Loudoun Street Hockey League

Team Rules

All of the Loudoun Street Hockey League’s games are 6 on 6.  Each team should have 6 players on the court at all times (unless a penalty is being served).  Each team has a 5 minute grace period after the start of its scheduled game time to field a minimum of 6 players from their team’s roster.  If a team fails to field 6 players, the opposing team’s captain may either decide to play, permit borrowed players, or take a win by forfeit.  The game clock may begin running during the grace period.

Equipment

All games are played with a standard street hockey ball.  Forwards and defensemen should play in comfortable shoes or sneakers only; No skates are allowed.  The only other required piece of equipment for a forward or defensemen is a stick.  Gloves, shin guards, and mouth guards are highly recommended.  All goalies are required to wear a helmet with a face mask, a chest protector, a catching glove, a blocker pad, and goalie leg pads.

Game Clock

Each game consists of three 15-minute periods.  The clock will continue to run, even if play stops, with only the following 3 exceptions:  1) During the final minute of each period, 2) During the final 2 minutes of the game, if the score is within 2 goals, and 3) At the beginning of and for the duration of all penalties.

If the score remains tied after 45 minutes, during the regular season, there will be one 5 minute period of sudden death overtime.  In overtime play will be 5 on 5 (4 players and a goalie per side). The team that scores first in this period will be declared the winner of the game.  If the score remains tied after the sudden death overtime period, there will be a 3 round shootout.  Each team will select 3 different forwards or defenders to take a breakaway against the opposing team’s goalie.  The captain of the Home Team will choose whether his team shoots first or his goalie defends first.  The breakaway will start from the center of the court, and the player will have one chance to score within 15 seconds of touching the ball.  The play is also considered over, once a goalie makes a clear save or the ball/player shooting has crossed the goal line. If the shootout remains tied after 3 rounds, each team will continue to shoot until a goal is scored AND each team has shot an even number of times.  A player cannot shoot twice in the same game until all forwards or defenders on his/her team have shot once.  All playoff games remaining tied after 45 minutes of play will be decided by 15 minute periods of sudden death overtime (6 on 6).

Each team has one 30 second timeout per game.

Referee

Each game will have a minimum of one referee, which be provided by the LSHL.  The referee is responsible for making sure the rules are followed by both teams.  The referee starts each half with a face-off from the center line/circle.  He enforces all penalties, confirms all goals, and has the final word in any game disputes.

Face-offs

Each game will start with a face-off from the center line/circle.  The referee will drop the ball and the players may not make contact with it until it has touched the ground.  If a player touches the ball before it hits the ground, the face-off will be re-done.  If the same player commits that infraction twice during the same face-off, he/she will be asked to the leave the face-off circle, and the face-off will have to be taken by another member of his/her team.  Face-offs will also occur from various places on the court, if there is a stoppage in play.

Penalties

PENALTIES ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.  Any and all contact (checking, charging, boarding, cross-checking, fighting, pushing, punching, kicking, etc) will NOT be tolerated.  A player whose intentional actions result in a penalty may be pulled from the game and will not be allowed to return to the game, at the referee’s discretion.  Again, if a player intentionally causes physical harm to another player, THEY WILL BE EJECTED FROM THE GAME AND FACE SUSPENSION AND POSSIBLE EXPULSION FROM THE LEAGUE.  The safety of all players is our first priority.  If a penalty occurs unintentionally, the player who committed the penalty will be assessed a Two Minute Minor Penalty.  The penalized player must sit out of the game for 2 minutes.  The penalized player’s team will play “shorthanded” for the full 2 minutes or until the opposing team scores a goal.  The Two Minute Minor Penalties are listed below:

HIGH STICKING – Raising your stick above your shoulders near another player.  This can be called at the referee’s discretion, whether you actually make contact with another player or not.  This includes calling for a pass, attempting to “bat the ball out of the air”, or “deking” around another player.  Exceptions to this rule can be made on shoots or clearing attempts (windup/follow-through), unless the stick draws contact with another player.  Additionally, if the shooting or clearing is deemed unnecessarily reckless, the referee may still choose to call a penalty.  These calls cannot be disputed.  Please control your stick at all times.

SLASHING – Striking or slashing at an opponent with your stick

HOOKING – Interfering with your opponent’s progress with your stick

HOLDING – Interfering with your opponent’s progress with your hands

ELBOWING – Striking your opponent with your elbows

TRIPPING – Using your stick or body to knock an opponent’s feet out from under them

Also, if a player acts in an unsportsmanlike manner (ie: arguing with the referee, challenging the referee’s calls, verbally abusing the referee, verbally abusing opponents and/or teammates, “diving” to fake a fall or injury with the intent of drawing a penalty, throwing his/her stick, etc.), that player will receive a Two Minute Minor Penalty for UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT.

The LSHL observes the following Two Minute Bench Minor Penalties:

TOO MANY MEN ON THE COURT – This penalty will be assessed if a player enters the game during play (“on the fly” line change) and touches the ball while having more than 6 players from his/her team on the court.

DELAY OF GAME – This penalty will be assessed if a player clearly (without it deflecting off the boards, fence, or another player’s body/stick) shoots the ball over the fence/high boards/off the rink, while in his/her own defensive zone.  This penalty will also be assessed if a player breaks his/her stick and fails to drop it on the ground (continuing to play) or if a player other than the goalie closes his/her hand or glove on the ball or uses his/her body to cover the ball preventing play.  A player may, however, catch the ball with his/her hand or glove, but must drop it within 3 seconds and cannot take any steps while holding the ball.

Other Important Rules & Information

The LSHL follows the Offsides rule with a “floating blue line”, and “Icing” is also enforced.  Icing will called when the offending team shoots/clears the ball from inside their own defensive zone and the ball crosses the opposing goal line.  If the ball has a chance to be played by the opposing team, Icing may be waived off/negated, at the referee’s discretion.

Players may not stand in an opposing team’s goal crease.  They will be warned by a referee, and if they continue to stand in the crease they may be assessed a Two Minute Minor Penalty for UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT.  Any goals scored when a player is standing in an opposing goal crease will be disallowed.

Hand Passes are legal in a player’s own defensive zone.  If a player commits a hand pass in the opposing team’s zone (offensive zone) and the ball is played first by a member of that player’s team, play will stop.  A face-off will commence in the defensive zone of the team that committed the hand pass.

Standings

Final standings will be based on a point system.  Each team receives 2 points for a win, 1 point for a Shootout or Overtime Loss, and 0 points for a loss in regulation.  If multiple teams are tied in points, the first tie-breaker will be number of regulation plus overtime wins (shootout wins are excluded).  The team with more regulation plus overtime wins will be awarded the higher seed.  If both teams have the same number of regulation wins, the next tie-breaker is the head-to-head record between the tied teams.  If the head-to-head records are the same or cancel each other out, teams remain tied.  The next tie-breaker will be the total goals scored against all opponents during the current season.  If teams still remain tied, the higher seed will be awarded to the team that has given up the least goals to all opponents during the current season.  Playoff seeding will be determined by the LSHL based on these standings and the number of teams participating in a season.