Amelia Park 2021 Rule Book

Covid-19: 

These are guidelines Amelia Park must follow with the coronavirus pandemic. Please be respectful of their rules so we may continue to play. These are subject to change only by Amelia Park. They follow Massachusetts state mandates in order to stay open, not following these guidelines will cause facility staff to take action.

While Visiting Amelia Park Arena for any outdoor floor hockey rentals we ask that you adhere to the follow:

• If you are vaccinated, you are not required to wear a mask on Amelia Park property. Social distancing guidelines are always recommended but no longer required. 

• If you are NOT vaccinated, we ask that you wear a mask, maintain social distancing guidelines, and stay home if you are not feeling healthy. 

• Please do not visit Amelia Park Arena if you are feeling ill, have a fever, or have possibly been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

• Handshake lines after games are not required by teams. 

• Teams are strongly encouraged not to enter the rink area until 10-15 minutes before their game and give time for the teams from the previous game to exit the bench area to try and limit social distancing as much as possible.

• Please avoid “hangouts” in the parking lot before/after games in order to try and adhere to social distancing rules. If this becomes an issue, Amelia Park has the right to make any changes necessary. 

Equipment:

The following equipment is MANDATORY:

Helmet – official dek or ice hockey helmet only

Gloves – official dek or ice hockey gloves only

Shin Guards – official dek or ice hockey shin guards only

Stick – official dek or ice hockey stick only

The following equipment is not mandatory but is highly recommended: Helmet Face Cage or Visor, Elbow Pads, Cup, Mouth guard

At the start of each game the referee will do their best to confirm that all players are wearing the mandatory equipment. If the referee observes any player actively playing on the rink during the course of a game without the mandatory equipment, a warning will be issued to the player and they must leave the dek to correct the issue, if this is not done, a Minor Penalty will be called on the offending player.

An official orange (or pink depending on weather) street hockey ball will be used during the course of play. Amelia Park will do their best to supply game balls while the supply lasts. At the conclusion of each game all game balls are to be collected and returned to the timekeeper.

Finances:

Deposits: Each team must submit $160 for a forfeit fund prior to the first game. These funds will be used in case your team needs to forfeit sometime during the season. If this money is not used, it can be rolled over to the next session or returned to the team directly.

Payments for each session are as follows:

Game fees are $60 per game per team, per game. With 10 games in each of the 2 sessions during the 2021 season, team totals will be $600 for each session to rent the rink. Game fees are to be paid directly to Amelia Park. ALL fees are required to be paid by each team's 5th game. NO EXCEPTIONS. All teams will also be responsible for paying this rental fee for all playoff games that the team participates in, including championship games.

Teams are responsible to PAY CASH to the Referees $30/game & Scorekeeper $7/game.

*Teams have the option of paying Commissioner Nate Mickey the entirety of this fee for the entire season ahead of time. Speak with Nate for details*

Total for each session adds up to $970

10 week regular season - 2-3 week playoffs – Single Elimination

Rosters:

-This is a co-ed league. All Players must have a number on their jersey. The league would like to keep track of stats for the session, so please make numbers/names visible to ensure goals and assists are recorded as accurately as possible. Teams must have a minimum of 11 players, age 18+. There is no limit to how many players a team may have.

-Each team must provide a roster of players with a minimum of 11 players, by the team’s 5th game of the session.

-It is the responsibility of each player to sign-in at the proper location. This will help us determine playoff eligibility for each player.

IF YOU DON’T SIGN IN AT THE FRONT DESK AND PLAY THE GAME, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR ANY PLAY AND YOUR TEAM WILL LOSE YOUR STATS FOR THE GAME.

It is NOT the league’s responsibility to keep track of attendance. If a team claims a player was at a previous game but did not sign in, they will NOT receive credit for that game, even if they scored points. If someone is caught signing in another player, no matter the reason, they may receive punishment (suspension, no credit for that game, playoff ineligibility). If you know a player will not be able to sign in (running late, etc) then that player will have to report to the scorekeeper at their earliest convenience.

-PLAY-OFFS: Players, including goalies, who have played in AT LEAST ½ of the regular season games are eligible for the playoffs. The 2021 season will require 5 games played to qualify for playoffs in both sessions.

- The first week, everyone will be expected to sign a waiver. Waivers need to be signed yearly. All new players must have a waiver on file. ALL PLAYERS MUST PRESENT A PHOTO ID AT 1ST WEEK FOR PROOF OF AGE.

All players must sign a liability waiver prior to the start of the season. No participant can play in a game without having completed a liability waiver. NO EXCEPTIONS. This is Amelia Park’s rule.

-Players can only be on ONE ROSTER IN EACH DIVISION.

