TOURNAMENT RULES
THE MEMORIAL
ALLIANCE Tournament Sanction #26-027
Proudly Hosted by Waterloo Minor Hockey Association
Divisions:
Arenas
IMPORTANT City of Waterloo Policies:
* Hallways and corridors in all City facilities must be clear at all times, with hockey bags pushed against walls if waiting for a dressing room.
* Running and warm up activities will take place OUTSIDE of the facility.
* Throwing of balls or other items in the hallways and corridors is prohibited.
* The City guarantees access to dressing rooms a minimum of 30 minutes prior to each ice time and up to an hour prior, based on availability
*The City of Waterloo requires a Key for Key exchange (vehicle key for a room key). Only coaches and trainers are to pick up keys, not parents/spectators. Please return the dressing room key to the tournament office after your game in return for your vehicle key. No vehicle key will be returned without the return of the dressing room key.
GAME LENGTHS
Round Robin (all divisions)
Three (3) 15-minute, stop-time periods. Three (3) minute warm up.
Semi-finals and FINALS (all divisions)
Three (3) 15-minute, stop-time periods. Three (3) minute warm up.
Ice will be resurfaced after every 2 x periods, to accommodate the Facility's flooding schedule.
All Championship games will start on "newly-prepared ice."
Scheduled game start times are approximate. Teams must be ready to play 15 minutes prior to the scheduled game time for round robin games. All Semi-Final and Final games will begin at the scheduled game time.
-Teams that are not ready to start their games on time or within the 15-minute window may forfeit such games at the discretion of the arena coordinator. Due to the nature of our scheduling, time restrictions will be enforced.
MERCY RULE
Round Robin Play:
During round robin play, if at any point in the game there is a five goal lead by either team, that period will be played in running time, without stopping the clock. Time will continue to run throughout the period, regardless of further scoring changes.
Exception; If the spread is within 1 within the final minute of the third period it will return to stop time.
Semi-finals and Finals:
If the spread in the score is five goals at the start of the third period, or at any time during the period, it reaches a five goal lead, by either team, the game shall be running time. If the goal spread in the score reverts to a three-goal difference, the game clock will return to stop time unless the score becomes a five-goal spread again, in which case the running time will resume.
OVERTIME
Round Robin Play - There will be no overtime for round robin play, if the score is tied at the end of three periods it will remain tied.
Goalies and Teams will switch ends to start 3 on 3 overtime.
Overtime will be sudden victory.
Overtime periods in, semi-final and final games will be 5 minutes, played 3 on 3, followed by a shoot-out.
Teams may freely substitute during the overtime. A player who remains penalized at the end of overtime is not eligible for the shootout.
SHOOUTOUT
The shootout starts with a 3 shooter per team format. The home team chooses if they wish to shoot first or second. The team that scores the most goals in the 3 vs 3 format wins. If still tied the shootout becomes sudden victory, ie. The first team to score in an equal amount of shots will be declared the winner. No player may shoot twice until all players, excluding goalies, have participated in the shootout.
PENALTIES DURING OVERTIME
No team is permitted to drop below three skaters. If in the overtime period, the team with the man advantage adds a skater or skaters, the penalized player(s) return to the ice at the expiration of the penalty and the 3 on 3 resumes after a stoppage in play when there are no penalties being served.
TIME-OUTS
There will be no time-outs in round robin play.
One(1) 30 second time-out per team per game will be permitted in Semi-Final and Final Games.
PLAYOFF SEEDING
U14 Division - Top 4 teams advance to semi finals
U15 Division - Top 4 teams advance to semi finals
U16 Division - Top 4 teams advance to semi finals
U18 Division - Top 4 teams advance to semi finals
Playoff seeding will be based on points, however the Tournament Committee reserves the right to adjust play-off game match-ups
in an effort to ensure teams do not meet twice before the finals.
ADMINISTRATION, RULES and POLICIES
Admission - NO GATE FEE
Eligibility
Only teams with approved Hockey Canada (HC) or Hockey USA rosters/cards will be permitted to play.
Player Roster:
In accordance with HC/OHF Policy C10 Minor and Female U18 and below Hockey Teams will be permitted to use up to twenty (20) Players for a sanctioned game.
