BSIHL
Playing Rules and Policies
BSIHL playing rules will be governed by the BSIHL,USA Hockey, AAHA and PIAA rules (as they apply). Where BSIHL rules conflict with USA Hockey or PIAA rules, BSIHL rules, then USA Hockey rules shall take precedence.
** NOTE: The Procedure for all requests for Exceptions to any of these Rules and Policies shall be that they must be submitted to the BSIHL Board, in writing, for subsequent consideration by the EC,I.A.W.
SECTION A – Jurisdiction over teams
Any game played by a member team in an outside tournament, scrimmage, or Non-League game, shall be governed by USA Hockey and BSIHL Hockey rules. Any suspensions received in said types of Non-League games, will be served in the Team’s first current League season game(s) as needed. See Section N, # 1 for further clarification.
SECTION B – Eligibility
1. Philosophy – Varsity (9th through 12th grade)
It is the intention of the BSIHL to foster PURE TEAMS and specifically HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS. As such, the preference to have PURE High School TEAMS with exclusively Flyers’ Cup and State Championship ELIGIBLE PLAYERS, shall remain the object of the BSIHL.
2. Philosophy – Junior High (6th through 9th grades)
It is the intention of the BSIHL to foster PURE TEAMS at the Jr. High level as well. The BSIHL considers Jr. High. Teams to be developmental teams. Junior High Teams shall be checking teams.
3. Philosophy – Elementary (Pre-K through 2nd) (3rd through 5th grades)
It is the intention of the BSIHL to foster PURE TEAMS at the Elementary level as well. The BSIHL considers Elementary Teams to be developmental teams.
4. Team Definitions – Varsity
a. Pure team:
A pure team is made up exclusively of student/players who are enrolled and attend the same high school. Only pure teams are Flyers' Cup tournament eligible. Home-schooled student/players, who live in the school district of a BSIHL participating Club, may participate on that team, and the team shall be considered a Pure Team. Written verification of the student/players participation and progress in the Home-school program, by the appropriate school authority, must be made available to the BSIHL EC upon request.
5. Team Definitions - Junior High
a. Pure team:
Same as in Sec. B,#4, a., above, except to omit the words "high school" in the 2nd line, and also omit the 2nd sentence.
6. Team Definitions - Elementary
a. Pure team:
Same as in Sec. B,#4, a., above, except to omit the words "high school" in the 2nd line, and also omit the 2nd sentence.
b. Joint team:
A joint team is made up two (2) Schools that join together to field one (1) team. A joint team is the foundation for the two schools to build a program with the intent of becoming pure teams. The time limit will be a total of two (2) years starting with the 2005-2006 season.
7. Age - Varsity
Any student/player, who is 19 years of age prior to July 1 of the upcoming winter season, is ineligible for league competition. Student/players shall at least be in the 9th grade, and not beyond the 12th grade. No student/player may participate if he/she has attended 8 semesters beyond the 8th grade.
8. Age - Junior High
Any student/player, who is 16 years of age prior to July 1 of the upcoming winter season, is ineligible to play on a Junior High team. Student/players shall be at least in the 6th grade and not beyond the 9th grade. Any exception requests must be submitted, per procedure. 9th grade goaltenders my be rostered to play on the Varsity, and Junior High teams. They must, however, play the position of goaltender on these teams.
9. Age - Elementary
Any student/player, who is 12 years of age prior to July 1 of the upcoming winter season, is ineligible for league competition at that level.
