Why Does The Novice Division Use Half-Ice?

We are following Hockey Canada's lead on this new approach to younger players.

The purpose of this approach is to provide an ice surface and nets that are size-appropriate to players. In doing so, all the players will have more of opportunity to be involved in the play and to be close to the action.

For more information, please talk to us or look at Hockey Canada's Novice Program website.

How Are Team Standings Determined?

The standings are determined by (applied in order):

• Highest Total Points (2 points for a win; 1 point for a tie; 0 points for a loss)
• Most Number of Wins
• Fewest Number of Losses
• Most Number of Ties
• Highest "# Goals For" divided by "# Goals For and # Goals Against" i.e. GF/(GF+GA)
• Most Number of Goals For (GF)
• Fewest Number of Goals Against (GA)
• If teams are still tied, we'll flip a coin (although in the standings, they will be listed alphabetically)

We chose not to use head-to-head as a tiebreaker. We prefer to recognize the entire performance over the regular season rather than considering only a few individual games.

After the first round of playoffs, the remaining teams are ranked based on their regular season standings. The highest ranked team is Rank 1, the second ranked team left standing is Rank 2, and so on. This is used to determine the matchings in the second round of the playoffs.

During the regular season, any game that must be cancelled and cannot be rescheduled will be scored as a 1-1 tie and any game that is forfeited is scored as a 1-0 loss. While the inability to reschedule a game is regrettable and generally unavoidable, every team advances to the playoff round.

Who's On My Team?

Every year near the beginning of the season, we receive requests for the team rosters. This is understandable since players like to know where their friends are playing.

However, we don't give these out. But the players very quickly figure out where everyone is.

Some coaches hand out a small roster to parents. This can help arrange carpooling. It can help parents learn the players' names so they know who to cheer for.

What Equipment Do I Need?

The hockey gear is listed in the standard order in which players get dressed (though parents dressing young children, however, may want to put the skates on last for safety reasons). There are lots of parents around to help. Remember that many of us didn't have a clue what we were doing for the first few weeks (especially with goalie pads -- they often end up on the wrong legs for younger ages).

The league will provide goalie equipment to each team for use by whom ever wants to play. Of course, players who have their own goal equipment can use their own.

The coloured boxes above the equipment indicate what level of hockey requires it:

Learn to Skate | Learn Hockey | House League

Clothing	Jock	Shin Pads	Hockey Socks (provided)
Hockey Pants	Skates	Neck Guard	Shoulder Pads
Elbow Pads	Jersey (provided)	Hockey Helmet
Hockey Gloves	Hockey Stick	Extra (optional)

Clothing It is important to have comfortable clothing that suits the current climate conditions. On the coldest days; turtlenecks, winter socks, track pants and a thin touque are recommended.

Jock Very important. It holds a hard plastic cup. Without this, the parents, who are buying the hockey equipment now, may not become grandparents later. If you're still unclear, you might want to check out Stuart McLean's "The Jock Strap". Jocks also have straps or velcro to hold up the hockey socks.

Shin Pads For Learn to Skate, children may wear protective knee pads, like the ones for biking or blading. For House League, make sure that the shin pad covers from above the knee to below the tongue of the hockey skate.

Hockey Socks Swansea Hockey Association will provide you with hockey socks that will match the colours of your team jersey.

Hockey Pants Some varieties include suspenders, which effectively stop the pants from falling down. Other just have string, or a belt system to keep them up.

Skates It's recommended to put your skates on before your upper body equipment to allow for better mobility when lacing up. If you're lacing up the skates of your young children, using skate guards might be a good idea to prevent injury.

Neck Guard You must wear a certified neck guard, they usually have a frontal flap which covers the area between the neck and the top of the shoulder pads.

Shoulder Pads Today's shoulder pads are much larger than they used to be, just try to find the proper medium between protection and mobility.

Elbow Pads The elbow pads should also cover part of the forearm, to allow as little as space possible between the elbow pad and the hockey glove.

Jersey Swansea Hockey Association will provide you with a jersey for league play. It will have the sponsor's name and logo on the front, with a number on the back.

Hockey Helmet Your hockey helmet must be certified, and be equipped with a full-face shield: full visor or cage, whichever you prefer.

Hockey Gloves When purchasing hockey gloves, make sure the wrist is covered as well as possible, without compromising too much flexibility. For Learn to Skate, mitts or winter gloves are fine.

Hockey Stick Right and left handed sticks seem to be almost evenly distributed amongst the players nowadays. It may be a good idea to bring a second stick incase the first one breaks, especially in the older leagues with bigger, stronger players.

