Ice Angeles Policy Manual (PDF Version)
INTRODUCTION
The Ice Angeles Hockey League was conceptualized in 2007 and established in 2008 as a league run by players for players. Ice Angeles would like to be tops in organizational quality as well as giving that personal touch that no other league can match. However, it is due to the solid base of loyal players as well as the continuing increased resource of new players that makes this league what it is today. We thank all of our players for their support. Complications come with numbers! We anticipate an increase in IAHL registration in the seasons to
come. Please bear with us as we look to improve policies as the league grows.
ZERO TOLERANCE RULES (VERY IMPORTANT)
- Any profanity, abusive language or gestures directed at an official or staff member may result in an immediate suspension of players and coaches, and a possible expulsion from the facility for spectators.
- Any profanity, abusive language or gestures used by a player directed to another player or person will result in an automatic minor Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. A second infraction of this rule will result in a 10-minute Misconduct penalty. A third infraction will result in a Game Misconduct penalty. If the player does not control their behavior, additional game suspensions or league ejection may be issued (Referee/ League Discretion).
- Staff and Referees can only be approached by Team Reps, Coaches, Captains or advisory committee members in regards to complaints or issues of policy. If you are not one of the above mentioned you must communicate through the above persons. Staff of officials will only recognize those people in these matters. No exceptions.
- During games, spectators may not approach the team benches or direct comments to individual players or approach staff, scorekeepers and referees. This is a distraction to the game and will not be tolerated. Remember, you are here as a spectator and are not directly part of the games. Spectators will receive (1) verbal warning. If a second warning is issued, a bench minor will be issued to the team. If the spectator continues without regard to the warnings, they will be ejected from the facility.
- Failure of team reps or coaches in controlling their players or spectators may be deemed as grounds of forfeiture of play. (League Discretion)
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES AND COACHES
The team representative as well as the coach is responsible for their players on and off the rink. You will keep relations with the league in the following areas:
1. Must check with the scorekeeper prior to the game and verify which team is on the visitor or home bench, which player(s) may have been issued suspensions, owe money, or notification of uniform or player number corrections.
2. If you plan on bringing out a substitute player due to the lack of active players on your team, you must notify the league office at least two (2) days prior to the game, and supply the player with correct jersey coordination. No new substitutes during final 7 games of the regular season.
3. To be eligible for playoffs, a player must have played in at least 5 games during the regular season. There are exceptions, however, it must be approved by the league. Substitutes cannot play playoffs, regardless of how many games they played.
4. Pick up the score sheet and distribute any literature to all members of your squad. Notify players as to whether or not they may be suspended at the following game.
5. NOTIFY PLAYERS OF ALL SCHEDULE CHANGES. The League will attempt to notify you in plenty of time; it is then your responsibility to notify your team.
6. KNOW THIS RULE BOOK. Explain all League policies to your players. We will never accept a protest based on not knowing or not being told the rules.
7. YOU are responsible for the conduct of your team and the spectators that have come to watch your team. If the conduct of spectators or players are deemed unruly, the coach or player rep will be given a warning to control their players and fans. If a second warning is issued, the team will be given a minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. If conduct continues, it will result in an expulsion of players/spectators and a forfeiture of the game.
ROSTER GUIDELINES
Teams paying by team fee must roster a minimum of 10 skaters and a goalie and maximum of 17 skaters and 2 goalies. Teams that choose NOT to pay by team fee must attempt to fill their roster to 15 skaters + goalie. Ice Angeles will add skaters (up to 15) off the waiting list to individually paying teams who do not meet roster requirements. If during the season the team representative allows a non-rostered player or a suspended player to skate, the team may be subject to forfeiture of such game. The rep and player will be subject to suspension. A player may play on two (2) teams maximum in adjoining flights, and only if approved by the league officers. Players who have outstanding balances from a previous season(s) will not be allowed to be rostered until such balance is paid if full. The League will not offer any refunds due to anything other than injuries or extended illnesses…NO EXCEPTIONS.
OFFICIATING
The League approved referees will be used in the two man system. Each referee has linesman duties, and each may call penalties. Penalties issued by the referees are final!. Scorekeepers are considered an off ice 3rd official. The scorekeeper will be allowed to assist the on ice officials with any additional penalties during an altercation. Abuse of any kind toward the referees, scorekeepers, or rink employees are subject to further discipline including suspension. THIS WILL BE STRONGLY ENFORCED.
