House League News

Round Robin Format - House League

The top four teams from the round robin playoff games will advance to the semi finals. In the case where teams are tied in points, the tie is broken and position determined by the following rules: Round Robin Tie Breaker:

Most points, if tied then,
Most wins, if tied then,
Head to Head, if tied then,
Most Goals for, if tied then,
Least goals against

There are rules for breaking ties in the semi and final games as set by the chairman.

Rules for Tied games: Semi Final and Final Games Only.

Should the semi final and final games be tied at the end of the game, the tie will be broken as follows:

Each game – semi final, final game and super championship (for Novice B and Atom B levels) has over time if needed. The overtime periods will be five-minute (stop time) O/T periods and sudden death. We will run as many, as time allows, until a winner is determined. Will most likely only be able to fit in 2 or 3 5 minute periods. Please remember the NMHA equal ice time policy applies during all play-off, semi-final and championship games.
In the event that we are approaching the end of your extra ice time and there is still no winner, probably the last 5- 7 minutes of the extra time we will go to a shoot-out. A shootout works like this:
Prior to the game each coach must select three shooters and marks an X beside their names on the game sheet. The first shooter on each team comes forward, the referee places two pucks at center, and blows the whistle and the shooters proceed to skate up and try and score on the opposing goaltender - this happens simultaneously and the referees know how to run this drill. You continue this process through the first three shooters. The team with the most goals after three shooters is the winner.
If the teams are tied after the first three shooters, each team selects a new shooter. If both of these shooters score, or if both don't score, then each team selects another shooter and this process continues until one-team scores and the other doesn't. (Sudden death after the first 3 shooters) No player can shoot twice until every player on the team has shot.

The shootout is a last resort - hopefully the game will be decided in the overtime periods.

NMHA House League Eliminates Bodychecking Effective in the 2012-2013 Season

Earlier this season, the NMHA Board of Directors passed a motion to eliminate bodychecking from all House Divisions, effective the 2012-2013 season. With the AGM on May 9, it is the right time to explain that decision.

The Board did so for the following reasons:

Lack of interest by NMHA members: Unlike prior years, in 2011-2012, in Bantam and Midget, it was very difficult to find enough players for bodychecking teams. Some of these teams fell to 11 or 12 skaters on their roster. With the amount of ice available, all House teams must have at least 15 skaters per team. By contrast, the non-bodychecking divisions at these age levels were overfull.
Lack of House bodychecking programs within the ODMHA: Only two Districts out of 10 maintain bodychecking at House and there is a motion under consideration in one of them to remove all bodychecking divisions in their House League. On top of that, Kanata has eliminated bodychecking, so the interlock agreement with them must not include any of our bodychecking divisions.
Removal of House bodychecking outside of the ODMHA: The OHF, with almost half of the hockey players in Canada, banned bodychecking in all of their House Leagues, affecting nearly 200,000 players.
Lack of bodychecking tournaments: These tournaments have been hard to find, due to the changes noted above. Within the ODMHA, a number of tournaments switched from bodychecking to non-bodychecking during the season, due to lack of interest.

The NMHA has tried different configurations of bodychecking divisions with little success over the past 5 years. These included A divisions only, A and B divisions, and split A and B divisions. This has been very difficult and stressful for our volunteers, making it all that much harder to find convenors and directors. It was time to make a decision and establish some stability in our Bantam and Midget House divisions.

It is the unquestioned right of any member to bring a motion to the floor of the AGM to change our rules and regulations. It is also important that the NMHA Board ensures that decisions on any motion are well-informed.

Helmet Regulation

The ODMHA, our Branch governing body, adopted Regulation 13 in 1999 for all people on ice during practice.

Approved helmets are mandatory!

Coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, managers, and any parent volunteers must wear a CSA-approved hockey helmet and it must be fastened correctly. There are no exceptions to this rule.

First Offence - Any on-ice participant found to be in violation of this regulation will be given a warning by a person in authority. This warning may be verbal or written, and shall be reported to the District Chairperson.
Second Offence - An automatic suspension from all hockey activities until a formal hearing is held by the District’s Discipline and Appeals Committee.
Third Offence - An automatic suspension from all hockey activities until a formal hearing is held by the ODMHA Discipline and Appeals Committee.