-LESS THAN 4 PLAYERS WILL CONSTITUTE A FORFEIT, unless team reps agree to play the game regardless. Teams may not borrow a player(s) under any circumstance unless they do not belong to a team in that division and are eligible to be added onto that team’s roster.

NOTE: IF A TEAM IS SHORT A GOALKEEPER, they may use another goaltender form another team regardless of which team/division they play for. The team reps MUST meet prior to the game to approve this. Once agreed up, a rep must inform the referees & scorekeeper for statistical reasons. This substitution can be done for REGULAR SEASON GAMES ONLY. 

*This rule DOES NOT apply for playoffs, if a team does not have a goaltender, they must figure it out with the players on their roster*

Team reps and referees need to sign off on game sheets at the immediate conclusion of the game.

Rules of Play: 

NHL Generic Rules

The general rules of play are similar to the NHL rules (see link above) with the following exceptions:

This is NO CHECK league. While it is understood that some minor contact may occur during play, penalties will be assessed at the discretion of the referee for CHECKING or Unnecessary Roughness.

High Sticking: Contacting a player will result in a Minor Penalty, and contacting a player causing an injury will result in a Major Penalty with removal of the offending player from that game. These penalties will be called at the judgment of the referee. They are NOT up for discussion nor questioning. It is the responsibility of each player to control his or her stick. The ensuing faceoff shall be in the offending teams defensive zone face off spot.

SLIDING is a penalty in this league. Anyone called for sliding will receive a Minor Penalty. This rule is treated like a basketball “pick” rule. If a player establishes themself and goes down for any reason, they will not be called (unless they trip/interfere with a player) but if they are moving and go down and end up sliding at all, the minor penalty will be called.

A player may catch the ball and place it down at their feet in one, fluent motion, but the play will be whistled down if the ball is caught and moved to a different location while the player is in motion.

- FIGHTING IS ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!!!

-This applies to any form of violence (punching, kicking, kneeing, spitting, takedowns, head-butting) with intent to injure. This will be reviewed by staff involved, no arguments on final decisions.

If a player(s) removes equipment in a hostile fashion, they will be tossed from the game and the situation will be evaluated if suspensions are needed. Anyone involved in physical violence must immediately leave the property and remain away from the rink for the length of their suspension. If any player uses equipment as a weapon, regardless of how many offenses they have committed in the past, they will be immediately suspended from the league and may require reevaluation by the league.

1st offense – Players involved in fighting will be ejected from the current game and suspended for at least half the season +1 game (will not qualify for playoffs).

2nd offense – Suspension from league for the remainder of the session and future sessions for that calendar year.

*This league is about having fun AND remaining safe. We are not getting paid like professional players. We all have jobs and lives to go back to and any unnecessary injuries need to be avoided. Players involved in altercations CANNOT remain on the bench with their team or be at any of those suspended games. Any altercations before a game or after a game on the Amelia Park premises as a result of an earlier in-game altercation will result in automatic expulsion from the league for the remainder of the current season and the next full season.

Racial slurs or derogatory language will not be tolerated in this league or anywhere on the property. If anyone is caught using such language, Amelia Park will be forced to have the person removed and they will not be welcome back.

Penalties are as follows: Minor Penalties are 1 (one) minute, Bench Minor Penalties are 1 (one) minute, Major Penalties are 2 1/2 (two and a half) minutes, Misconduct Penalties are 5 (five) minutes. Game Misconduct Penalties are removal from the existing game plus suspended an additional game. Match Penalties (Intent to Injure) and Gross Misconduct Penalties may involve suspension from the league for the remainder of the session. All penalties will be served in the penalty box area directly across the rink from the team’s bench. The penalty time begins at the time the ball is dropped when play resumes.

*Any player receiving 3 (Three) penalties in one game, they are Automatically Ejected for the remainder of that game ONLY* If a team gets ten (10) penalties in one game, they will Forfeit that game.

NOTE: When coincidental minor penalties are called against each team at the same stoppage, and no other timed penalty being served, the On-Dek player strength will be 5 on 5 for one minute, and must come out after a whistle once penalty time has expired.

NOTE: The ensuing face off following a penalty on any one team, shall take place at the offending teams defensive zone face off spot. The ensuing face off for coincidental penalties will take place at the nearest spot the ball was legally played.

The red line will be used for off-sides. This league does recognize the “touch-up” on-sides.

All face offs will take place at one of the 9 (nine) face off spots.

Icing is in effect with the Yellow lines (aka clearing lines).

Any ball that hits the netting above and behind the goals is still in play

All of the Referee’s calls are final. Arguing with the referee will result in a Minor Penalty minimum. CONTINUED ABUSE OF A REFEREE will result in immediate ejection and potential suspension may be discussed between the officials present at the game. 