10. Team Rosters
All team rosters, school verification, and coaching cards forms are due at least 1 week before the first game. They are to be submitted to the BSIHL 1st VP and Commissioner. All teams rosters shall be open until December 31st of the current season. If teams add to their rosters between the first game and December 31st, they shall provide the updated roster, for any additional student/player (s) to the 1st VP and Commissioner, as well as any team they are playing within the next week of adding said player. An additional School verification form is needed as well. Teams who are unable to get the cooperation of their school in completing said form, shall provide a copy of a report card, school ID or other items that identifies the student/player as attending the team's school.
a. The Executive Committee shall handle player/students moving or transferring during the school year, as far as eligibility, on an individual basis, as per B, #11 General Eligibility below.
b. 6th, 7th and 8th (if they are playing Jr. High) grade student/players may petition the Executive Committee, per procedure, to play for the school in whose domain he/he resides, in lieu of the team whose school he/she attends. i.e.: Private Schools and Independent Teams at the Varsity Level.
11. General Eligibility:
a. The BSIHL shall use the following as a guide to deter recruiting and transfers, which are in whole or in part for any athletic purpose. The PIAA Bylaws-Article VI (Transfer and Residence) shall be used only as a supplemental guide in conjunction with the language herein contained. This article covers foreign exchange students and transferred students, etc.
1) In order for a student/player, who transfers into a BSIHL School District, to be eligible for play for the upcoming or current season the following items must occur:
a) The Responsible Person(s), with whom the student/player previously resided, whether they be parents, legal guardians, Foster parents, etc. must have established residency in a BSIHL School District.
b) The student/player must follow the current registration procedure with current deadlines, as in b. below.
c) This specifically pertains to those student/players who are moving into the area to play Junior Hockey, and has signed a contract.
d) Any situation(s) not specially covered by this rule, must be submitted to the 1st VP, per procedure.
2) All Foreign Exchange students, shall have the Club for whom the intend to participate in the upcoming season, submit the student/player's official detailed paperwork of the Foreign Exchange Program, to the 1st VP who will present this information to the EC for approval.
3) If any or all of these conditions are NOT met, then the student/player shall be declared INELIGIBLE for participation in the BSIHL for the period of 1 year.
a) Transfer student/players must be registered with the school that they will be attending by September 1 of each year. Any transfer student/players registering after September 1, must be added to the Team's roster and a copy of the revised roster sent to the 1st VP who will forward it to the EC, to rule on the eligibility of each additional student/player.
b) All student/players must play for the team representing the High School that they attend. In the event that the school that a student/player attends does not have an Ice Hockey Team, specifically a Private or Parochial School, the Club whose team represents the School District in which the student/player resides, at its discretion, may petition the 1st VP, per procedure, for said student/player to play for that Club's Team. The Executive Committee shall make this decision. The student/player in question is eligible to play only for the Club/Team that represents the School District in which the student/player resides. If the EC approves the exception, the team's status will now be that of Pure with Exception, and Club/Team with whom the exception student/player now participates, shall be ineligible for the Flyers' Cup Playoffs.
12. Ineligible Player:
Any team dressing or rostering an ineligible student/player(s) shall forfeit said game(s) and the (those) student/player's) shall have all points scored during the game(s) stricken from Official League records. The Commissioner shall review the actions of the team's officials for possible disciplinary action, I.A.W. Section J (Game Forfeiture), of these BSIHL Rules and Policies.
13. Player Movement:
Any 2nd,5th or 9th grade player that is rostered on their respective team may, at the coaches discretion, move up to the next level. Once a player plays 3 games at the higher level team, that player is now on the higher level team and may not go back down to the lower level. A new roster must be submitted to the 1st VP and the Commissioner. The moves must occur before the deadline of December 31st except new residents to your area.
14. Pool Players:
a) A pool player is defined as a player that attends a school that does not field a scholastic team.
b) BSIHL teams are eligible for pool players only if they have less than 14 pure players on a team.
c) The EC Board will distribute the pool players based on the number of pure players per team.
d) Pool players are permitted to stay with the assigned BSIHL team for 2 years. The purpose of this is to give the school the ability to recruit and start their own clubs starting with the 2005-2006 season.
e) A team will need 20 Pure players in order to split into 2 teams.
