RULES - DISCIPLINE

1. **GAME STRUCTURE:**

• A. C+/C4/D/DC LEAGUES - Three periods of 13 minutes each, game concludes when all time has expired. BHL - Three periods of 14 minutes each.

2. ALL LEAGUES - Each team has 1 timeout. Time out carries over to OT if unused.
3. ALL LEAGUES - RUNNING/ TIMED CLOCK - There is no Running Clock rule (Team winning by 6 Goals going into the 3rd period) or Mercy rule (team winning by 10 goals) neither go into effect so long as Teams/Players behave themselves accordingly if players become undisciplined and the level of violence reaches a threshold it is at the referees discretion to either run the clock (lead larger than 6 goals 3rd period) or end the game (via the MERCY RULE - lead larger than 10 goals).*(exception- goalie ejection rule - Disobedient rule)
4.  ALL LEAGUES - Goalie Ejection* -if a goalie is ejected from a game, play will resume and the team missing their goalie will play with six men at even strength. THE CLOCK WILL NOT BE STOPPED AND THE AJHL20 WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FINDING A REPLACEMENT(Team may acquire a goalie midgame under their own direction). If the team missing their goalie goes down by 6 goals regardless of the period there will be a running clock and if the difference becomes 10 goals the game will end under the Mercy rule. Disobedient Rule - Referees will instruct scorekeeper to run the clock in the event a player/players become unruly or disobedient towards referees/scorekeepers it will be the captains and teams responsibility to restore order so that the clock is stopped and returned to timed. TIME WILL NOT BE PUT BACK ON THE CLOCK IF THIS RULE GOES INTO EFFECT.
5. ALL LEAGUES - Full-Time Roster Player Return Exception - A player who is listed as a full-time roster member of any AJHL 20 team, and who has paid their league fee in full, shall be permitted to return to their team at any point during the same season, including playoff participation, without being subject to the four-game substitute qualification requirement, provided that the player’s absence was the result of injury, work obligations, or personal matters.
6. ALL LEAGUES - During the playoffs, only grandfathered subs who have played more than 4 gameswith one team can be added to the postseason roster. Sub in question must be equal to or lower in skill then the player they are replacing.
7. ALL LEAGUES - NO NEW SUBS ALLOWED DURING THE PLAYOFFS
8. LEAGUES C4/DC/D – AJHL SUB / CALL-UP PROTOCOL 
   To standardize the use of substitutes across the AJHL, the following rules are in effect:
   1. New Player Priority New, first-time players are placed first into the next available open roster spot on any team. After their first game, they move to the sub pool.
   2. Sub Pool Selection If no new players are awaiting placement, captains must select from the appropriate league sub pool. Selections must align with team needs, locker room fit, and overall team dynamic.
   3. In-House Subs (Same-Day Play) Players are not permitted to play multiple games in the same day. Exception: Only permitted if, during attendance check prior to taking the ice, a team has fewer than 10 skaters.
   Reminder Teams must make every effort to place new players and use all available subs to reach a 13-skater roster each week. If none are available, teams play with their posted game-day roster. If in-house subs are needed, see Rule 3.

2. Icing

C+ - use Redline icing

C4/DC/D/BHL - use Blueline  icing

3. Scoring caps

C+ No Goal Cap

C4 - No player can score more then 3 goals (goal count resets for OT)  - including playoffs 

DC - No  Goal  Cap

D - No player can score more then 3 goals (goal count resets for OT)  - including playoffs 

BHL - No Goal Cap

4. Penalties

Any player that receives 3 penalties in a row or 4 penalties overall in one game will be automatically ejected from the game.

5. Regular Season OverTime Rules

ALL LEAGUES

 Overtime (OT) - each team plays with three players (3 vs 3) for five minutes. The first team to score, wins! OT game clock runs continuously. Clock stops for THE LAST MINUTE, penalties or any officials timeout. If there's no winner after the 5 minute OT a Three round shootout occurs until a winner is determined.

