2023-24 North Star Classic –AA HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
hosted by the North Stars Sanction #6038
Friday Nov 8 – Sun Nov 10, 2024
RULES & REGULATIONS
Rules are subject to revision/correction at any time at the
discretion of the Tournament Committee.
SOME IMPORTANT NOTES . . .
This Tournament will be conducted under the more rigorous rule interpretations as specified by Hockey Canada and enforced by the GTHL.
Specifically, as it applies to COVID-19 rules as issued by Ontario Health;
should a team be required to remove themselves from the tournament, due to Covid protocols, after the deadline for admitting teams has passed, and a replacement team cannot be found, each game that this team was scheduled to play in the Round Robin, will count in the standings as a 1-0 win for the opposing team. That opposing team, can use this vacant game slot as a practice session for their team.
Refund Policy
Refunds are considered only in cases where a suitable replacement team is found prior to the deadline for admitting teams. Amount of any refund is determined on a case by case basis when a replacement team is found depending on circumstances and timing. If no replacement is found refund will not be considered for withdrawal within 3 weeks of tournament commencement and the protocol described for Covid will apply in affected divisions.
Covid
Your Team Safety Person can be familiar with arena safety protocols at the City of Mississauga website. We suggest you will find that local rules are in line with what you experience at home, without extra. Note that we are using Mississauga’s best facilities with outdoor areas for warm-up. Dressing rooms are limited to players only. Arena arrival time can be 45 minutes before. It will be a bad idea to stack bags outside a dressing room and loiter around the rooms. It will be a worse idea to warm up inside the arena. Crowds can lead to complaints at a difficult time, which will be deflected to the Head Coach. While posting this rule, no current protocols are in place at this time.
IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION
****** ROUND ROBIN AND PLAYOFF SCHEDULES AND MATCH UPS AND GAME RESULTS WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AT www.mississauganorthstars.ca
Follow us on "X" (formerly Twitter) @Nstars for current updates.
PLEASE DIRECT ALL INQUIRIES REGARDING ONLINE GAME RESULTS, STANDINGS AND PLAYOFF ROUND MATCH-UPS TO Mike Yacynuk at 416-528-2548 or [email protected]
TRAVEL TEAMS - Tournament Sanctioned Hotel Accommodations: As a condition of acceptance, travel teams will be required to register and stay at a Tournament approved hotel. The Hotel Co-ordinator offers a list of accomodation options.
REGISTRATION- All teams must be registered before their first game, so please allow enough time. We are using two facilities and 7 rinks this year, all across the road from each other, Iceland (Ice) and Paramount Fine Foods Centre (PFF) . There will be one Registration Office at Iceland open on Friday. If your 1st game is at PFF or if you want to avoid the Registration Office send your documents electronically in advance. The document submission feature on the website is not operational. The Game Sheet desk person at each arena will confirm Registration clearance before issuing your first game sheet. Be sure to pick up any player handouts upon registration. Follow the signs to the Registration Office in Iceland Arena in Rink One.
SANCTION -This tournament is sanctioned by the Hockey Canada and the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The Sanction Number for this tournament is 6038.
1. Suspension Notification: Notice of all suspensions during the tournament, will be forwarded (with a full report of the circumstances as necessary) to the league officials. The tournament committee or your league/club may require players and team staff to appear at hearings into these matters.
2. Travel Permit: Teams must be registered with HC or International affiliates (and/or their Provincial/State affiliates). Proof of registration must be available upon request. Participating teams must produce a sanction permit or letter or permission to participate in the tournament from their HC or International affiliated branch.
3. Player Eligibility: All players including affiliates should be registered on the 2023-24 HCR 3.0 system. All players must have an approved HC/or equivalent player's card or roster sheet available for inspection by Tournament officials. Team managers will submit a team list of players eligible to play to Tournament officials and will have the necessary supporting documentation (valid roster sheet) available for examination by Tournament officials at the time of initial registration. This includes AP’s. No player will be permitted to compete if not on an approved and official roster sheet or card.
In the event, due to potential issues and/or backlog with the HCR 3.0, that roster sheets may not be available at the time of tournament registration, the team may be required to sign a Waiver (as issued by the GTHL) that states their players are bonafide at that age level and have committed to that team.The Waiver will also verify that every player and member of the coaching staff, is properly insured to play. In lieu of a Waiver, a team may only be required to submit a valid HCR 3.0 Roster OR, an HCR 3.0 Registered player list OR, a manager produced player and bench staff list. In the case of the third option, the honour system will be in place.