Extra Many players like to have clear hockey tape on their shin pads and/or ankle of the skates for a tighter feel. It just depends on what feels more natural for you. Bringing your own, labeled, water bottle is highly recomended to keep hydrated, and prevent spreading illness.

My Child Wants to Play Goal. What Do I Need?

Apart from nerves of steel -- it's very stressful on parents watching their kid in net -- you don't need to get anything. There's no need to run out to buy any goalie equipment.

We provide each team with a set of goalie equipment. This set includes pads, chest protector, glove, blocker and stick. If your child is left-handed (i.e. catches with his or her right hand), we have extra gear kicking around in our storage locker.

Regular player skates, player hockey pants, and a regular player helmet with cage/visor can be worn.

Do Teams Have Scheduled Practices?

We have a limited amount of time available to us on the single outdoor rink and an awful lot of players and teams. Most of our allotted time is devoted to games.

The younger age groups receive some dedicated ice time for practices. The older age groups do not.

Teams generally have about 10-15 minutes prior to each game to work on skills. Coaches try and make the most of this time.

Are Teams Balanced For Skill?

Team rosters are created in November prior to the start of the season. We make every effort to create teams of equal strength within each division based on what we know about each player from previous seasons, from their registration information, and based on requests to accommodate car-pooling arrangements.

Once we start playing, we sometimes find that, despite our best efforts, a team is unusually strong or unusually weak. Situations like this are no fun for anyone -- the league executive, coaches, parents, and especially, players. We will move players to other teams to make teams and games as balanced as possible.

Note that every team makes it into the playoffs. The standings from the regular season games are used to determine match-ups for the playoffs.

Are Games Played In The Rain/Hail/Snow/Cold/Warm/...?

Yes we do. Dress appropriately.

We play at an outdoor rink. Ice can be maintained up to around +5 degrees. We've played games when it's -30. We've played games with tennis balls so the players can find it in the snow piles. We've played games while parents shovel snow from the ice surface. We've played in the rain. We've played under the sun when you don't need a winter jacket to cheer on the players.

But sometimes the City has to cancel some of our games. We try to contact players and parents as soon as possible.

This is Canadian hockey at its finest!

Do You Reschedule Cancelled Games?

We would certainly like to. We maintain a few unfilled timeslots for this very purpose. However, it's not always possible to fit everything in as our playoffs approach and spring starts to melt the ice.

If a cancelled game cannot be rescheduled, the game will show as a tie.

Help! The Coach Asked Me To Be The Timekeeper.

For regular season games, the home team provides the timekeepers.

When you're the timekeeper, you have the best seat in the house. You're as close to the action as you can get.

The timekeeper does a few things:

• ensure that you have the game sheet. You might get it from the coaches or the referees
• ensure that the attendance is recorded on the game sheet
• record the player number for goal and assists
• keep track of penalties and make sure someone gets out on the ice after they've served the penalty time
• update the scoreboard. If you don't know how to do this, the referees will teach you (there are only about 3 or 4 buttons that matter -- it's pretty easy)

For playoff games, the league provides the timekeeper.

Does the League Keep Player Stats?

While the league statistician keeps track of each players goals and assists, we don't publish this information. The league decided long ago to not let players know their statistics in order to de-emphasize their importance relative to sportsmanship and playing well within a team. Even so, we know the players keep track of their own goals and assists. The league uses the players' statistics to assist in rebalancing the teams after the first few games and as a small factor in player awards end of the season.

Where are the Game Scores?

While our statistician keeps track of the game scores, we do not publish them on the website. But the kids always know which team won and which team lost and the game scores. As a league, we prefer not to dwell on this. After the first few games of the season, players are sometimes moved to balance teams and provide more competitive games. This rebalancing diminishes the value of the scores (although that point is generally lost on the younger players). As the end of the regular season, every team makes it to the playoffs. The regular season wins and losses determine the matches. However, playoff games are almost always competitive and any one can win.

Playoff Format

There are a few differences between regular season games and playoff games. Here's a reminder of some of the key things to keep in mind.

• The executive provides the timekeeper for all playoff games.
• There will be "stop time" in the last two minutes of any playoff game when there is a two goal (or less) differential.
• For all playoff in all divisions, a player may not score more than 3 goals per game. Any goal scored by a player beyond his or her 3 goal limit will be disallowed and the player will be assessed a 2 minutes Delay of Game penalty.
• For Novice and Minor Atom divisions, every player must play equal time (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5 then 6,7,8,9,10 then 11,12,13,14,15 then start again. Teams can't have set lines of forwards and defence that would result in unequal playing time.