Bench Staff:
A maximum of five(5) bench staff may be active and participate per game.
AP’s:
Affiliated players may participate only if listed on an approved Affiliated Players List.
Travel Permit
All teams must present a travel permit with their player registration to the tournament office prior to their first game. There is a tournament office in every arena. The preferred method is to upload to the team portal. (Please see Tournament Director Email on instructions for Roster and Travel Permit upload).
General
Following the protocol of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario, the Home team will wear dark jerseys and the Visiting team will wear light jerseys.
Teams will play a minimum of four (4) games. Please check your schedule to ensure it is accurate. In the event of a conflict, please notify the Tournament Official on duty.
ALLIANCE Hockey playing rules shall govern.
No one, other than players, coaches and trainers are allowed in the dressing rooms or the hallway leading to the dressing rooms before and after games.
Teams will be permitted to enter the arena and change rooms a minimum 30 min prior to the scheduled game ice time. Teams must exit the change rooms (within 15min) after games are concluded for cleaning.
Any player/coach receiving a second major penalty will be subject to review by the Tournament Committee and may be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.
Alliance rules require suspensions to be served in the next scheduled game. Therefore, a player or coach receiving a suspendable penalty must serve it during the tournament regardless of their league's additional requirements. It is the responsibility of the team's coaching staff to confirm player/coach eligibility after any suspendable penalty. Due to variations in league rules, any player or coach under suspension entering the tournament is ineligible to participate in the tournament unless first cleared by the Tournament Committee. Either of the above violations will cause the offending team to automatically lose the game in which either of the above occurred. If the offending team loses the game, the score will stand. If the non-offending team loses the game, the score of the game will be recorded as one goal greater for the non-offending team than the offending team’s score. Both the offending participant and the head coach of the offending team will be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.
A Tournament Committee will hear protests. No protest will be heard regarding a referee's decision. A $400 deposit, that will be returned if your protest is successful, must accompany all protests. A protest may only be heard if it is brought to the attention of the tournament chairperson or their delegate within thirty (30) minutes of completion of the game in question. A formal written submission can follow the initial notification. A hearing and ruling will be completed prior to the team's next scheduled game. All decisions made by the Tournament Committee are final.
Video Review
Video review can be used in the instance of resolving any dispute with respect to identification of a player or players who are involved in and penalized in an altercation. Video review will not be used for determining if the penalty was warranted, referee calls stand and are final.
Tie-Breaking Formula
Tie-breaking and the determination of the final seedings after completion of round robin play will be based, in order, on:
A. Two-Way Tie
i. The result of the head-to-head game between the tied teams.
ii. The best goal ratio in all round robin games, calculated as:
Goals For ÷ (Goals For + Goals Against)
(The team with the highest ratio shall be ranked higher.)
iii. The team with the fewest goals against in all round robin games.
iv. The team with the most goals for in all round robin games.
v. The team that scored the first goal in the head-to-head game.
vi. The team with the fewest total penalty minutes in all round robin games.
vii. If the teams remain tied after all criteria have been applied, a coin toss conducted by the Tournament Chairperson shall determine the ranking.
B. Three-Way (or Multi-Team) Tie
i. The best goal ratio in all round robin games, calculated as:
Goals For ÷ (Goals For + Goals Against)
(The team with the highest ratio shall be ranked higher.)
ii. The team with the fewest goals against in all round robin games.
iii. The team with the most goals for in all round robin games.
iv. The team with the fewest total penalty minutes in all round robin games.
v. If the teams remain tied after all criteria have been applied, a coin toss conducted by the Tournament Chairperson shall determine the ranking.
Tournament Game sheets - Will be conducted digitally through Gamesheet INC., and player rosters and stats will be uploaded online. Paper gamesheets will be available if unforeseen circumstances arise and the Ipad or Gamesheet INC is not available.
Tournament game standings will be made available digitally online through the WMHA Tournaments website.
Release from Liability
Acceptance of a team's entry releases the tournament committee and officials, the arena management and everyone connected with the tournament from all liability for injury or accident which may be incurred by a player, team official or spectator while attending or participating in the tournament.
E & OE