4. Composition of Teams: Each team may play up to nineteen (19) properly registered and affiliated players per game, however, only (17) seventeen players may skate and two (2) goaltenders may dress for each game. Specific to this 2021 – 2022 COVID year, teams may enter a roster with a minimum of 13 rostered players.
5. Team Colours: Sweater Changes (if necessary) will be decided by the toss of a coin. It is preferable for teams to have two contrasting sets of sweaters. Home team wears white.
6. Home/Visiting Teams:Home/Visiting teams are predetermined for round robin play. The Home team in the playoffs, will be decided by the Tie Breaking rule (see 19 below) with the higher team being the Home team
7. Mandatory Equipment:Helmets, throat guards and face masks are compulsory for all players. Face masks and helmets, as approved by HC (Canada), HECC (USA) and IIHF (International) must be worn during this tournament
8. Dressing Rooms: Only players, team officials named on the team list and Tournament officials will be permitted in team dressing rooms, unless Covid restrictions need to be applied. See Team Safety Rep.
9. Game Sheets: The game sheet must be completed by both teams twenty (20) minutes prior to game time.
10. Game Officials: All referees and linesmen officiating in the tournament will be certified and registered by HC, and are scheduled and supervised by the GTHL. Minor officials will be assigned by the tournament. Due to COVID issues and the possible lack of available referees, the Tournament Committee may need to schedule a two person unit of referees, when regulations call for a three person unit. This is not controlled by the Tournament.
On-Ice Officials are GTHL certified. Their rulings cannot be disputed or over-ruled by the Tournament Committee.
11. Time and Conditions of Play:Warm-up time, not to exceed 3 minutes, will be determined by the referee in consideration of available time. Teams not ready to start play at the scheduled time and/or when the referee calls the players to centre ice for the initial face off, will be subject to a delay of game penalty and possible forfeit of the game. Pre-game or post-game handshakes are inadvisable and teams are encouraged to demonstrate good sportsmanship in another safe and creative way that will not cause delay for teams following.
12. Game Timing- All levels are stop time:
Minor Atom U10 and Atom U11: 10-10-12 minutes
Minor Peewee U12 and Peewee U13: 10-12-12 minutes
Minor Bantam U14 and Bantam U15: 12-12-12 minutes
Minor Midget U16, Midget Jr U17, Midget U18: 12-12-15 minutes
13. Overtime:There will no overtime games in the Round Robin
13.1 Quarter Finals (if applicable): One five-minute stop time period, 3 skaters plus goaltender, change ends. Sudden victory. Shoot-out if necessary.
13.2 Semi-Finals: One ten-minute stop time period, 3 skaters plus goaltender, change ends. Sudden victory. Shoot-out if necessary.
13.3 Finals:Stop time sudden victory, Ten minute periods until a goal is scored, 3 skaters plus goaltender, change ends each period.
13.4 Shoot-Out:Select three players per team. Teams shoot alternately and all three shoot. If no winner, continue in sets of one, using different players. Goalies must be those who were last used in overtime. Flip of coin decides which team shoots first. Continue rotation in same order until there is a winner. If one team completes its player rotation before the other because it has fewer players, without a winner, both teams will be allowed to revert to their starting sequence and to repeat that sequence.
14. Mercy Rule: Please note, in round robin games, if the third period begins with, or at time during the period, it reaches a five goal lead by either team, that period will be played in running time, without stopping the clock. Time will continue to run throughout the period, regardless of further scoring changes. In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, or finals if the spread in the score is five goals at the start of the third period, or at any time during the period, it reaches a five goal lead, by either team, the game shall be running time. If the goal spread in the score reverts to a three-goal difference, the game clock will return to stop time unless the score becomes a five-goal spread again, in which case the running time will resume.
15. Time Out: Each team is entitled to one (1) thirty second time-out per game in the playoffs only, including any quarter final, if applicable. No time outs are allowed during the round robin games.
16. Body Checking:This is an AA tournament. “A” teams will only be accepted if their jurisdiction has body checking regulations similar to those in the GTHL. For AA, body checking is permitted at all age groups except Minor Atom U10 (12), Atom U11 (11), Minor Peewee U12 (10) and Peewee U13 (09).