HEAD REFEREE: Gus Sanchez
LEAGUE UTILIZES MODIFIED USA AND NHL RULES
ABUSE OF LEAGUE OFFICIALS & STAFF (Zero Tolerance)
Verbal and physical abuse of League officials & staff will not be tolerated. There will be no warnings. Verbal abuse to an official during a game will result in first a 3-minute minor penalty, second a 10-minute misconduct penalty, and third a game misconduct. If a player continues verbally abusing an official or staff after a game is over or after a game misconduct has been given, further game suspension will be given. (NO MAXIMUM SUSPENSIONS). Any physical abuse to a League official and/or staff i.e. (fisticuffs, throwing or shooting any objects…) by a player or persons to be suspended from the league. Those players and or persons may also be prosecuted to the full extent of California law. (League discretion)
INELIGIBLE PLAYERS:
Any player attempting to play while suspended will cause their team to lose by forfeiture. Any team using a non-registered player without first notifying the league office may cause their team to lose by forfeiture, suspension of Team Rep or Team Captain. All players are required to have picture identification such as a valid Drivers License at all times and must present it to League officials if requested.
FIGHTING
FIGHTING will not be tolerated. This includes any altercation on or off the premises involving league players. Players should remember that the Rink is located within a public area, therefore any misconduct may lead not only to expulsion from the League but also, possible ARREST by local law enforcement. Instigating a fight will bring a minimum 3-game suspension. A second major fight may bring an automatic season ending suspension with review for reinstatement into the league. Any suspension will carry over to the following season of play. NO REFUNDS!
DROPPING OF GLOVES WITH INTENT TO FIGHT
Regardless of contact with another player, the dropping of a players gloves with intent to fight another player or official will result in an automatic game misconduct and a minimum 1-game suspension. (Referee’s discretion)
DEFINITION OF FIGHTING:
Dropping of gloves and or squaring off against another player or official and striking or attempting to strike that person, pursuing that player with disregard for officials or engaging in fisticuffs. (Referee’s discretion) If a player receives (2) fighting penalties at anytime during their play in the League, they will be subject to Board Review with possible league ejection.
UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT
Players receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct minor will be given a minimum minor penalty. No maximum penalty and will be subject to referee’ discretion. This includes lack of respect to league referees or officials during or after a game. The throwing of sticks or other equipment will bring an automatic 1-game suspension and game misconduct. If an injury occurs, an automatic 5-game suspension and review to get back into the league. (Referee’s Discretion)
THIRD MAN IN:
A game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who is the first to intervene in an altercation already in progress. Additional penalties or possible suspensions may result from lack of compliance from direction of referees or league officials. This includes players in the players bench and penalty box. Any player leaving the player or penalty box during any altercation will be assessed an automatic game misconduct and a minimum 3-game suspension regardless if they get involved in the altercation.
10 MINUTE MISCONDUCT:
Warning – no further suspension. Excessive 10-minute misconducts may be cause for suspensions. (League discretion)
GAME MISCONDUCTS:
FIRST OFFENSE automatic 1 game suspension.
SECOND OFFENSE automatic 2 game suspension.
THIRD OFFENSE automatic season suspension and review from League board.
All penalties and suspensions will carry over to the next season.
MAJOR HIGH STICKING, CROSS CHECKING, SLASHING, SPEARING, BUTT-ENDING, ROUGHING:
FIRST OFFENSE Major penalty and game misconduct and a 2-game suspension. (Players with a penalty history will be more strictly reviewed).
SECOND OFFENSE Major penalty and game misconduct and 3-game suspension. No maximum suspension. (Referee’s discretion) NO REFUNDS.
KICKING, INTENT TO INJURE and other MATCH PENALTIES:
Minimum 5-game suspension and a League board review. No maximum suspension, it is up to League discretion. NO EXCEPTIONS/NO REFUNDS. Players wishing not to continue in the league due to disrespect for a ruling will not be offered a refund. All decisions by officials are final. (see Disciplinary Review for players rights)
CHECKING:
Ice Angeles Hockey League is a non-checking league. If a players “checks” an opposing player (intentional or unintentional), the referees may penalize the offending player with a roughing minor, double roughing minor or major roughing. A major roughing penalty will receive a game misconduct and a 2 game suspension. (see Major penalties above)
HELMET & FACE SHIELD
THE LEAGUE STRONGLY RECOMMENDS THE USE OF FULL COVERAGE FACIAL PROTECTION AND THE USE OF HECC APPROVED HELMETS. Players choosing to wear less than FULL Face protection or lighter weight non-approved helmets who are cut (bleeding) due to an unintentional act (Excluding High sticking penalties), will not bring a misconduct penalty or suspension to the opposing player. However a double minor may be assessed. YOU must control your stick at all times. If a player is cut by the stick and it is deemed “With Intent to Injure” or playing the stick or body in any way, a major penalty and a 3-game suspension plus League Board review will be required with the possibility of League expulsion. (No maximum suspensions or penalties) (Referee’s discretion)
DEFINITION OF INTENTIONAL & UNINTENTIONAL HIGHTSTICKING
Intentional: Playing the body or stick of an opposing player and losing control of your stick or body, hooking, lifting of stick and following through on a shot above your shoulders and causing a injury with blood will all be considered “WITH INTENT”.
