Tournament rules and policies are subject to change. The general rules and policies apply to all tournaments but individual tournaments may have additional modifications.  Please refer to the tournament-specific page to verify as to if any of these rules or policies have been modified.

Rules of the Game

NCAA ice hockey rules will be enforced, with the following modifications, unless otherwise noted for a particular tournament.

General Modifications

  • No checking
  • Zero tolerance on fighting: any involvement in a fight on or off the ice will result in a lifetime ban from any and all StinkySocks hockey games, tournaments, leagues, etc.
  • Blue line automatic icing will be enforced.
  • Time (Rounds 1-3) – (3) 15-minute periods – last (1) minutes of the 3rd period (or overtime) stopped time if score is within 1 goal, (1) minute between periods and (3) minutes to warm up. Games can result in a tie.
  • Time (Semi-Finals and Finals) – (3) 15-minute periods, last (2) minutes of the 3rd period (or overtime) stopped time, (1) minute between periods and (3) minutes to warm up. In the event of a tie in regulation, overtime periods of 5 minutes  in length will repeat until there is a winner. Overtime is played as 4v4.
  • Officiating – (2) Referees per game
  • Timeouts – None, except final game, where each team will be given (1) one-minute timeout at any point in the game.
  • Penalties – Any player who has 3 minor penalties in a game will be ejected from that game. Any such disqualification will count towards the Three Strike Rule for team disqualification. A subsequent conduct issue on or off ice while exiting that game (e.g. unsportsmanlike conduct) will result in an additional game disqualification. A major penalty will result in player ejection from the game and disqualification from the tournament.
  • Teams must have matching color jerseys.
  • Players must be on bench before the end of the first period for any game to play in that game.
  • Players must participate in one game during rounds 1-3 to be eligible to play in a semi-final or final game.

Roster Allowance Modification

  • Tournament teams are limited to (14) total players unless otherwise stated.

Finals Determination

  • Overall record in each division (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie)
  • Tiebreakers (in order of value):
    • 1) Fewest penalty minutes
    • 2) Fewest goals against
    • 3) Most goals for
    • Coin toss

Format

  • All StinkySocks Hockey tournaments are a round robin format for levels that have 4 teams. All others have a schedule against 3 randomly assigned teams.
  • Levels with 6 or less teams will have the top 2 teams go to the final game.  Levels with 8 or more teams will have the top 4 teams go to Olympic-style finals with the top 2 teams completing for silver/gold, and the 3rd and 4th placed teams competing for bronze.

Positive ID and Age Minimum

  • All players must be over 21 years of age and furnish identification at check-in.

Player Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in any tournament game, a player must:

  • Be 21 years of age or older.
  • Individually qualify for the level that their team has entered.
  • Register on their team’s roster by the deadline and, in that process, have e-signed a StinkySocks Hockey waiver.
  • Check in at the tournament with a valid ID.
  • Display the helmet sticker provided at check-in.
  • Have a team matching jersey that is uniquely numbered and use that same jersey/number for the entirety of the tournament.
  • Be otherwise eligible to participate in a StinkySocks Hockey event. A player cannot be on a conduct hold, admin hold, or have been previously released from eligibility.

Team Three Strike Rule

A team that incurs 3 player disqualifications (individual game or tournament) will be disqualified as a team. Generally, player disqualifications come in the following forms:

  • Excessive Minor Penalties – A player is disqualified from a game if they are assessed (3) minor penalties in one game.
  • Major Penalty – A player is disqualified from the tournament if they are assessed a major penalty.
  • General Conduct – A player is given an administrative warning if improper physical or verbal conduct is observed. Upon a subsequent conduct-related issue, that same player would be disqualified from the tournament. Refer the “No Jerks” policy below.
  • Level Challenge – If the level eligibility of a player is challenged by another team and that is upheld then then player will be disqualified from the tournament. Refer to the “Administrative Level Appeals” section below.

Unless otherwise determined by the tournament staff, a team that is disqualified can finish out all of their remaining games. However, any of their players who had been flagged for level (regardless of whether or not they had been challenged) will not be eligible to play and all players will be considered to have a conduct warning.

