Canadian Beer League - Rules

Canadian Beer League’s rules are based on the current rules set outlined by Hockey Canada for senior leagues, which can be viewed in detail HERE

Our policies for participant suspensions follow the Hockey Canada standards that can be viewed HERE. We may alter our decisions and interpretations of these standards at our discretion.

There are cases where the way our league games and seasons operate are different than Hockey Canada’s. Instances of of these differences, as well as some key highlights of our overall standards are below.

Game Rules:

  1. All players must wear full hockey equipment including CSA-approved helmet and full face mask or visor. We recommend a full cage because visors don’t always prevent pokes to your peepers and you can still take a puck to the kisser and y’all don’t want that.

  2. Penalties will be called. Penalties will be 2 minutes in length including runtime. Mouthing off to the ref will result in more minutes being added at their discretion. For real. It’s like when your parents threatened you with more days of being grounded because you were complaining about it. The clock for 2 minute runtime penalties will begin when the puck is dropped to resume play following the penalty being issued.

  3. Icing is automatic and is called from centre ice.

  4. Direction of play does not change between periods. Both periods are played with the “short change”.

  5. 2 minute penalty for taking a slap shot. A slap shot is considered a shot with a wind up where the blade goes above the shooter’s knee.

  6. Any player receiving 3 penalties in a single game will be ejected from the game. That’s not the kind of hat trick you want.

  7. There is zero-tolerance towards mistreatment of our referees and timekeepers. BE NICE TO THEM. They are human beings who sometimes miss stuff or think they see things happen that didn’t actually happen. They’re not trying to screw you over. We do our best to find good people for the roles. If you really feel like they’re not doing a good job, please bring it to our attention through an email or call us to explain like a grown-up. We reserve the right to expel people from our league if we feel they don’t display the sportsmanship and respect we expect from everyone who’s part of our organization.

  8. Be mindful of shift length. Shifts should be no more than 1-2 minutes. Everyone paid the same amount to be there and should be playing the same amount of hockey as you are.

  9. Under the assumption that we’re provided with 60 minutes of ice time per booking, the ice allocation will be as follows:

    • 10 minutes for ice resurfacing

    • 3 minutes for warmup

    • 22 minute period of play (runtime)

    • 1 minute break between periods

    • 20 minute period of play (runtime)

    • If the score is tied or within 1 goal with 2 or fewer minutes remaining in the game, the clock will run on stop time instead of runtime.

  10. No jerks allowed! Fighting or intent to injure a fellow Beer Leaguer will result in an automatic removal from the league. And you’ll get booed off the ice. Any conduct that is deemed to be disrespectful and unbecoming of a proper Beer Leaguer can result in ejection at the discretion of the league. This is your warning. Don’t be a jerk.

Playoffs & Seeding:

  1. Teams are awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss.

  2. Playoff seeding is determined by points. If tied in points, the tiebreaker is total wins, then goal differential.

  3. Playoff formats based on number of teams in the league can be seen HERE

  4. No subs. Only rostered players for your squad are allowed to play. Under dire circumstances arrangements can be made but any subs assigned to the teams will be at the discretion of the league and have to be made well in advance of the games.

  5. If the game is tied with 5 minutes or fewer remaining in the final period, the remainder of the game shifts to sudden death 3v3 overtime. Next goal wins! A face off at centre ice starts the overtime period. Play will be called dead at the "5 minutes remaining" mark in a tied game.

  6. If the game is still tied after regulation, it's decided in a shootout, which sucks, but we gotta boogie off the ice. In some cases we're able to get some extra ice time if we're the final booking of the evening, but some rinks are hardcore and will boot us right on time.

  7. Shootout is 3 rounds, rapid fire. Home team shoots first. As soon as that player has shot, the visitor goes, then teams alternate. Shooters must be ready at centre ice immediately after their opponent shoots! No dilly dallying. Rotate through all players on the team until there's a winner, or somehow you're still going, then you start again in the same order and maybe get run over by an angry Zamboni.

Rosters:

  1. Teams are built before the start of the season based on self-reported skill level. Following the first few games of the season, adjustments will be made to accomplish league parity if neccessary.

  2. Anyone can be traded. The reason trades are made is to accomplish parity and good fun for everyone. If you get all poopy pants about being traded and refuse to go, you’re welcome to withdraw from the league entirely. Please understand it’s all for the sake of the greater good, and you’re almost guaranteed to be happy you were traded at the end of the season because you’ve made some wicked cool new friends.

  3. Skill ratings will be adjusted if initial submission is deemed to be inaccurate.

  4. Pairings can be accommodated, but requests from groups of 3 or more players are significantly less likely to be able to play together if requested. The goal is to spread good vibes and friendship throughout the league, and cliques often result in alienated teammates and poor sportsmanship.

  5. Only registered participants of the league are permitted to play. Substitute players will be arranged by team reps. Non-registered participants cannot play and will be asked to leave. Please let us know if you’re experiencing stranger danger.

  6. Canadian Beer League aims to provide participants with a “house league” environment. If a player is not a good fit for the league either from a skill perspective, attitude perspective, or combination of both, they will be removed from the league and replaced with someone from the waitlist. Typically we aim to finalize rosters before the puck drops on game 4, but changes can be made at any time throughout the season.