Unintentional: A player or players stick being checked out of control. A player being knocked down or falling and not in the process playing the puck or opposing player will be considered “WITHOUT INTENT” You must control your stick at all times. (Referee’s discretion)
PENALTIES:
Four (4) minors incurred during any one game will result in an automatic game “removal”. A 10 minute misconduct is equivalent to 2 minors. (example: 2 minors and a 10 minute misconduct = 4 minors and an automatic game removal). (Game removal means removed from game in progress with no further penalty minutes.)
EXCESSIVE PENALTY MINUTES:
Players incurring a total of 52 minutes during any one 14 game season will be suspended for one (1) game. Their maximum minor penalty per game rule will be reduced from 4 to 3.
Players incurring a total of 64 minutes during any one 14 game season will be suspended, again for one (1) game. Their maximum minor penalty per game rule will be reduced to two (2).
Players incurring a total of 76 minutes during any one season will be review by the League board as to the extent of further suspensions and fines.
Total penalty minutes in excess of the best interest of the league, will result in suspension. The following is how penalty minutes are added up for this purpose:
Minor penalty during running or stopped time = 3 minutes
Major penalty during running or stopped time = 7 minutes
10 minute misconducts at any time = 10 minutes
Game Misconducts at any time = 10 minutes
Gross Misconducts at any time = 20 minutes
Match Penalty at any time = 20 minutes
SUBJECT TO DISMISSAL LIST
Any player who received excessive penalty minutes, misconducts, or majors in the previous season, will be placed on the subject to dismissal list. Players may also be placed on the BAD BOYZ LIST which may cause them to start at the second offense major assessment.
SUSPENSIONS:
A player suspended under any of the above circumstances, may appeal their suspension in writing within 24 hours of the end of their offending game, by submitting a letter (or email) to the leagues Board of Directors. The League may or may not request the player to appear in front of the Board of Directors. If the Board of Directors decides to overturn or reduce the suspension and/or fines, the player will be notified immediately. Suspension will be in effect for playoffs and will carry over to the following season. If a player who has games still to serve for their suspension and does not continue the following season, the player will not be allowed to rejoin the league until their suspension is fulfilled. Any substitute player/goalie who receives a suspension will be suspended for the required subsequent games following the game in which that player was suspended and also be required to pay a fine of $25 per game suspended.
LENGTH OF GAME
ALL Divisions:
1st and 2nd periods 20 MINUTES
(19:30 running time with final :30 stopped time)
3rd period 20 MINUTES
(15:00 running time with final 5:00 stopped time)
One (1) :30 TIME-OUT during regulation allowed. NO TIME-OUTS allowed in Overtime.
Overtime period
One (1) 5-minute running time Sudden Death Overtime. If no team scores, the game is called a “tie”. In the exception of Playoffs where a game must be decided, after the 5 minute overtime and no one scores the game
is decided by a 3-man “Shoot-out”. A FIVE GOAL spread during the last 5 minutes of the 3rd period is cause for running time…with no stopped time regardless if goal spread becomes less than 5 goals. The referees have the discretion to stop the clock due to equipment failure or repair. The clock is not stopped during an altercation. It is up to the discretion of the
referees to stop the clock during the course of the game, where running time is in effect. The referees also have the right to call for running time if a game has become penalty excessive (minors or majors).
Pre-game warm up will last for five (5) minutes…If a team is not ready to take the ice following the warm-up, the game will begin immediately. A team must have at least 3 players on the ice at the drop of the puck or a forfeit for the offending team will occur.