Playoff Overtime Format

Unlike our regular season games, playoffs cannot end with a tie game. The overtime format adopted by the SHA involves shifts with ever diminishing numbers of players on the ice. The coaches must provide the timekeeper with a list of their player in the order in which they will be played before the overtime begins. All players of the team must be listed. No changes in the order are made once overtime play begins.

We note with some pride that the NHL started testing a similar format in the AHL for the 2014-2015 season before moving the current 3-on-3 format. But we beat them to it!!!

Cool, eh? We've had some very exciting finishes with this format!

Here are the gory details:

• Each coach will prepare a list (the "overtime list") of player's names and corresponding jersey numbers. Names will be listed in the order in which players will be allowed on the ice during overtime play. Each player's name will be listed once, and only once, with the exception that the goaltender's name will not appear on the list.
• The 3 goal player maximum does not apply to overtime. Anyone can score.
• The "overtime list" will be provided to the timekeeper not more than 2 minutes after the end of regulation time. Failure to do so will result in a bench minor penalty (2 minutes) being assessed with the penalized team being required to play shorthanded until the penalty has expired.
• Play during overtime will cease and a winner declared at the first goal ("sudden victory").
• Players will be played in strict order according to the overtime list.
• Overtime will begin with a 2 minute stop-time "shift". During that 2 minute shift, each team will play with the first 5 (4 in the case of the bantam division) players listed on the overtime list plus a goaltender.
• At the end of the first 2 minute shift, the game will be halted, all skaters except the goaltenders will leave the ice, and the next 4 (3 in the case of bantam) players named on the overtime list plus the goaltender will commence play for a further 2 minute stop-time shift.
• Play will continue in 2 minute stop-time shifts, with the number of players being reduced by 1 for each new shift until the game is decided.
• The number of players on the ice for each team will decrease to 2 players (either 1 skater and 1 goalie, or 2 skaters). All subsequent shifts will be played with a total of 2 players per team.
• If the end of the "overtime list" is reached and all players have played once, the same list will resume from the top.
• Any player on the player bench, regardless of their position in the list, may be substituted for a goaltender at any time. Putting this substitute player on the ice does not change their position in the list. The goalie may be "pulled" at the start of a shift, prior to a faceoff, or during active play.
• A player on the bench may not be substituted for a non-injured player. Each player must play his or her full 2 minutes shift.
• Injured players will be replaced by the next available player on the list until the injured player is able to return to play or until the end of the shift. Return to play will occur only during a stoppage in play. If a player substituting for an injured player is on the ice at the end of a shift, he or she will remain on the ice for the next shift as if there had been no substitution for injury.
• Players who are assessed a penalty will serve that penalty in the penalty box. Bench minor penalties will be served by a player on the ice at the time the penalty was assessed, as chosen by his or her coach. Un-expired penalties assessed during regulation time, and penalties assessed during overtime, will reduce the number of players on the ice accordingly until they have expired. Where a shift begins with a team shorthanded, players will be drawn from the "overtime list" in strict order until the necessary number of players is on the ice for the shift. On expiry of the penalty, the penalized player will return to his or her bench at which time the next player on the overtime list will be allowed onto the ice surface from the player bench. That player will complete the remainder of the shift as if no penalty had occurred but will not remain on the ice for the following shift.
• In the event that a 2 minute bench minor penalty is assessed prior to the start of a shift, one player who was schedule to be on the ice must serve the penalty full penalty. This player will be one of the players on the ice for the following shift along with the next appropriate number of players.

Where Do The Website Banner Pictures Come From?

These are pictures that have been taken by many parents over the years and we're constantly trying to add new ones. If you have a picture you think would work, send the webmaster an email. He'd love to hear from you.

How Do You Work The Scoreboard?

The electronic scoreboard has a portable control panel which connects to the timekeeper's bench. Instructions for running the control panel are usually stored with the unit in it's protective case. However, these instructions will get wet, torn and lost during the season.

Click Here to download the Operational Instructions

The control unit is very sensitive to the outdoor conditions. Please keep it as protected as possible during games.

What Do I Do With Old Hockey Equipment?

Good question and one that lots of people ask.

One of our sponsors, Play It Again Sports, may purchase your old equipment for resale and/or as a credit towards the purchase of other equipment. Other sports stores may do the same thing.

If you have goalie equipment, we would be happy to have you donate it to us. Maintaining our supply of goalie equipment in good condition is a significant expense and every bit of help is welcome.