VERMONT HOCKEY STATE TOURNAMENT VERMONT STATE TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. Penalties and Sanctions Unless otherwise specified in these rules, violations of any of these rules and regulations shall be turned over the VSAHA discipline committee for consideration and action, if necessary. 2. State Tournament Dates For 2019, the State Tournament weekends shall be February 8 th through the 10 th, February 15 th through the 17 th, and Championship Weekend will be March 1 st through March 3 rd. 3. Team Declarations a. All VSAHA Local Association or Allied member teams shall declare their team pool to VSAHA prior to the start of the Fall Schedulers Meeting or if later than the Schedulers meeting, upon the notification to VSAHA of another team. b. Each Association shall pick a placement for each of their teams from the table below. Association Teams shall place any number of teams in the available divisions listed. c. VSAHA may eliminate divisions if there is a lack of or small number of declared teams and affected teams shall be given the opportunity to elect a new declaration. Teams shall select their new division within seven calendar (7) days, otherwise, the VSAHA Executive Board shall make the new team declaration. d. For those Tiers eligible to advance beyond the State Tournament, VSAHA may establish alternative methods for advancing teams beyond the State Tournament when there is an insufficient number of teams in the division. e. All VSAHA Local Association member or Allied Member teams are expected to participate in their respective VSAHA State Tournament unless the Member has notified the VSAHA State Tournament Director by December 31 of its decision to withdraw. f. Guide for VSAHA Local Associations and Allied Members: Declarations & Tournament Level Tier 1 Regionals Tier 2 Regionals/Nationals Tier 3 Regionals/No Advance Tier 4 States/No Advance Youth 10U Yes Yes Yes Yes Youth 12U Yes Yes Yes Yes Youth 14U Yes Yes Yes Yes Youth 18U Yes Yes Girls 10U Yes Girls 12U Yes Yes Yes Girls 14U Yes Yes Yes Girls 16U Yes Yes Girls 19U Yes Yes
4. Roster Requirements a. Youth and girl hockey players and goalies shall be rostered in accordance with all VSAHA and USAH Rules and Regulations. b. Dual participation: A player may compete with more than one team during the regular season. The first game played in the new calendar year must be for the team each player and goalie shall be rostered and competing with for the State Tournament 5. Credentials Books a. Each declared VSAHA Member team bound for the State Tournaments shall maintain a team Credentials Book throughout the course of the regular and tournament seasons. It is the responsibility of the team and the Association to ensure the accuracy of each Credentials Book. b. Each Credentials Books shall contain the following information: i. Team Rosters and or Supplemental Rosters as outlined in these rules and regulations. Note: NO COACH WILL BE ALLOWED ON THE BENCH DURING ANY STATE TOURNAMENT GAME UNLESS THEY ARE LISTED ON THE TEAM S APPROVED OFFICIAL ROSTER(S), AND THEREFORE AUTHENTICATED BY THE VSAHA STATE REGISTRAR. ii. Credential verification sheet, provided by your local registrar, as it relates to games played; iii. Game sheets for each regular season game; c. Credentials Books shall be handed to the State Tournament Site Director prior to the start of the team s first tournament game of the tournament weekend. Books will be returned after your last game. d. Actions for failing to meet Credentials Book requirements shall be: i. Failure to meet any of these Credentials Book requirements shall automatically result in the suspension of the respective team s head coach for the first game and every game thereafter until the requirements have been met. In addition, the team s Head Coach and the VSAHA Local Association Member or Allied Member shall be subject to hearing by the VSAHA Discipline Committee. ii. Double rostering of any player or goalie in the State Tournament games shall automatically result in the forfeiture of any games the team played in the State Tournament at that point and disqualification from the balance of the State Tournament. In addition, the team s Head Coach shall be suspended from participating in the balance of the State Tournaments for any level they are rostered for within VSAHA. The team s Head Coach and the VSAHA Local Association Member or Allied Member shall be subject to a hearing by the VSAHA Discipline Committee. iii. Failure to meet any of these requirements for two or more teams belonging to the same VSAHA Local Association Member or Allied Member shall require a discipline hearing by VSAHA Discipline Committee. e. Credentials Book challenges by the opposing team must be made to the State Tournament Site Director within a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes from the completion of that game and can only be presented by the acting Head Coach of the opposing team. The protesting Head Coach shall provide the Site Director with the item(s) being protested and reasons for the protest consistent with the charge. Unsubstantiated protests or protests that should be administered by the on-ice officials shall not be allowed. Team and or their Association official(s) must make