15. Pool Player Procedures:
a) The player must submit a player application to the league.
b) The team seeking the exception must also submit an exception form. All exception forms must be approved by the EC Board before determining eligibility for a team in all cases (Including pool players from prior seasons). Both of the above forms can be found on the website. Failure to follow these procedures will result in player ineligibility for BSIHL games and tournaments.
c) At the end of the two-year period, the pool players will be placed on a different team if their school still does not have a club.
SECTION C - Divisions - shall be determined by the Executive Committee
1. Varsity: There shall be one Division at the Varsity Level.
2. Junior High: There shall be Two Divisions, Tier 1 & Tier 2 at the Junior High Level.
3. Elementary: There shall be two Divisions, 3rd to 5th and Pre-k to 2nd grades.
4. There will be a year-end tournament with each team being involved.
SECTION D - Team Jerseys
1. All teams at the Varsity, Junior High and Elementary levels must have both home (white predominant) and away (dark predominant) jerseys. All teams are strongly urged to bring both Home and Away jerseys to a game in the event that there is a conflict in Jersey colors. In the event of a jersey conflict, it shall be the Away Team's responsibility to change jerseys to afford the customary Home vs Away, opposite jersey, white vs dark color combination.
Any issues or questions about this shall be directed to the 1st VP for presentation to, and discussion, with the EC. For new Clubs, jersey colors and style need to be approved by the Executive Committee prior to the start of the season.
Change in jerseys in subsequent years need to be approved by the EC prior to the start of the season.
SECTION E - Length of Periods and Intermissions
1. Length of periods shall be 15 minutes each for Varsity, and Junior High Games, and 10 minutes for Elementary Games. NOTE: A misconduct penalty shall be 10 minutes, a Major penalty shall be 5 minutes and 3 minutes for Elementary, and a minor penalty shall be 2 minutes and 1 1/2 minutes for Elementary.
2. There shall be a 4-minute warm-up period, starting at the beginning of the game time slot. NOTE: The game time slot shall be defined as one and one-half hours in length for Varsity and Junior High and one hour for Elementary and shall start when the Zamboni doors are closed, remembering that time slots are allocated for a game no matter when it starts. Intermissions between periods shall be 2 minutes. The Referees may choose to reduce either the 4-minute warm-up time, or the intermission time, as they deem appropriate.
3. The warm up clock starts as soon as the Refs get on the ice. At the end of the second period, the Timekeeper will look at the time clock. If less than 30 minutes remain in the ice slot, then the timekeeper will divide the remaining time by one-half. That amount of time shall be placed on the game clock for the third period. If a delay occurs in the third period, such as for injury and it is obvious that the game will not end until at least 5 minutes after the scheduled ice slot, the timekeeper must call the On-ice Officials to the Scorer's Table and advise them that the third period will be shortened to half of the remaining time in the allotted game time slot. The On-ice Officials will then notify the coaches of each team of the change, and the game will continue with normal stoppages as outlined above (NOTE: the scorekeeper shall note in the remarks column of the score sheet, that the game was shortened, and any penalties on the clock when the game is shortened will be served in full). The penalty does not carry over to next game.
4. If, in the opinion of the Referees, the playing conditions become unsatisfactory during the course of the game, they may call the game at any time that they decide that it would be dangerous/hazardous to continue the game. The score of the game shall be what it is when the game was called. The game shall be considered "no game", however, unless two (2) periods of play have been completed.
SECTION G - Score Sheet Signatures
1. Member Clubs' team (Varsity, Junior High, and Elementary) are requested to list their student/players in numerical jersey order on the score sheet. Score sheet signatures are required for any student/player at Jr High & Varsity Levels, including suspended student/players. Scorekeepers must check the box on the score sheet for every player that is on the ice.