          A. playoff OVERTIME RULES:

ALL LEAGUES

Playoff OT consists of a five minute period of 5v5 with a running clock OT game clock runs continuously. Clock stops for THE LAST MINUTE, penalties or any officials timeout until a goal is scored, first team to score wins! If time runs out and no goal is scored the format changes for the SECOND OVERTIME PERIOD to 3v3and a 5 minute running clock (clock ONLY STOPS for last minute, penalties or officials timeout ) until a goal is scored.  If no winner, OT proceeds to a 3-round shoot-out.

OT Penalties – If a penalty is assessed during the 3V3 OT players will be added to the team on the Power Play. Example, team who received the penalty remains at 3 skaters while the power play team now has 4 skaters if another penalty is assessed, the team receiving the penalty remains at 3 skaters while the team on the power play will now have 5 skaters.  If the powerplay ends with 4/5 players on the ice for the team that was on the power play then the team that was killing the power play can add players to match the number of players currently on the ice. Once play stops teams will resume 3v3 format.

*These rules were updated in the morning of July 6th 2026

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Best of 2 Playoff series explained:

Series Structure

• Two games total

• Game 1 may end in a tie (no overtime)

• Game 2 must have a winner

How the Winner Is Determined

• Team that wins Game 1 & Game 2 advances.

• If Game 1 ends in a tie and Game 2 is won, the Game 2 winner advances.

• If teams split results (one win each 1-1 or tied 0-0-2) the series proceeds to a tiebreaker

Tiebreaker Procedure

1. 5-on-5 Overtime

• One 5-minute period

• Running Clock

• Sudden death

 If still tied:

2. 3-on-3 Overtime

• One 5-minute period

• Running clock

• Sudden death

 If still tied:

3. 3-Round Shoot-out

• 3-Round shoot-out

*These rules were updated in the morning of 12 January 2026 on the advice of rink management.

USA Hockey Rules Official - CLICK TO OPEN PDF

While the first night of the playoffs provided great competitive games, the elevated competition that comes naturally in playoff games led to some conduct outside of the core values of the AJHL2.0. Below are some points of emphasis we would like all captains to review and pass on to their players in an effort to maintain the core values of the AJHL2.0 including fair play, fun-focused hockey, safety, inclusivity, friendship, and community building.

1. USA Hockey membership is mandatory. Your USA Hockey number should have already been provided to your team’s Disciplinary Board representative, if not please make sure to do so to maintain playoff eligibility.

2. Players are strictly prohibited from involving or contacting ownership regarding disciplinary matters. Violators of this rule will automatically receive a game suspension without the possibility of appeal.

3. Please follow the proper protocol if you would like to bring a matter to the attention of the Disciplinary Board, which is to either to bring the matter to your team’s board representative or by sending an email to ajhl20.discpboard@gmail.com.

4. For an explanation of how the Disciplinary Board operates please refer to the following link from our website, https://ajhl20.hockeyshift.com/rules-ajhl20-dcl. If you have any further questions on the Board’s operations, please contact your team’s board representative and/or send an email to ajhl20.discpboard@gmail.com.

5. During the course of a game all matters are handled by the referee. AJHL2.0 management can only assist with league specific rules questions.

6. The Disciplinary Board is bound by disciplinary actions enacted by referees, such as an automatic suspension resulting from a “game misconduct.” The Disciplinary Board, however, can apply supplemental discipline above the USA Hockey minimum requirements, and does not require the on-ice official to call a penalty to trigger a review and potential discipline.

7. Do not take disputes off the ice. Hockey is a competitive game and disagreements on official’s rulings and between players is inevitable. However, we ask during the course of the game that everyone be respectful to all players and officials. Once games are complete, please refrain from confrontational conduct with opposing players, officials, and/or management. If there is a matter that you believe was not addressed adequately during the game by the officials, please bring this to the attention of the Disciplinary Board.

Thank you,

Anthony Baratta

Jean Paul St. Germaine

Joey Vetere

Disciplinary Mission Statement

The AJHL2.0’s Advisory Council and Player's Disciplinary Board will oversee league affairs, resolve disputes, enforce adherence to the AHL Code of Conduct and USA Hockey rules. The AJHL2.0’s adoption of the code and rules will establish a foundation that will promote transparency, accountability, fairness, and safety. 