Conduct (aka “no jerks”) Policy

In the spirit of StinkySocks Hockey, it is expected that players conduct themselves with good sportsmanship and respect for others. Our “no jerks” helps to maintain an enjoyable environment at StinkySocks Hockey tournaments. It covers both physical and verbal conduct, be it on ice or off, and is an administrative process that is addition to in -game infractions.

Any player demonstrating actions on or off the ice that are deemed by any SSH staff member to be contrary to the spirit of a SSH tournament will be given one warning, with both the offending player and captain being notified. Any second violation will result in disqualification from the tournament and will count towards their team’s disqualification allowance (3/3 rule). This policy covers both off-ice and on-ice conduct. Any fighting or threat of fight by a player will result in disqualification from the tournament and release from eligibility for any and all future StinkySocks Hockey games and events. This is and administrative process and is separate from the Rules of the Game.

Divisional (level) Policy

Appropriate leveling is just one way that StinkySocks Hockey tournaments differs from others. We ask that captains keep things fair by entering their team into the division that is most appropriate for them. It is the captain’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the divisional policy for their own team.  If captains have any questions about levels or player eligibility, they are encouraged to call the league office to discuss.

We ask that captains also participate in the level process, which has been developed as a system of checks and balances to ensure fair leveling within our divisions. A captain at any point before the third round of the tournament may ask for an administrative decision of the level eligibility of a player from an opposing team. The tournament administrative staff will gather data from their prior observations and issue a final decision as to whether the player in question is eligible for the division in which their team is competing. If a player is disqualified during this process, they cannot be replaced by another player. All goals scored by or assisted by that player in games played will be removed.

Levels and Restrictions

All players on a team must individually qualify for the level at which their team has entered. The league does not screen players in advance, as there’s an expectation that captains build their teams in a manner that’s fair and based in part on the following guidelines:

Level 1/Novice– This level is geared to those who have only played the game as adults and have not mastered all of the fundamentals. To qualify, players should have experience playing at the novice level in StinkySocks Hockey Standard Format Games, but not above, to play at this level in our tournaments.

Level 2/Lower Intermediate – This level is a good fit for those who started playing as adults or picked the game up again as an adult. High school playing experience or above is specifically a disqualifier at this level.

Level 3/Intermediate – This level is a good fit for those who have high school playing experience or the equivalent. Junior or college club experience or above is specifically a disqualifier at this level.

Level 4/Upper Intermediate – This level is a good fit for younger players who have high school playing experience and those with college club experience. Teams who play together often and all have high school level experience, or the equivalent, are also a good fit for this level rather than level 3. Collegiate D3 and above experience is specifically a disqualifier at this level.

Level 5/Advanced – This level is a good fit for younger players who have college club experience, as well as those with junior and D3 collegiate experience. Collegiate D1 experience or above is specifically a disqualifier at this level.

Level 6/Expert – This level is for those with collegiate D1 or pro experience.

Please keep in mind that the above are guidelines only are based upon a player in his/her 30’s. Age, athleticism, and other factors may affect level categorization. Both common sense and a sense of equity should prevail when rostering players.

Administrative Appeals

Tournament staff does not unilaterally disqualify players at levels 2 and above unless we have verifiable information regarding one of the specified disqualifiers having been met. Instead, a system of checks and balances are in place to ensure fairness in the process. One of the most important parts of ensuring fair leveling is having captains of other teams in the same division assessing the appropriateness of ability level of players of other teams and participating in the level appeal process.

Tournament staff members privately flag players that they feel may be above the stated level but no action is taken unless a team captain raises an administrative appeal that matches those observations.

A captain at any point before the third round of the tournament may ask for an administrative decision of the level eligibility of a player from an opposing team. The tournament administrative staff will gather data from their prior observations and issue a final decision as to whether the player in question is eligible for the division in which their team is competing.

If a player is disqualified during this process, they cannot be replaced by another player. All goals scored by or assisted by that player in games played will be removed.

To prevent abuse of level appeals, any team that makes three appeals that are denied will lose one point from their own point total.