2. Student/players arriving late to a scheduled BSIHL game shall proceed immediately to the Scorekeeper's booth at the first stoppage of play, allowing him/her to cross the ice, and shall report in to the scorekeeper, giving his/her name and number, before participating in that game. Failure to do so may invoke a 2-minute minor penalty, once the Scorekeeper discovers the omission. A suspended student/player's name must appear on the score sheet in the Suspended Player section. Suspended players and coaches MUST sign the score sheet where indicated. Failure of a suspended student/player's name to appear on the score sheet at all, or placing it in the wrong section, shall result in that game not being counted as a game served. This shall apply for suspended coaches as well.
SECTION H - Six-Goal Rule
If at any time after the conclusion of two (2) full periods of a scheduled league game, a differential of 6 goals or more exists between opponents, the game shall be played with a "running" clock, only to be stopped for the following:
1. A score by the losing team, bringing the differential to less than 8 goals.
2. After a score or penalty call, to allow the officials an opportunity to record the necessary information.
3. An injury time-out.
4. A time-out called by either team.
After any of the four (4) situations above, where the time clock is stopped while in the "running" clock mode, the time clock shall be re-started when the puck is dropped in the ensuing face-off.
SECTION I - Game Cancellations Due to Inclement Weather Conditions
1. If the rinks are open, the games are on. Each team must call the rink. Teams that fail to show up for a game will forfeit that game and a fine to cover ice and referees costs will be issued.
2. The coach with the weather issue calls the opposing coach 3 hours prior to game time. The Home Team calls the 2nd VP (coaching director). Every effort will be made to re-schedule.
SECTION J - Game Forfeiture
A team forfeiting a game may be fined up to double the cost of the game (actual amount to be determined by the Executive Committee). The team shall have forfeited if the word "forfeit" is written on the score sheet, or if the League Commissioner deems the game to be forfeited.
SECTION K - League Standings
1. League standings shall be determined by awarding 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and zero points for a loss. Regular Season Division Champions shall be the team completing the season with the greatest number of points. A tiebreaker for division wins will follow Section L below.
SECTION L - Tournaments
1. There shall be Tournaments at all levels. Players must play 50% of season games to be eligible for the tournament. Suspended games count towards the 50%. The full ice slots will be utilized for all tournament games with no running clock. Pro-rate for new kids in the district.
2. In case of a tie, the following guidelines shall be followed for seeding purposes, and shall be for all levels.
a. Tie-breaking Procedure for 2 Teams:
1) Most wins in all league games.
' 2) Head to Head results in games between the 2 tied teams.
3) Goal differential Head to Head.
4) Fewest goals allowed in all league games.
5) Most periods won in all league games
6) Coin toss.
b. Tie-breaking procedure for 3 or more Teams:
1) Most wins in all league games.
2) Fewest losses in all league games.
3) Fewest goals allowed in all league games.
4) Most goals scored in all league games.
5) Most periods won in all league games.
6) Coin toss.
SECTION M - BSIHL Adjustments to Penalties
1. Any student/player, who receives a major penalty for fighting, shall be assessed a five minute penalty, a game misconduct penalty, and the length of suspension shall be administered by the Commissioner for no less than 2 games. The same penalties and suspensions may be imposed on any other student/ player who is involved in the altercation.
SECTION N - Suspensions
1. No suspended student/player shall participate in any scheduled game(s), in which the student/player, and/or his/her team, represent the BSIHL, until said suspension has been served, in a current BSIHL Regular Season or Tournament Game.
The suspension will carry over into the student/player's next season of play if not enough games remain in the current season to satisfy the suspension. An exception to this shall be that a student/player, who is serving a levied, one game only, non-fighting suspension, may play in a second (2) Flyers' Cup game in which he/she and his/her team participate, by sitting out and not playing in the first (1st) Flyers' Cup game, in which he/she and his/her team participate.
The student/player must, however, still serve the one game suspension, in a BSIHL Tournament game, if the BSIHL Tournaments are still in progress. This shall pertain to coaches as well.
2. NOTE: Student/players, must serve their suspensions with the team with whom the player was participating, at the time of his/her suspendable infraction, before being able to play in any game in which he/she or his/her team represents the BSIHL, except as noted in the 2nd paragraph below.
