McHockey Rules

All NHL rules apply in this league – even the rules that are not enforced correctly if at all (hooking, holding, interference, etc).  

Hooking

To be clear, hooking occurs when you use your stick on someone’s body.  You can lift the stick, but keep your stick off of their hands and arms.

 

Offside

Blue line offside – if offside, as called by nearby players, all attackers must leave the zone before any can reenter to harass the puck carrier.  They can’t take the puck back out with them to get on side – they just leave it.  There are no two (or three) line offside calls.

 

Icing

There are no icing calls.  So, the goalie can use the above rule to whip the puck all the way up to the other end. But, no self-respecting goalie would do that.

 

Face-offs

No refs, so the only faceoff is the first one.  After goals, the team scored against gets to control the puck all the way to the center red line.  Where the skaters are is not important, the team gets to carry the puck to center ice.

 

Goalie Freezes the Puck

After the goalie freezes the puck, he should dump it behind the goal line. From there, the defensive team will be allowed to control the puck unopposed for five seconds, or until it recrosses the goal line headed up ice. The goalie can also dump the puck to one if his teammates, who are expected to take it behind the net – if they skate up ice, the puck is considered live immediately.

 

Contact

There is to be no contact, but anyone who tries to take advantage of this rule by squeezing through a two foot gap left between a player and the boards might find that the player has moved over and blocked that access.

 

Safety First / Penalties

If you have committed a blatant infraction or if a player or goalie takes a puck off the head then stop the play.  Check if they are ok and hand the puck over - don't keep playing, it makes you look like an ass.

Equipment

Wearing full equipment is recommended. The owners of the arenas require everyone to wear full head protection, and by playing the league you agree to this.  At a minimum a half-visor is required.

 

Please bring a puck to the game, and take one away.  Pucks shot over the glass should be retrieved at the end of the game.  Lost pucks will be replaced from a supply provided.

 

See shirt rules under “Teams”.

 

The Be Nice Rules

When we don’t have goalies, the puck must be kept on the ice when entering the net.  If there are goalies, this is waived.  With goalies, don’t get the puck above the waist unless the path to the goal is clear. If it is really, really clear, slapshots are allowed.

 

Try to keep the puck down (but not on the ice, this is hockey after all).  Try to keep passes below the knee.  You can get it higher when clearing it along the boards (not the glass), and if someone wants to block it with their body, that’s their choice.

 

The unwritten rule, which is now documented, is that better players should not take great advantage of less talented players.  They can take advantage of them, but not great advantage.  They want to have fun just like everyone else.

 

We talked about hooking, holding and interference above, it is not allowed especially when people are skating with any speed.  If you get hooked / hacked on a breakaway, raise this concern in the bar afterwards.  If the crowd agrees, the offending player will “be shown the yellow card”.  If they get enough of those in too short a period of time, they will get “the red card”, which will result in their removal from the league.

 

Try to keep out of the crease. If you get in the crease, you might expect some abuse from the goalie (just like the NHL).

 

Lifting the stick is legal at all times, but you should apply the unwritten rule.

 

Teams

Everyone needs a gold or yellow sweater.  You pair off with one player going gold, and the other going another colour referred to as natural. The default colour for natural is BLACK, but if you don’t have black – get one. Please select someone of equal talent when you pair off.

 

The gold team takes the visitors bench and the black team is always HOME.

 

Substitutions

As players get tired, they sub off and then sub in in the same order.  The athlete coming off signals his position (holding up right arm means right wing; left arm is leftwing; hand on head is center; right leg is right defense; and left leg is left defense). If the tired player has enough lung capacity, he can also yell the position.  Should we have no proper goalie, the fresh player subs into goal and relays the position to the goalie who goes out and fills the vacancy. 

 

While sitting on the bench, feel free to enjoy some fresh cold water that some of the more considerate players bring. However, once a bottle is half empty, the rest is reserved for the person who brought that bottle. If you want water on the bench late in the game when you really need it, bring your own.

 

The Jim “Move Your Ass” Rule (direct quote)

How does one politely say this?  I don't think there's an easy way, so ... Skate hard or get off!

Okay, now I better explain that...

Scenario 1: We've got 3+ subs on either bench, all well rested, topped up with water, anxious to get back on.

Should you be on offense and your team has the puck in the opponents zone, you should make an effort to get up to their blue line to try and keep the puck in, not back on your own blue line.

Should you be on defense and their team is starting a rush up the ice towards our poor goalie, you should make an effort to get back and pick up a trailing player.

Too winded/tired?  Well then, what a perfect time to take a rest on the bench.  Taking a rest by comfortably standing still on one of the pretty coloured lines on the ice is not the best use of anyone's time.  You should be arriving at the bench gasping for breath.

You thinking defense is the perfect time to catch your breath?  You're not working hard enough.  Pinch more.

Scenario 2 :  We've got 1-2 subs on the bench.  In this case, standing on a pretty line is okay, and coasting back into play is fine too...the people dying on the bench will appreciate it.