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Official League Rules

Greater Boston Hockey encourages clean, challenging, and competitive games. We recognize that hockey is a contact sport but put the well-being of our players above all else.  All League games generally follow NCAA rules for ice hockey games with the following notable exceptions and points of emphasis:

1)       Participation: No player may participate in the League game without completing a Player Agreement.

2)       Rosters:

  1. Players: Player rosters are selected by the captains through a draft at the beginning of the season. No player may play on any team other than the one he or she is assigned to.
  2. Goalies: Goalies are selected by the captains through a draft at the beginning of the season. They may substitute for another goalie if and only if the team’s original goalie is not able to attend. Goalies from outside the league may be used if approved by the league and only if no other league goalies are available.
  3. Teams: No team may use any player other than the ones drafted by its captain, excepting goalie rule 2.2.

3)       Equipment: Each player is required to obtain and wear protective hockey equipment during any and all League sponsored games, practices, or evaluations.

  1. Protective equipment: Equipment must be designed for ice hockey and include: shin pads, elbow pads, padded hockey pants (no sweat pants), hockey gloves, protective cup, and helmet
  2. Helmet: All League players must wear a properly fastened H.E.C.C approved hockey helmet at all times while on the ice surface, bench, or penalty area. The League strongly recommends that all players wear an approved full facial mask;

4) Officials

  1. Inquiry: No player other than the captain, or designated captain for that game, may request details of a call from any referee.
  2. Referee absence: No game may be played without at least one League provided referee present. League players may still use the ice to scrimmage or practice as determined by the two captains. The league will arrange for a make-up game.
  3. Off-ice official absence: In the unlikely event that no off-ice official is present, the game shall be played as three running-time periods of 23 minutes each. Captains shall be responsible for recording its team’s statistics and reporting them to the League.

5) Game play

  1. Game format
    1. Duration: A game will consists of three periods of 15 minute stop-time play, with a brief intermission between periods, and overtime if necessary.
    2. Attendance: A team must have 4 players to start a game, otherwise the game is forfeit.
    3. Warm-ups: A Warm-up period begins at the start of the ice session and goes for three minutes. Players are encouraged to arrive early and stretch prior to the warm-up period.
    4. Face-offs: Players must line up for face-offs promptly. Referees may drop the puck to continue if either team delays lining up.
    5. Icing: Blue line icing with no touch-up is enforced
  2. Checking: No checking is permitted.
  3. Penalties:
    1. Minor penalties: Minor penalties are two minutes. A player from the ice may serve a penalty for a goalie. Penalties also expire if the non-penalized team scores.
    2. Coincidental minors: When opposing teams incur simultaneous minors, the teams continue to skate even strength, but penalized players may not return to the ice until the first whistle after their penalty expires.
    3. Major penalties: Majors are five minutes and expulsion from the game. The offending player must serve the penalty, including a goalie.
    4. Misconducts penalties: Misconducts are 10 minutes. The offending player, including goalies, must serve the penalty. However, another player may be substituted on the ice.
    5. Game ejection penalties (“bad day” penalties): Referees may eject a player from a game, at any time, if that player is deemed to be behaving in a way that interferes with the playing and/or enjoyment of the game by other players, or the player’s removal is necessary to maintain control of the game. The League understands that players occasionally have a “bad day” and ejected players are considered to be warned by the league, but not suspended. A second ejection within one the season will result in a permanent expulsion from the league.
    6. Fighting: Fighting for any reason, as the initiator or the retaliator, will result in ejection from the game and a permanent expulsion from the league.
    7. Intent to injure: Any player that attempts to or intentionally injures another player or league official will be ejected from the game and permanently expelled from the league.

d.      Overtime

  1. Regular season: When there is time available, a five minute sudden-death running-time overtime shall be played. If the referees determine there is not enough time for OT, a sudden death shoot-out is used. If there is no winner after three rounds, or if time expires prior to a winning goal, a tie will be awarded. To save time, and if two refs are present, opponents may shoot simultaneously at opposite ends of the ice.
  2. Playoffs: A five minute sudden-death stop-time overtime shall be played. If there is no winner, a five player shoot-out is used. If there is no winner after the shootout, a five player sudden-death shooting is used, which will repeat until a winner is determined.