This includes all 9th Grade student/players who play either Junior High or Varsity, as well as 9th Grade goaltenders who may happen to play on up to three (3) teams.
However, if a suspension is levied and there is not a sufficient number of games remaining in the current season for the team with whom the student/player received the suspension, and then he/she shall serve any remaining games of the suspension, in consecutive games, including Tournament games with either, or any of the other level teams, of which he/she is member.
Student/players are reminded that if serving a suspension in this circumstance, they are NOT eligible for participation in any game in which his/her team represents the BSIHL. The same exception as in #1 above (Flyers' Cup), shall be utilized for any BSIHL recognized Tournament, whereby the suspended student/player, who is serving a levied, one (1) game only, non-fighting suspension, may play in a second Tournament game and subsequent Tournament games, after sitting out and not playing in the 1st Tournament game in which his/her team is participating. Subsequently, a team's participation in said games shall not count as a game (or games) served in the student/player's suspension, as in Section N, #1, above.
Appeals must be in writing to the board within (2) days of the incident. The board will act within (2) days with a decision.
SECTION O – BSIHL Adjustments to Penalties
1. Any student/player, who receives a major penalty for fighting, shall be assessed a five minute penalty, a game misconduct penalty, and the length of suspension shall be administered by the Commissioner. The same penalties and suspensions may be imposed on any other student/player who is involved in the altercation.
3. In the last 5 minutes of a game, if a student/player received a 10-minute Misconduct penalty, the balance of the penalty shall be served in the student/player's next scheduled game.
4. Major Penalties and/or Suspensions received by a student/player or coach in the last 5 minutes of a regularly scheduled League or Tournament game will result in the doubling of said penalties and/or suspensions.
5. If any student/player, who is a Senior, is charged with a fighting Major, or a Match Penalty in his Team's last game that he plays, the Member Club may be assessed up to a $200 fine, per penalized student/player. If there are 2 or more Senior student/players from the same team charged with a fighting Major, or Match Penalty in the last game, then the student/player's, Member Club may be placed on probation for the next season.
Should the same team have a similar occurrence in the Probation Year, the team shall be ineligible for the Tournament in the Probation Year, if the incident occurs before the Tournament.
Should such an incident occur during the Tournament of the Probation Year, the team shall forfeit that game, and thus be out of the tournaments for that year, as well as the following year. Fines, as mentioned above, shall also be levied as per above.
6. For a 2nd Fighting Major penalty during the BSIHL League Season, the student/player may be suspended for the rest of the season, including all games in which the student/player and his/her team represent the BSIHL. NOTE: The League Season shall be defined as including all games in which the student/player and his/her team represent the BSIHL.
7. Any student/player, coach, or off-ice official serving any suspension, shall NOT be permitted in, or near, the areas of the player's bench, penalty box, or scorer's area, during games.
8. Suspended coaches shall not communicate with other coaches or student/players in any manner (shouting instructions from the stands, hand or other signals, radios or telephones, etc) during the game. Such actions shall be considered a breach of the BSIHL Code of Conduct, and will be dealt with in accordance with the penalties addressed in the Code of Conduct.
SECTION P - Commissioner's Review
The League Commissioner may review, for possible change of disciplinary action, any and all suspensions. The Commissioner is also responsible for notifying applicable leagues (i.e. DVHL, Atlantic, etc) of suspensions and for receiving information from those leagues of suspensions within those leagues.
SECTION Q - Disruptiveness
If the League President determines that a high school organization's fans are disruptive, that Club will pay 100% of the cost for security, for each night that the security is needed.
