The objectives of the UMHC are:
All teams and players shall abide by the rules as outlined by the C.A.H.A. and will be governed by them in all aspects of the game unless otherwise amended within these Rules and Regulations.
In an attempt to improve the amount of ice time and to encourage a more exciting game, the following rules have been adopted:
The game will consist of two 20-minute and one 15-minute periods (where scheduling allows), commencing when the Zamboni leaves the ice and the doors are closed. The last 30 seconds of the first and second periods of all games will be stop time regardless of the score in the game. The last three minutes of the third period will be stop time unless there is a goal spread of more than two goals. The teams shall change ends at the conclusion of each period.
Line changes will be permitted at any time unless in the opinion of the referee they constitute a delay of game. Player changes in the Prospects division will not be allowed when a minor penalty has been called (except during stop time, including the start of a period when the penalty clock is “frozen” until puck drop) until after the puck has been put back into play. Player changes in the Legends Division will be allowed once during a minor penalty.
Each team will receive one warning per game and then a bench minor for delay of game shall be assessed to the offending team(s).
The centre ice red line will not be utilized in play.
In addition to the above, the following amendments to the C.A.H.A. rules are to apply:
The first offence for fighting will result in a major penalty, automatic ejection from the game, and a two-game suspension. The second offence for fighting will result in automatic ejection from the league for life.
The player(s) penalized for fighting must retire immediately to the dressing room. He will not be permitted to return to any visible area of the arena open to the playing surface until after the conclusion of the game. Should he refuse to abide by this rule, the referee, after giving a warning, may assess a bench minor, and should the player persist in his actions, the referee may forfeit the game to the opposition. A substitute player, who was on the ice at the time of the infraction, will be placed in the penalty box to serve the major penalty.
A major and a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player(s) who in the referee's judgment is guilty of rough play, which is likely to lead to injury of another player.
No player shall at any time during a game, stand, squat, crouch, or bend over in any manner, so that he causes a player of the opposing team to deliberately collide with the player so positioned. In addition, no player shall deliberately skate into, or block with sufficient body force, to either knock a player of the opposing team down or to put him out of play. A major penalty shall be assessed plus ejection from the game, plus an additional one-game suspension.
A misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player who challenges or disputes the ruling of any official during the game or who displays disrespect to an official. If a player persists, he shall be assessed a game misconduct penalty. Any further disputes will result in additional game misconduct penalties being assessed plus a review by the Executive for the purposes of further possible suspensions.
A misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player or players, who after one warning by the referee, persists in any course of conduct designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty.
Any player receiving a second or subsequent misconduct in any one season will receive an automatic 1 game suspension.
Any player, when shooting, passing, or clearing the puck, who raises the blade of their stick above the knee in a backward motion will be considered to have used an illegal shot. The first time this occurs, play will be whistled dead, and the offending team will be given a warning. The faceoff will occur at the point of contact or outside the blue line if such offence should occur in the attacking zone. The second time this occurs for the same team or in the event the first illegal shot occurs during the final 3 minutes of the last period, a minor penalty for delay of game will be assessed to the team making the illegal shot.
A player shall be assessed a match penalty for (i) head butting, (ii) kicking or attempting to kick, (iii) pulling an opponent's hair, (iv) butt ending, (v) spearing or attempting to spear, (vi) deliberately attempting to or deliberately injuring an opponent with a high stick or slash, (vii) pulling on a face mask or helmet. The player assessed the match penalty will retire immediately to the dressing room. A player who was on the ice at the time of the infraction will serve the match penalty.
Any individual who accumulates a total of 9 minutes or 3 minor penalties (excluding misconduct penalties) in any one game will be ruled off the ice for the balance of that game.
Minor penalties shall be 3 minutes duration of running time. Major penalties shall constitute automatic ejection from the game (and subject to review by the Executive) and 7 minutes in duration of running time to be served by someone on the ice at the time of the infraction.
Match penalties shall constitute automatic ejection from the game plus a minimum 3-game suspension and 7 minutes in duration of running time to be served by someone on the ice at the time of the infraction.
Misconduct penalties shall be 10 minutes duration of running time. If a player needs a cooling-off period but has not otherwise committed a penalty, the referees have the option of removing the player from the remainder of the game with no penalty minutes assigned to the player.
Game misconducts will constitute automatic ejection from the game. If the game misconduct penalty occurs during the last 10 minutes of the game an automatic suspension from the next regular or playoff game will be incurred.
Gross misconducts will constitute automatic ejection from the game. If the gross misconduct penalty occurs during the last 10 minutes of the game an automatic suspension from the next regular or playoff game will be incurred.
The balance of penalty time will be reduced to one half of the time remaining when a penalty, which is being served during running time, transfers into stop time portion of the last period (as long as a minimum of 2 minutes for a minor or 5 minutes for a major penalty is served).
All penalties which occur during the stop time portion of play in the third period only will be 2 minutes for a minor and 5 minutes for a major.