PLAYOFFS
At the end of the regular season, a playoff format will be derived, based on the number of teams in the flight. Unless otherwise specified, the top two teams in a 4 or 5 team division will qualify for the playoffs and play this format: 1st vs. 2nd in a 1 game final. In a 6 team or larger division, the top four teams will play this format: 1st vs 4th; and 2nd vs 3rd in a 1 game semi final games and with winners of those pairings will then play each other in a 1 game final.
Should two teams finish in a tie in the standings and that be a playoff position, the following tie breaking system
will be implemented to determine the higher place:
TIE BREAKERS:
1. Total wins in the season.
2. Head to head record.
3. Fewest penalty minutes.
4. Most goals head to head.
5. Most goals season.
6. Least goals allowed head to head.
7. Least goals allowed season.
8. Playoff between those two teams.
Playoff will use the same game lengths as in the regular season with the addition of a shoot-out after the 5 minute overtime (if there is still a tie). If there sill is a tie after the overtime period, a three player shoot-out will take place to determine winner.
SHOOT-OUT: (Playoffs Only)
Each team will choose 3 players to take one shot at the opposing goaltender. Teams will alternate shooters. The home team will choose which team will shoot first. A player gets 1 shot on net, once the shot is taken the players turn is over. A player cannot shoot in a rebound (that would be considered a 2nd shot). If after the initial 3 player shoot-out there is still a tie, a sudden death shoot-out will be implemented. All players must shoot once before a player may shoot twice. Once the team with a fewer amount of players has gone through every player, the opposing team may also begin to repeat their shooters. If the team shooting first scores in the sudden death shoot-out, the opposing team will be allowed to shoot to tie, if the team scores, the sudden death continues, if the team misses, the team shooting first wins.
SUBSTITUTES
A substitute is defined as any player, including goalies, playing on a team that is not paying the Team Fee, who does not pay the full season league dues or prorated dues depending on when they enter the league, which must be prior the 8th game of the season. A substitute is not eligible to play in playoffs. Any substitutes must be pre approved by the league. If a team is not paying the Team Fee, substitutes pay in 3
game increments of $90 ($30 per game). If a team that is paying the Team Fee, that team may roster as many players as they wish, up to the maximum of 17 skaters. If in the case of hardship where teams cannot roster an adequate team to compete, they must contact League officials first to justify their need for adding new players. Any substitute player/goalie who receives a suspension will be suspended for the required subsequent games following the game in which that player was suspended and also be required to pay a fine of $25 per game suspended. If a substitute is obviously too good for the level in which they are trying out for, The League had the right to pull that player from the ice at any time during the game, and be given a refund. TEAM REPS… Do not knowingly bring a player overly strong, you’ll waste their time and your time. No new substitutes allowed during final 7 games of the regular season unless approved by The League.
UNIFORMS
Color coordinated jerseys are required and must be approved by the League (Jersey must include a permanently attached number). Solid color jerseys are the preferred choice of The League when a matching team jersey is not chosen. Please call office for clarification before purchasing jerseys. Uniforms must be complete by Week Three (3) of the season with exceptions. If requirements are not met, players without approved jerseys or permanent numbers can be assessed a 10-minute misconduct to start the game. Other disciplinary actions can be taken by the league if the jersey policy is not followed.
REFUNDS
Requesting a refund in games 1-8 would result in being charged in the amount of $30 per your teams games played, not the amount of games you physically played in, and refunded the balance left over, if any. If requesting a refund in games 9-14, there will be no refunds. The league will grant refunds under special circumstances, such as injury, with an official doctors note on printed letterhead, showing address and phone number and signature of the doctor. Please remember, a players commitment to their team is a responsibility and not fair to leave a team with a short roster. It is very difficult to replace a person and against league policy to add new players to a team late in the season. The league pays for the ice rental ahead of time and cannot get a refund for the players who leave a team for unexplainable reasons. There are no refunds due to suspensions or league expulsion for inappropriate behavior on or off the ice regardless of the time of the infraction. No exceptions.
FINAL NOTES
We here at the Ice Angeles Hockey League find it in our best interest to protect you, the hockey player, from serious injuries, and to make the game as fair as possible, so that you can get the maximum enjoyment of the game. If the above policies are not followed to the satisfaction of The League, The League has the right to not allow a team, who would qualify for playoffs, not be allowed to participate in the playoffs and replace that team with the next team eligible for a playoff spot. This includes teams that have outstanding league due balances. If for any reason, you have difficulty understanding any of the rules and regulations in the preceding pages, do not hesitate to call the office.
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