SECTION R - Miscellaneous
1. There shall be no more than 4 adults, who are coaches, on the players bench.
2. Each team is encouraged to provide one, and only one person to tend their Penalty Bench. This person can be in addition to the 4 people allowed on the team bench as outlined in #1 above. However, this person is considered an Off-ice official, and may not coach in this capacity. This person MUST remain neutral. The person in the Penalty Bench must be of equal age at Junior High and Varsity, and they must also wear a helmet, other wise if no one is on the Bench, they must sit until next stoppage.
3. Each Member Club must have an e-mail address, and a dedicated person(s) to be the contact person(s), for all League Electronic correspondence.
4. At the conclusion of the game, student/players shall NOT LEAVE THE BENCH until order exists on the ice.
5. After the handshake, the HOME TEAM will return to its bench until the VISITING TEAM has LEFT THE ICE. COACHES will be held RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS of this #6 and #5 above, as per the BSIHL Code of Conduct, with possible subsequent suspenion(s) after review by the Commissioner.
The referees must be the last ones to leave the ice.
6. Violation of any of these Rules and Policies, not specifically covered by a fine or penalty, shall be subject to fine(s) and/or penalty as determined by the BSIHL Commissioner and the Executive Committee.
7. All coaches must provide to the BSIHL, through the 2nd VP, a copy of their valid USA Coaching Education Program (CEP) card, with their current Level of Certification; appropriate for the level of the team they are coaching, no later than December 31st of the current season. All coaches, especially new coaches, if unable to obtain the Level of Certification appropriate to the level that they are coaching, must have, at the minimum, an Initiation Level Card. Any coach who does not have at least an Initiation Level card by December 31st of the current season, shall be considered to be ineligible to coach for any BSIHL team as of January 1st of the current season. All coaches are expected to continue to obtain the next highest Level of Coaching Certification, in consecutive years, until the appropriate level, for the level they are coaching is reached. Coaches are also strongly encouraged to carry their Coaching Card with them at all times when on the player's bench at a game, and be able to produce their card if requested to do so. A written exception must be submitted to the 2nd VP if a coach is not certified for the level they are coaching. Otherwise, games will be forfeited. Coaches must follow USA Hockey Code of Ethics. Can be found on the USA Hockey web-site. This will be strictly enforced.
8. Any club, withdrawing a team, at any level, after that level's schedule has been presented to the BOD for the upcoming season, will be fined up to $500, as per a decision by the Executive Board.
9. Fines:
a) Fines not paid after 30 days shall double.
b) Fines not paid after 60 days shall be 3 times the original amount.
SECTION S - Points of Emphasis
1. Calling of the Game - Anytime during the last 2 minutes of a game, with a goal differential of 5 goals or more, the On-ice Officials (referees) may call the game (as being over). This may be done, IF, in their opinion, the players, and/or coaches (teams) are becoming out of control, in that, with further continuation of the game the concern exists that there is a significantly increased potential for player injury or Major penalties to result. In addition to this, either coach may request that the On-ice Officials stop the game for the same reason(s) as above. The final decision however, shall rest with the On-ice Official.
2. Running Clock - In the event of a running clock situation in any BSIHL game, the BSIHL Rules shall be followed. If a question arises about this BSIHL Rule, by the On-ice Official(s), the Off-ice Official(s), as member of the Officiating Team, you shall offer to the Referee(s), the opportunity to view the copy of the BSIHL Rules that should be kept/available at the Scorer's Table, at all Rinks where BSIHL games are played, in an effort to clarify the rule. If the On-ice Official(s) do not choose to either look at the rules, or subsequently abide by them, then that is the end of the matter, since the On-ice Officials do have the final decision. However, if the On-ice Officials (Referee(s)) deviate from this BSIHL Rule, then this is to be noted on the score sheet by the scorekeeper, before he/she signs the score sheet. Any comments must be written on the score sheet (on the back, if necessary) at the conclusion of the game, or the incident is not recordable.
SECTION T - Rule Adjustments
1. The Executive Board has the right to implement a rule at anytime through the season if a problem arises that is not covered in these Rules & Policies.
These Rules and Policies were updated on May 30, 2005.