Violations of the previous may constitute just cause for ejection from the League of any player OR team without refund of fees paid. Teams and/or players can easily be replaced. The League also has the right to place any player, at any time, on a performance bond.

22. Please remember that we all have family and business responsibilities to attend to.