The Advisory Council will consist of five members, appointed by the Chairman and Treasurer, and confirmed by AJHL2.0 “Ownership” (Anthony Baratta and Jean-Paul St. Germaine). The Disciplinary Board will consist of 10 members, appointed by Ownership and confirmed by the Advisory Council. The Disciplinary Board will contain one member from each team and a neutral arbitrator. 

The Advisory Council and Disciplinary Board will act as independent branches, completely removed from the purview of Ownership. 

The Advisory Council and Disciplinary Board of the AJHL2.0 exists to maintain the league's health and competitiveness while driving innovation to spur its growth. By prioritizing these goals, the AJHL2.0 believes it will enhance the experience of all league members while ensuring a positive environment that fosters unity for all.

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Player's Disciplinary Board

Player's Disciplinary Board Chairman

AJ Winne

 Moderator and Arbitrator

Bill Carlisle

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Player's Disciplinary Board Responsibilities

Representatives will inform their teams:

PLAYERS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED FROM INVOLVING OR CONTACTING OWNERSHIP REGARDING DISCIPLINARY MATTERS. VIOLATORS OF THIS RULE WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A GAME SUSPENSION WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF APPEAL (WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO ANY RULINGS BROUGHT FORTH BY THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD).

1. Adherence to all USA Hockey and supplemental AJHL2.0 Rules and Regulations.
2. Maintaining, digitizing, and accounting for team rosters, contact information, USA Hockey membership, and league registration.
3. Publishing and distributing all AJHL2.0 supplemental league rules in digital and hard copy (laminated) form.
4. Captain's introduction and rules discussion with referees prior to the start of each game (on ice, supplemented by the scorekeeper).
5. Management and operation of The Board email domain to receive comments, complaints, and feedback from league members.
6. Determining consequences for player penalties, disputes, league policy violations, and rules infractions.
7. Being available to resolve disputes among captains and to receive complaints and grievances from players.
8. Incidents to be reviewed are to be submitted by team representatives in the board group chat, or individuals can report via the designated email address.
9. Review requests should not be made until the morning after the game was played at the earliest and within 72 hours of the game end time at the latest, unless circumstances such as delayed access to videos or scoresheets exist.
10. All board members are encouraged to participate in open, objective discussions on incidents, but arguments should be based on USA Hockey rules and the AJHL2.0 Code of Conduct.
11. Rulings on incidents will be decided by board vote. The voting period will open on the Friday of the week an incident is reported and will close on Sunday at midnight. Notification to the party or parties involved, and their respective teams, should be given a minimum of 24 hours notice of suspensions when assessed. Board members on teams involved in the game where the incident being reviewed took place are required to abstain from voting but are encouraged to participate in discussions objectively.
12. If a board member believes they have a bias for or against a party up for review based on a personal relationship or otherwise, they should disclose this information and recuse themselves from voting.
13. In the event of a tied vote, a final ruling will be made by the board's arbitrator, Bill Carlisle.
14. The board will have four options to vote on for a ruling:

• A. No action required.
• B. Informal/soft warning - Notice to the player that while the incident in question does not warrant additional punishment, the play is outside the expected conduct of an AJHL2.0 member, and further occurrences of similar conduct can lead to a stronger ruling for repeat offenses.
• C. Formal/hard warning - Notice to the player that while the incident in question does not warrant suspension, any further occurrences of similar conduct will lead to a suspension.
• D. Suspension - Notice to the player that their conduct has been determined to warrant a suspension. First offenses require a minimum of a one-game suspension, second offenses require a minimum of a four-game suspension, and a third offense will result in an indefinite suspension and possible expulsion from the AJHL2.0.

15. If a case is made by a board member that a suspension over the minimum is warranted, an additional vote on the supplemental discipline will be voted on during the next voting cycle.

16. Players suspended have the right to a formal appeal through USA Hockey. However, by being members of AJHL2.0, players are expected to agree to and adhere to these policies and procedures as their first and primary recourse. Players who do not agree to these policies, and/or display disrespectful behavior/attitudes toward the decisions and procedures of the board, may be subjected to enhanced disciplinary actions, up to and including expulsion from the league.

Official Rules of Hockey (USA 2021-25)-Click-to-open-PDF