1. Standings:Each team is guaranteed 4 games. For all age divisions, points will be awarded as follows:
WIN - 2 Points • TIE - 1 Points • LOSS - 0 Points
19. TIE BREAKERS
For all age divisions, ties in standings will be resolved as follows:
1. The winner of the game between the two tied teams will advance, or …..
2. If that game ended in a tie, or the teams did not play each other, the team with the better record of goals for and against (goals for divided by goals against, with the higher percentage winning) will advance, or …..
3. If there remains a tie, between 2 teams that played each other, the team that scores the first goal in the game between the two tied teams will advance, or …..
4. If there remains a tie, between 2 teams that did not play each other, the team with the most wins will advance.
5. In the event of a tie among three (or more) teams, standings will be determined, in order:
a) The team that defeated both other tied teams.
b) The team with the most wins.
c) Highest Avg Goal differential: GF divided by (GF plus GA). The highest percentage advances.
Note that the maximum number of goals in a game for this calculation is limited to 7.
d) Lowest total GA.
e) Least GA differential.
f) Highest GF.
6. If all of the above result in a continuing tie, the standing will be resolved by the flip of a coin.
These rules will be applicable to all relevant placings (i.e. 1st, vs 2nd, vs 3rd, vs 4th).
20. Round Robin and Playoff Formats
1. If the age group has 5 teams, each team will play all others. The top 4 advance to semi final,
1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd.
For 6 teams, each team will play 4 of the 5 other teams randomly. The top 4 teams advance. 1st vs 4th Place, and 2nd Place vs 3rd Place. The two winners advance to the Final.
2. If the age group has 8 teams, the round robin and playoffs will operate as follows:
a.There will be a Group A with 4 teams and a Group B with 4 teams
b.In the Round Robin, each team in Group A will play the other 4 teams in Group B
c.The top 4 teams, regardless of their Group standings, will advance to the semi-finals
d.According to the Tie Breaking rules in 19 above, the teams will be seeded from 1st to 4th
e.The 1st place team will play the 4th place team and 2nd place will play 3rd place
f.The 2 winners will advance to the finals.
3. If the age group has 10 teams, the round robin and playoffs will operate as follows:
a. There will be a Pool A with 5 teams and a Pool B with 5 teams
b. In the Round Robin, each team will play the other 4 teams in their Group
c. The top 2 teams in each Group will advance to the semi-finals
d. 1st place in Group A will play 2nd place in Group B and 1st place Group B will play 2nd place in Group A
e.The 2 winners will advance to the finals
4. If the age group has 11 teams, the round robin and playoffs will operate as follows:
:
a. There will be Pool A with 6 teams and Pool B with 5 teams.
b. Pool A plays 4 random teams within their Pool. Pool B plays each team in their Pool.
c. In Pool B, the top 2 teams advance to semi final.
d. In Pool A, the top team advances. The 2nd & 3rd Place teams in Pool A play a Qtr-Final for the Wild Card.
e. For the Semi Final, the top 3 are seeded by highest record. The Wild Card team is 4th and plays the top seeded team. The 2nd and 3rd seed teams play each other. The winner of 1st v WC play against the Winner of 2nd v 3rd in the Final.
5. If the age group has 13 teams, the round robin and playoffs operates as follows:
a.There will be a Pool A with 5 teams, a Pool B with 4 teams and a Pool C with 4 teams
b.In the Round Robin, Pool B & Pool C will play a crossover schedule. Pool A will play all teams within that Pool
c. The 1st place team in Pool A advances, and the top 2 teams from B & C combined will advance to the semi-finals.
d. From the remaining teams from all groups, the 2 highest ranking teams will play a quarter final game to determine who advances to the semi-finals as the 'Wild Card'.
e. The 3 Group winners will be seeded 1st, 2nd and 3rd according to the Tie Breaking rules in 19 above, and the Wild Card will be seeded 4th
f.The 1st place team will play the Wild Card and the 2nd place team will play the 3rd place team
The 2 winners will advance to the finals
6. If the age group has 15 teams, the round robin and playoffs will operate as follows:
a.There will be a Pool A with 5 teams, a Pool B with 5 teams and a Pool C with 5 teams
b.In the Round Robin, each team will play the other 4 teams in their Pool
c. The 1st place team in each Group will advance to the semi-finals
d. From the remaining teams from all groups, the highest ranking will also advance to the semi-finals as the 'Wild Card'.
e. The 3 Group winners will be seeded 1st, 2nd and 3rd according to the Tie Breaking rules in 19 above, and the Wild Card will be seeded 4th
f.The 1st place team will play the Wild Card and the 2nd place team will play the 3rd place team
The 2 winners will advance to the finals