themselves available while the protest is being considered. The State Tournament Site Director shall discuss the issue with the teams involved, apprise the State Tournament Director of the situation, and issue a ruling on the protest prior to the start of the protested team s next game. Appeals of the State Tournament Site Director s decision shall be made to the State Tournament Director within thirty (30) minutes of Site Director s issuance of their decision. The State Tournament Director shall conduct a hearing with the teams involved and the Site Director, and shall render a decision, in consultation with the VSAHA Executive Board, as soon as possible. All time limits shall be observed; actions beyond the specified time limits shall not be allowed. 6. Regular Season Games and Team Eligibility for the State Tournaments a. Each VSAHA Member youth team bound for the State Tournament shall compete, as a team, in at least 20 regular season games and girl s teams shall compete in at least 14 regular season games prior to the State Tournaments. b. Each VSAHA Member team can play any team in any division but is required to play (at least) two games (Home and Home) against each of the other teams in their division. i. If there are more than 10 teams in a declared division, VSAHA may break the division into pools to make the two-game requirement and play down process more achievable. ii. Failure to play two games (Home and Home) against all other teams in a division/pool may result in disqualification from the respective state tournament. c. Regular season & State Tournament games shall be played consistent with the following table: STOP TIME PERIOD GUIDELINE PENALTY MINUTE GUIDELINE Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Minor Major Misconduct Youth & Girls 10U 10 Min 10 Min 12Min* 1 Min 3 Min 7.5 Min Youth & Girls 12U 12 Min 12 Min 15 Min* 1.5 Min 3 Min 7.5 Min Youth 14U 16U & 18U Girls 14U 16U & 19U 15 Min 15 Min 15 Min 1.5 Min 5 Min 10 Min *Teams should note the allotted ice time assigned to their game and may play the extended 3rd period with time permitting. **There is no overtime or timeouts during regular season d. Game Sheets i. Game sheets must contain only those players and goalies (and the respective jersey number) actually playing in that game. Non-playing members must be crossed out. ii. Game sheets must be signed by the Head Coach of each team prior to the start of the game. Their signature is a verification that the players and jersey numbers in the game are the genuine participants in that game. iii. Game sheets must have both on-ice officials sign the game sheet indicating that they have checked the validity of the scores, penalties, and the coaches
signatures. The on-ice officials should not sign the game sheet if the coaches signatures are not present. iv. Game sheets without signatures shall not count toward game requirements for the teams involved. e. During the regular season, teams shall be awarded points for (Home and Home) division games. i. Two (2) points shall be awarded for winning the game. ii. One (1) point shall be awarded to each team for a tied game. f. During regular season, standings within each division, shall be displayed based on total game points. g. Ice resurfacing shall be at the discretion of the local rink. 7. Player Eligibility for State Tournaments a. Each player and goalie shall have competed in at least 10 games as a member of their rostered state tournament team. b. Meet residency requirements in accordance with VSAHA By-Laws. c. VSAHA may grant a waiver for player eligibility. Waivers must be requested by the VSAHA Member at least two (2) weeks prior to the start date of the respective State Tournament. 8. Division Petitions & Challenges for State Tournament a. All requests must be submitted to the VSAHA Tournament Director prior to January 1 via email from a Local Association's President or State Rep with the Head Coach cc'ed. b. The Tournament Committee will review requests, follow-up with request for more information as needed and make a final decision prior to the January state meeting. i. Petition for own team to Play-Up a Tier ii. Petition for own team to Play-Down a Tier, must include game evidence and team analysis to support this request iii. Petition to Challenge-Up another Association a Tier, must include game evidence and team analysis to support this request. The challenged team will be notified by the VSAHA Tournament Director and given an opportunity to provide additional information. 9. State Tournament Format a. The VSAHA State Tournament is composed of two preliminary Playdown Weekends and one Championship Weekend. b. The top two (2) teams at the conclusion of each playdown tournament will play in Championship Weekend. Championship games shall be a single game decided by the team scoring the most goals. c. For all State Tournament games: i. Each team shall play a maximum of two (2) games per day. ii. There shall be four (4) hours scheduled between the end of the first game and the start of the second game that a team plays on the same day. The State Tournament Director can grant a shorter duration on exception; but in no case will the period be less than two (2) hours. iii. There shall be at least twelve (12) hours scheduled between games on consecutive days.