When an equal number of players from both teams are assessed coincidental minor penalties, those players shall be ruled off the ice to serve their penalties; however, this does not require either team to play short-handed as immediate substitution is permitted. Players serving coincidental minor penalties are not allowed to leave the penalty box when their time expires until the next stoppage in play. (Note: The purpose and spirit of this rule is intended to permit as much ice time as possible for all remaining members not penalized.)
Accidental or incidental high-sticking infractions will be assessed as a minor penalty and shall be 3 minutes of duration of running time. Intentional, reckless, careless high-sticking infractions, or a high-sticking infraction causing injury, shall be a double minor penalty and shall be 6 minutes duration of running time.
Each team will have a Team Representative. The Team Representative of each team shall be responsible for their own conduct and that of their players at all times. The Representative must endeavour to prevent improper conduct before, during, and after the game on or off the ice and at any place in the rink. This includes advising and ensuring that all players are wearing league-mandated uniforms.
If goalkeepers are not on the ice fully equipped and available at the conclusion of the warm-up period, the team will start play without a goalkeeper until such time as he is ready, or a substitute is found and available fully equipped to play. Six skaters will be permitted until such time as a goalkeeper is ready to play. No warm-up is permitted to a goalkeeper entering the game late.
Any opposing player, when entering the goalie’s crease without the puck being present and loose in play, so as to obstruct or in an attempt to harass or intimidate the goalie but not causing goaltender interference, which is and remains a penalty offence, will be considered to have caused goaltender obstruction. Should this occur, no penalty will be called but play will be whistled dead and a faceoff will occur outside the defensive team’s blue line. Should the goaltender obstruction occur during the final 3 minutes of the last period, the resulting face-off will occur in the opposing player’s end, similar to an icing call.
If a goaltender is struck in the helmet or mask with a puck and play continues, the referee has discretion to blow the play dead. The subsequent faceoff will take place in one of the two face-off circles in the defensive zone.
These rules have been instituted to protect goaltender’s health and well-being and prevent injury.
Any protests questioning a referee's judgment will not be accepted. Protests regarding the suspension of any players, coaches, managers, etc., as prescribed by these Rules and Regulations will not be allowed.
All other protests or appeals must be forwarded to the League President in writing within 48 hours after the incident. A committee including the referee-in-chief will deal with the appeal and make a decision/ruling and notify the person(s) concerned within 48 hours (if possible) in writing.
Any suspension of a player, coach, manager, etc., is not subject to appeal. All suspensions occurring during the regular season will carry over into the playoffs or following season.
Any player, coach, manager, or other team official under suspension by the league shall not take part in any game or practice or assist the team in any way during a game or practice. Should he do so he will subject his team to a bench minor after a warning from the referee and should he persist, forfeiture of the game.
Any player suspended for the season shall not receive any refund of their registration fees.
The maximum number of penalty minutes for the season, inclusive of all preseason, regular season, and playoff games is 39.
A player shall be suspended in accordance with the following thresholds:
The membership status for players suspended for the balance of the season will be reviewed by the Executive to determine if possible further action is deemed necessary.
All stop time penalties during the regular season and playoffs will be recorded by the statistician as running time penalties (i.e., 2 minutes stop time = 3 minutes running time) for the purpose of accumulated penalty minutes recorded towards suspensions.
Penalties with “no victim" (i.e., delay of game, too many men on the ice, etc.) will not be recorded by the statistician against any player's penalty total for the purpose of suspensions. Excluded in the definition of “no victim” penalties are unsportsmanlike and misconduct penalties.
Any individual who accumulates a total of 9 minutes or 3 minor penalties (excluding misconduct penalties) in any one game will be ruled off the ice for the balance of that game.
For the purposes of this Section (Suspensions), all minutes associated with all penalties, other than “no victim” penalties will be recorded for the purpose of suspension determination.
The ruling covered by C.A.H.A. Rules on wearing CSA-approved helmets will be enforced. The league also requires all players to wear a minimum of C.S.A.-approved protection for the face.
The wearing of helmets and face protection is meant solely to protect the wearer from injury and is not designed to hinder play or reduce the effectiveness of any individual. Helmets must be secured with chin straps. Face protection must be secured to the helmet or secured with chin straps to the helmet. Any player losing his helmet or face protection during play must replace it immediately or retire to the bench and be substituted by another player. Should he fail to comply, a minor penalty will be assessed to that player.
Substitution of a goalkeeper will be allowed only if the substitute goalkeeper is drawn from the approved list supplied by the league or approved by the League Executive in advance of the game.
An illegal player shall be defined as:
The illegal substitution of any player(s) including goalkeepers will constitute grounds for forfeiture of the game.
If a goalkeeper is assessed 3 penalties in one game, a major penalty will be assessed to the team and a player on the ice at the time of the third infraction will be required to serve that major. The goalkeeper will be suspended for one game to be served the following week, including playoffs. Should the 3 penalties result in an automatic suspension for accumulating 36 minutes in penalties; the suspension will be served concurrently and not consecutively.
