Game Rules

Overview - The question of what games should count and what games shouldn't is a core issue to MYHockey. Our guiding principle is that EVERY game played should be entered and should count unless a rule below was violated. So, whether the game was a "scrimmage", or a tournament championship game, it should be entered into MYHockey. That said, there are exceptions that we detail below. Please note that we understand that teams might want to have a "non-counting" game. We get it. It's real easy to do, simply have the coaches agree BEFORE the game that the game will not be recorded in MYHockey and you are good to go.

  1. Season Dates
    1. August 15: The MYHockey default system start and completion dates for the fall/winter season. Exceptions to these dates are noted below
    2. September 1: No game played by a Canadian team prior to this date are allowed
    3. October 15: No Minn-Kota games played by winter town teams prior to this date are allowed
    4. Nov/Dec: No games played by high school or prep schools governed by high school athletic associations (i.e. Federation) rules prior to the official start of their season are allowed if both teams consider the game "pre-season". If one team considers the game a regular season game, then the game should be recorded.
    5. March 31: Approximate season end date for USA Youth teams competing in the USA Hockey National Championships
    6. April 15: Approximate season end date for teams competing in Canadian provincial championships
    7. April 30: Approximate season end date for teams competing in Canada girls and boys Midget AAA National Championships
    8. May 31: Approximate season end date for teams competing USA and Canadian Junior Championships
  2. Rosters - While we expect that most teams in MYHockey have offical USA/Canadian certified rosters, we are not the roster police. That said, in cases where teams are clearly altering their level of play by adding players (three (3) or more players added for a game/event), games may be removed or moved to a separate "Tournament Team". Games played by teams made up of a tryout roster or rosters that include alternate players coached by the regular coach, after the start of the fall/winter season should be included in MYHockey unless the teams agree ahead of time in writing that the game will not be recorded in MYHockey.
  3. Referees - The game is referreed by non-team affiliated individual(s) who is certified to referee hockey games.
  4. Coaches Agreement - The coaches of two opposing teams can agree, PRIOR to the start of a game, to exclude the game from MYHockey. This agreement should be in writing (email) or recorded in some verifiable way. This is typically done when one or both teams are using the game for instructional purposes and are not competing to win. With this agreement between teams prior to the game, it should not be recorded in MYHockey, but if it is we will remove it upon review of the proof of the agreement.
  5. Game Play - No coaches on the ice, no extra timeouts for teaching, no pre-planned powerplay, penalty kill, 4v4, etc. In general, it must look like a real game to any casual observer.
  6. Time - Games must have at least 30 minutes of stop time or 40 minutes of running time. All minutes played are counted. Games where stop time is used for 50% or more for game time are classified as stop time all minutes count. Games where less than 50% of the clock time was governed by stop time are considered running time games. Curfewed games are OK if the time minimums are met. All tournament games, even some midget games that are as short as 30 minutes, are valid. Any game terminated early based upon tournament rules (i.e. 6 goal rule) that dictate a game end early when the score reaches a certain point, is acceptable.
  7. Forfeits - Forfeited games do not reflect the ability of the teams on the ice and are thus should not be entered unless they are noted to be forfeits with an (f) after the game score. Only the site administrator can identify a game as a forfeit so please submit a game correction request to mark as a forfeit any forfeited game in the system that is not marked appropriately.
  8. Age Level -
    1. Minor birth year versus same Major birth year (i.e. peewee minor vs. peewee major) - these games should be recorded and count like any other game in MYHockey.
    2. Major birth year versus older Minor birth year (i.e. peewee major vs. bantam minor) - these games do not count and generally are not entered into MYHockey except by members.
    3. Girls versus Boys (i.e. girls peewee vs. boys peewee) - these games do not count and generally are not entered into MYHockey except by members.
    4. Members can enter scores by teams of different age levels, but otherwise they are generally not entered (unless they are league games) because they are not statistically relevant.
  9. Level of Play - MYHockey covers all youth travel hockey teams and leagues. We have recently expanded to cover house or recreation level hockey, where these teams regularly play in tournaments outside their league. Games played by travel teams against non-qualifying teams are not entered into MYHockey unless requested by a MYHockey Member.
  10. Exhibition Games - While some "exhibition games" or "scrimmages" may not qualify based upon the rules above, the goal of MYHockey is to include every game played by every team and by default these games schould be recorded. MYHockey is not a league ranking system that only includes your league games. MYHockey requests/requires that all qualifying games be entered. If leagues want MYHockey to develop rankings involving only league games, we can do that through special request. Please contact us.
  11. Tournament/Jamboree Games - Generally speaking, all fall/winter sanctioned tournament games are eligible for MYHockey. Jamboree games typically are NOT eligible because of their length, but any Jamboree games meeting the length requirement are eligible unless they voilate another rule.
  12. Unique Teams - Teams that are rostered under two different names (and/or organizations) will be identified as one team in MYHockey. For two teams to be considered unique and truly deserving of two different names, they both must contain at least three (3) uniquely rostered players.
  13. Pre-Post Teams - Pre-Post teams, also referred to as split-season teams, play in the fall/winter season before and/or after the high school season. Pre-Post teams are valid fall/winter registered teams and are eligible for USA Hockey Nationals. As such, they will be ranked as long as they have enough entered game scores to qualify for the rankings. Pre-Post teams are not required to play in the spring. MYHockey defines Pre-Post teams as teams that play at least three (3) weekends during the fall/winter season and who play games into the month of October or later. Teams that do not meet this requirement are considered summer teams.
  14. Summer Teams - Summer teams fail to meet the Pre-Post team requirement that they play at least three (3) weekends during the fall/winter season and play games into the month of October or later. Summer teams will not be ranked. They will be considered "Tournament Teams". As such, games during the fall/winter season against summer teams may be recorded for accuracy and completeness but the summer teams will not appear in the rankings.
  15. Tournament Teams - Tournament teams are typically defined as a team of players that is not a regularly rostered team or regularly assembled to practice and play, but instead, a set of players assembled for one or more weekends. Tournament teams will not be ranked. Games against tournament teams can be entered into MYHockey after the tournament team has been added to the system.
  16. Roster Integrity - MYHockey Rankings reserve the right to remove any team from the rankings, and/or make them a tournament team, if the team's conduct jeopardizes the integrity of the rankings. Team conduct includes, but is not limited to roster manipulation, gamesheet manipulation, and playing with unrostered players. Teams who are not forthcoming about roster changes when asked will be treated differently than those who are open about their actions. Repeat offenders will not be tolerated.

    Bottom Line - We want every statistically relevant game added to MYHockey unless it violates one of our rules above. Any disagreements on this issue are left to the discretion of MYHockey.



    Other Site Rules can be found in the Site Rules Section of the FAQ.



    Rules version 2023.04