CHALLENGE CUP - U9 TOURNAMENT RULES Half-Ice Game Play Rules Hockey Canada Playing Rules are followed except as stated below. 4-on-4 (plus a goaltender in full goalie equipment). Game format: two 24-minute periods with a run-time clock. Minimum of one official per game. There are no time-outs in the Tournament. There are no overtime periods in round robin play. Teams should be prepared to take the ice as many as 15 min. prior to their scheduled game start. Timed buzzer or whistle for line changes: Game does not stop; players change on the fly at buzzer/whistle. If there are fewer than four players on the bench, the active player designated to stay out for the following shift must return to the bench area prior to continuing play. On the buzzer/whistle, players must relinquish control of the puck immediately and vacate the ice. The new players enter the ice. Failure to relinquish control of the puck or new players entering the ice surface prematurely may result in a penalty (see below). Shift length will not exceed 90 seconds. Incidental contact may happen, but body-checking is not permitted. No icing or offside. Face-offs to start each half. Change of possession: Continuous play - when whistles lead to a change in puck possession, the official will signal the attacking players to back off three metres. Once the attackers have moved back, play may resume as soon as the possession team has control of the puck. Goaltender freezes the puck - the official blows the whistle to indicate the attacking team backs off three metres and the defending team gets possession. Puck shot out of play - the offending team backs off three metres and the official gives the non-offending team a new puck. Black pucks will be used. Penalties: Penalty results in penalty shot. The offending player will sit out the next shift, but the team will play even strength. At the end of Round Robin Play teams will be slotted 1st to 4th place in their respective flights. The 1st seed from each flight will play in the Gold medal game. The 2nd seed from each flight will play in the Bronze medal game. The 3rd seed team from each flight will play in a Consolation game. The 4th seed team from each flight will play in a Consolation game. In case of a tie after the Round Robin play we will use the following tie breaker: a. Head to Head. The team who won head to head will advance. b. Goals Against. The team with the lowest goals against during round robin play will advance. c. Tie Breaker Ratio: teams with the same Goals Against will be slotted according to a statistical Tie Breaker Ratio. This Ratio will only be used to resolve ties within the Goals Against category and does not supersede the Goals Against statistic. The Tie Breaker Ratio is determined as follows: TBR = Goal Differential Goals Against • In the event of a tie at the end of regulation in Medal Games, overtime periods will be played as followis: All overtime periods are two-minute running time sudden death periods. The first team to score wins. The clock will remain running and will only stop at the end of the overtime period. Teams will commence the overtime period by playing three-on-three (excluding the goaltender). If neither team scores by the end of the two-minute period, the teams will commence additional overtime periods. We will continue with two-minute running time sudden death periods until the tie is broken.