Should a goalkeeper be assessed a major or match penalty during the game, he shall be ejected from the game and an approved substitute goalie (if available in adequate time) will take his place. If no substitute goalkeeper is available, a sixth forward will be played. Any suspensions carried with the offence will apply.
The Executive will review all suspensions of players with the sole purpose of ensuring that the suspension does not warrant further disciplinary action. No suspension as outlined in these Rules and Regulations is subject to an appeal and all suspensions will be served as written in these Rules and Regulations unless duly amended by the Executive.
All teams will have a maximum roster of 15 players, except in the case of suspensions. Any team under the maximum during the regular season due to the ejection of a player from the league, prolonged illness or injury, moving away or quitting the league will have that player replaced by a player of equal ability by a committee designated by the League for this purpose, subject to the timing set out in Section 19.
There will be no substitution or replacement of players allowed during the playoffs with the exception of a goalkeeper, and the substitution of the goalkeeper will be by lot from those approved players available for the game. The drawing of the substitute goalkeeper will be by an unbiased member of the Executive and in the presence of both teams' Team Representatives and a referee.
Ties in the regular season standings will be broken by the records of those two (or more) teams in the games played against one another. In the event this fails to break the tie, the team with the lowest penalty minutes will be deemed to have finished ahead of each of the other teams. Should the tie fail to be broken by this procedure, then the team with the overall lowest goals against the other will be used. Should the tie continue to fail to be broken by this procedure then the flip of a coin will be used to decide.
All playoff games shall be won by the team scoring the most goals. No ties will be awarded in a playoff game. In the event that a game is tied after regular time during:
Any player whose conduct or attendance is considered not in the best interest of the league will be acted upon in a manner deemed appropriate by the League Executive. No player shall be allowed to participate in a game or be allowed on the bench during a game when displaying any signs of being impaired by alcohol, medications, or otherwise. Any such player who violates this condition shall be required to leave the arena premises and will face immediate disciplinary action from the league including possible suspension or termination of league membership at the discretion of the Executive.
Non-hockey-related conduct during the course of a game (such as the use of racial, religious, or gender-related slurs or other socially unacceptable actions) will result in the immediate ejection of the offending player from that game (with no penalty minutes assessed). Any such player who violates this condition shall be required to leave the arena premises and will face immediate disciplinary action from the league including possible suspension or termination of league membership at the discretion of the Executive. Officials are required to alert the league Executive of the ejection and provide relevant details in a written report.
Non-hockey-related conduct outside of a game considered not in the best interest of the league will be acted upon in a manner deemed appropriate by the League Executive.
A quorum of the Executive will select the player required to fill any vacancy created in a team’s roster. The cut-off date for filling a vacancy will be the final 1/3 of the regular season (week 14). Refunds for registration fees will not be made after the first half of the regular season has been played.
Any player that misses a total of 10 games, excluding injuries (which MUST be reported to the team rep and executive prior to the absence), will have his membership reviewed by the Executive. Should the Executive find that insufficient reason is given for the poor attendance, that player shall be considered ineligible for the playoff weekend and removed from the team roster throughout the playoffs, with no replacement allowed.
The Executive may also consider a review of the player’s registration status for the next hockey season in accordance with all other guidelines that govern the replacement of players as outlined in the League's Rules and Regulations.
Any player who will miss a game due to injury must advise his team rep and the executive of their status. If a player is absent due to injury for a substantial time the Executive can have a call-up skate in their spot, but the injured player maintains his position and can return to play once they have recovered from the injury. If a player, though injured, does not inform their team rep and the executive of their injury, they will be considered to have missed the game or games for an insufficient reason and this will not be retroactively reviewed by the Executive.
Notwithstanding the age requirement as set out in the Objectives section of these Rules and Regulations, consideration may be given by the Executive of the league to the use of an underage goalkeeper, provided that it is considered in the best interests of the league.
All players, including goaltenders, must wear league-mandated uniforms (sweaters and socks) during games. Team Representatives are required to ensure compliance with this Rule with the only exception being a replacement or substitute goaltender filling in for the regular team goaltender.
The Unionville Men’s Hockey Club (UMHC) has implemented a zero-tolerance policy that prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages by UMHC members before, during or after a UMHC game or other UMHC function or event, which takes place in facilities, including adjoining parking facilities, rented to UMHC by the City of Markham (the Alcohol Policy). In the even that the UMHC Executive receives a written complaint from any member of the public or from a UMHC member, which involves an alleged breach of the Alcohol Policy by a UMHC member or members, the Executive is fully empowered to investigate the complaint and impose such penalties and sanctions against the breaching member and/or member’s team, which may include, without limitation, financial fines, forfeit of game points, and individual or team suspensions or expulsions from UMHC, as deemed necessary by the Executive.