iv. State Tournament games should not be scheduled to start prior to 8 AM or after 9 PM. Tournament Site Directors can schedule prior to 8 AM with the approval of the State Tournament Director. v. Any State Tournament game may start up to fifteen (15) minutes earlier than the scheduled game time at the discretion of the Tournament Site Director. vi. All State Tournament games shall follow the Stop Time Period and Penalty Minute Guidelines outlined in these Rules and Regulations. vii. The Tournament Site Director shall set the Ice resurfacing schedule based upon the host site s guidelines. viii. A six (6) goal differential in the third period will cause the clock to run for the duration of the game, regardless of scoring. Referees may stop the clock for injuries or another reason at their discretion. d. Seedings for State Tournament shall be based upon average points gained from winning or tying games within that division as of January 31. The VSAHA State tournament format is made up of round robin play followed by a semi-final round when necessary and then a final game at Championship weekend. e. For round robin play in the Playdown Weekends: i. VSAHA shall establish the tournament format and publish it by February 1. ii. If the round robin game is tied at the end of regulation, there shall be a two (2) minute break and one stop time sudden victory Overtime period half the length of Period 1. iii. Round robin games shall have only one (1) timeout during regulation play. Teams are not allowed to call a timeout in overtime. iv. Total points after round robin play will determine standings. 1. Two (2) Points for a win 2. One (1) Point for a tie 3. When teams have the same number of Game Points, the VSAHA Tiebreaker shall be used to determine which team(s) advance. v. VSAHA Tiebreaker rule: The following Tiebreaker rules shall be used in order until the tie is broken. For a tie with three or more teams, proceed through the following steps until one team is eliminated, then return to Step 1 for remaining teams. 1. Most points 2. Head-to-head results (if applicable) 3. Most game wins 4. Most period points (The team scoring the most goals in each period shall be awarded one (1) point. Periods with tied scoring shall give each team one-half (0.5) points) 5. Fewest goals allowed 6. Quickest first goal f. For Semi-Final play in the Playdown Weekends and or Championship Weekend games: i. When a tournament has a total team count of three (3), four (4), or five (5) teams, the top two (2) teams finishing with the Highest Value of Game Points (with Tiebreakers if applicable) shall advance to Championship Weekend. The higher seeded team shall be the home team in Championship Weekend. ii. When a tournament has a total team count of six (6) or more teams, the team finishing with the Highest Value of Game Points (with Tiebreakers if applicable) shall receive the #1 seed and shall play the team finishing as the fourth
seed. Teams finishing in second and third shall play in the other Semi-Final game. Winners, as determined by the team scoring the most goals, will advance to Championship Weekend. The higher seeded team shall be the home team in Championship Weekend. iii. When a tournament has a North and South bracket, the top two (2) teams from each, finishing with the Highest Value of Game Points (with Tiebreakers if applicable), will advance to a Semi-Final game at a later date. iv. There shall be overtimes when any of these games finish the third period (regulation) with a tied score. Overtimes shall be administered in the following manner: 1. There shall be a two (2) minute rest period. 2. Teams shall play a ten (10) minute Stop Time Period without switching ends. 3. The game shall end immediately upon a team scoring a goal. 4. If no goal was scored during the period, there will be either: a. A two (2) minute rest period; or b. An ice-resurfacing. Ice re-surfacing shall occur following the first (1 st ) overtime and every three overtimes thereafter (4 th, 7 th, etc.). 5. Upon returning to the ice, teams shall switch ends and shall switch ends with each overtime period played. 6. Jump to Step 2 above and repeat the following steps until a goal is scored. v. Each team shall have one (1) timeout during the game (for use during regulation or overtime). vi. Games Points are not awarded, and Tiebreakers shall not be used; teams must win the game to advance to Championship Weekend.
ADDITIONAL TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES (Non-Rules or Regulations) VSAHA commitment: o VSAHA shall reimburse Tournament Sites for all ice costs for the State Tournament games. o VSAHA will assist in scheduling Referees, will set fees and will reimburse Tournament Sites. o VSAHA shall purchase 1 st and 2 nd place team trophies and individual awards for players to award at the Championship Weekend games. o VSAHA shall set the pricing for weekend and daily gate fees. Hosting organization will keep the fees collected. o VSAHA will provide game sheets if necessary. o VSAHA shall work with the Tournament Sites on the sale of State Tournament Apparel. State Tournament Hosts: o Each host Association is to provide Tournament Site Director and Off-Ice Officials (Clock/ Scoring/Penalty Box) for all games. There will be no goal judges. The Host Site is responsible to ensure enough volunteers are available to perform these official duties and should be familiar with the requirements of the respective position. o The Tournament Site Director, or an appropriate appointed designee, must be on site for all State Tournament games. o A tournament program shall be made available at no cost to attendees. o EMT or other healthcare professionals are desired to be onsite; but are not required. o Tournament Site Directors shall submit copies via email of the final game sheets immediately following each round robin and semi-final game.