1. All round robin games will be played until a team scores a total of six goals; the team that scores six
goals first will be declared the winner.
2. Both semi-final round games will be played until a team scores a total of eight goals; the team that scores eight goals first will be declared the winner.
3. The championship game will be played until a team scores a total of ten goals; the team that scores ten goals first will be declared the winner.
4. Style of play and rules will closely follow that of traditional ice hockey rules unless otherwise stated in these rules.
5. Each team will field a total of 4 players plus a goaltender during play.
6. To begin play, a face-off will occur at centre ice and a coin will be tossed to determine which end of the rink each team will defend.
7. After a goal is scored, the scored upon team will take possession and play will begin again after the team scoring the goal retreats back to their zone and cannot move forward past the centre line again until the team who was scored upon moves past the centre red line.
8. There are no off sides or icing infractions.
9. BBHA is governed by gentlemanly style of play. Should a serious infraction occur, such as tripping, rough play, extremely hard shot, etc., the penalty will be determined by, and at the discretion of, the appointed referee, who will issue a warning and/or award the infracted team and player with a penalty shot from the red line circle. In extreme circumstances, such as a fight between players, the referee has the discretion to remove players involved from the surface immediately and/or game and/or tournament.
10. Slap shots are not allowed. In addition, the referee has the discretion to call back play if he deems that a shot is too hard so as to cause injury to the goaltender. Teams are warned that this is a zero tolerance policy and that goals can be called back in such cases.
11. The decision of the referee is final and cannot be appealed.
12. The goaltender cannot:
(a) move ball forward with glove
(b) move past the blue line with possession of the ball
(c) intentionally move the net to prevent scoring opportunities by opposing team
(d) use glove to take possession of the ball when outside 6 feet from the crease area or outside the area which will be marked around the goal (judgement determined by referee)
The ball will be forfeited to the opposite team when aforementioned infractions occur
13. Should the ball be shot or deflected out of play, outside the playing surface, the team who last made contact with the ball will forfeit the ball and play will begin again at the same spot where it left the playing surface by the opposing team.
14. When there is a stoppage in play, the team who has forfeited the ball must give the player beginning play again at least two feet in distance to replay the ball, unless the play begins again from behind the net in the defensive zone. In that case, the offensive player must allow time for the goalie to give ball to player behind the net, but ball is in play as soon as it is placed on the surface again.
15. A high stick infraction occurs when a player makes contact with the ball and his stick above shoulder level of that player. Gentlemanly play rules will allow the opposing team to make the call at the time of contact, and possession of ball will be forfeited to the opposing team at the spot where the infraction occurred. If neither team makes the call, play continues. If in question, the final authority on the matter rests with the appointed referee.
16. In certain game situations, the ball will be placed high into the air, but still in play. To prevent high sticking in those situations, players can make direct contact with the ball with their hands in order to prevent injury and to keep the ball in play, provided that:
(a) the ball is not clenched by the hand or in the hand for more than two seconds
(b) the ball is immediately dropped back in play to the playing surface
(c) the player does not place or move the ball in a manner that gives him a significant advantage over the other team
17. If a ball inadvertently lands on the back of the net, play stops immediately and the team defensive zone team will take possession of the ball behind their net and begin play again, unless it was intentionally placed there by the same defensive team, in which case the ball will be forfeited to the offensive zone team in the corner area in the end zone where the infraction took place.
18. When a goalie covers up the ball to stop play, the goalie can begin play again immediately from the same location or retreat back to his net and pass the ball behind the net to a teammate to begin play again.
19. During evening play, with the assistance of additional lighting, the ball must be played in the offensive zone past the blue line before a goal can be scored, so as to give proper visibility to the goaltender and to avoid unnecessary injury.
20. If and when a player falls to injury during play, the game shall immediately stop and referee will assess and determine course of action, either infraction, or forfeit of ball.
21. Should a player fall to the surface by his own volition, play shall continue, even if that player has possession of the ball. However, should that player be subject to injury, play will immediately stop. Referee will use judgement on this rule.
22. Weather Conditions: The Tournament will continue, rain or shine, unless there are weather conditions that could risk human life, such as lightening or hurricane.
Each team will play each other. Games to 6. The top four teams will advance to the Semi-Final Round Robin. The team with the worst record, or the fifth place team, will be eliminated from tournament play.
The first place team will play the fourth place team. The second place team will play the third place team. Games to 8. The first place team will have the choice of playing either the first or second scheduled semi-final match. The winners of each semi-final game will meet in the championship game.
The first team to score 10 goals wins the tournament.
Round Robin Tie Breakers will be in the order as follows, until a winner is determined:
(a) Record Team vs. Team
(b) Plus/Minus total goal differential of each team
(c) Shootout until a winner is determined
Shootout format: Each team will appoint five different players to be shooters for their respective teams. After each of the five players for each team has shot, the team with the most goals wins. If still a tie, each team will play a sudden death round and continue until a winner has been determined. In the sudden death round, teams cannot re-appoint a player who has already shot, until all the other remaining players have taken their turn. After all players have shot, the appointment of shooters will continue on a rotating basis.
To resolve a three-way shootout, the same aforementioned format will apply and will continue until one team is declared a winner. Process of elimination format will apply if one of the three teams scores less goals than the other two teams.
Between games in the quarter final round robin, there will be a break, maximum of seven minutes.
Between the quarter final and semi-final round robin games, there will be a break, maximum of twenty minutes.
Between games in the semi-final round robin, there will be a break, maximum of ten minutes.
Between the semi-final round robin and championship game, there will be a break, maximum of twenty minutes.