Suspensions: If a player plays on multiple teams and is suspended, they must serve the same amount of games for each team they play on. Ex; If a 2-game suspension is placed on a player from an incident in a B division game, that player must sit out the next 2 games from their B team AND their A team. Serving 1 game in B and 1 game in A will not count. 

If a player is suspended multiple times in the same season, their suspension time will increase, depending on the severity of their actions, and will be determined by the league commissioner along with other necessary officials.

Major Offenses that a player can be suspended for include, but are not limited to the minimums described;

-Fighting - Described Above

-3rd Man In - 1 game

-Instigator - Warning, if escalated, suspension length will be discussed

-Cage Grab - 1 game

-Spearing - 1 game, escalated to 3 games if second offense is in same session

-Butt-End - 1 game, escalated to 3 games if second offense is in same session

-Abuse of Official (Directed) - 1 game, due to game misconduct rule

-Threat to an Official - Pending on severity

-Consecutive Game Ejections - 1 game suspensions, add 1 game to every consecutive game ejection after

*Subject to Change due to Severity of Offense*

The game will consist of 3 (three) periods of play with each period being 10 (TEN) minutes STOPPING TIME. If a team is up 7 goals at any point in the game, running time will be in effect. At any time during the game the goal difference is 10 goals or more, the game will be called for mercy rule.

There will be 1 (one) minute between periods. At the conclusion of each period the timekeeper will put 1 minute on the clock and run it. At the end of one minute the Referee shall blow his whistle to signal the start of the next period. Any team delaying the start of the game or period shall be assessed a delay of game penalty at the discretion of the referee.

Time Outs: Each team is entitled to 1 (one) 30 second timeout per game.

In the event of a tie game at the end of regulation play, there will be a 3 (three) minute stopping-time overtime where the first team to score wins. Teams will play 5 on 5 standard rules. If OT ends without anyone scoring, each team will choose 3 DIFFERENT shooters for a shootout. If the game is not settled after this, the shootout will continue until there is a winner. A repeat shooter may take another chance AFTER EVERYONE on the roster has attempted once.

PLAYOFF OT: Teams will switch sides and play a full 10 (ten) minute regular, stop time period and will continue to play regulation rules until one team scores.

Teams will have a maximum of 5 minutes between games (unless a game finishes early) to warm up. Warm up time may be shortened if previous games take extra time or go into OT/Shootout. Schedules will be posted well ahead of game time so if a team is not prepared at the start of the game, they may also be issued a delay of game penalty.

This rule may vary with Amelia Park’s Covid guidelines*

Schedules:

Makeup games due to weather will be rescheduled as soon as possible either at an open time slot within the current schedule or at the end of the regular session. This is only in the event if it will affect the standings for playoffs position or at the request of the teams involved. The league will try its best to accommodate teams on the best possible date/time for both teams. The official makeup day will be Tuesdays if an open time slot is not available or teams cannot agree on a date in a timely fashion.

Teams should be prepared to play if the weather isn’t too harsh. The dek doesn’t get too slippery in light rainfall as long as players don’t try to make a hard stop in corners after running full speed. If a team is truly too concerned about weather, speak with the commissioner to sort it out.

It is the obligation of each team member to contact either their captain or Amelia Park to learn of game postponements. Cancellations are always posted NO LATER than 5:30pm - 6pm that day on www.ameliaparkice.org

Playoffs:

All teams, in both divisions, will make the playoffs. In the case of record tie, the following will be used to determine playoff position seeding:

1) head to head results  2) goals against  3) goals for  4) penalties

Anyone playing in the playoffs must have 5 games played. NO EXCEPTIONS. Even goalies must have 5 games played. Any team caught breaking this rule will be automatically disqualified and forfeit their last playoff game played.

League rules will apply in the play-offs with the exception of overtime. Sudden death OT will continue until a winner prevails. See OT rules.

All playoff games will be single elimination, including finals.

League Breakdown:

The teams in the league are run by Team Representatives to help carry out rules and regulations. It is the Team Reps responsibility to oversee the conduct of his/her players. A Rink Representative (Commissioner) will assist the team reps in the execution of these rules and regulations. Rules can be adjusted at any point of the session with a majority consent of Team Reps & Commissioner.

Any supplementary disciplinary actions that need to be taken with players will be addressed in a timely fashion. In extreme cases, players can be suspended up to one year to date from the league or even possible league expulsion. Any disciplinary actions will be addressed with Team Reps & League Commissioner before a player will be cleared to return to play. NO EXCEPTIONS. This league is primarily run by the Team Representatives, the commissioner, the staff directly involved, and the players. We’re here to have fun and stay safe. This is a small, casual, dek hockey league. Please help make the league better with safe participation. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you think changes should be made. We’re always trying to advance this league.

Commissioner: Nate Mickey

General Manager: Christina Pagella,

Assistant General Manager: Mike Young