TRAVELLERS HOCKEY LEAGUE UPDATE
(Saturday, February 17)
All teams should take note of the playoff tie
breakers:
18.
TIE-BREAKERS
The following
tiebreakers will be used if TWO teams are tied in points at the end of
the playoff round robin:
A Head to head matchup
B) Most wins
C) Goals For minus
Goals Against
D) Fewest Goals
Allowed
E) Most Goals Scored
The following
tiebreakers will be used if THREE OR MORE teams are tied:
A) Best winning %
between the teams involved.
B) Most Wins
C) Goals For minus
Goals Against (between the three teams involved)
Note: If a further
tiebreaker is still required after the above, a flip of the coin will decide
the winner.
Note: Regular Season
records are NEVER factored in during the playoffs.
Note: First place
regular season finishers received an extra two points to begin the round robin
playoffs (as opposed to an EXTRA win).
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PAST UPDATES
The League is preparing to re-align its divisions this
weekend. New schedules (beginning October 22) are expected to be posted online
late Monday evening. I would like to
offer some reminders concerning league policies and clarifications on various
rules and regulations. Firstly, I hope that everyone is enjoying the season.
Please email me directly through our website should your name be misspelled
in the individual stats section.
Note: All of our divisions have been renamed to honour
and sincerely thank some of our long withstanding teams and their reps, who
have remained loyal to the Travellers League dating back to its inception in
1987.
Note: The proposed divisional re-alignment
is listed at the bottom of the LEAGUE STANDING page.
1.
(ONLINE
REGISTRATION) All players
must register online through the league waiver form prior to participating in
any Travellers league games. While most players are adhering to this policy, I
have noticed that some are playing without registering. Those that have’nt,
should do so (without further delay) in order to avoid any interruption in your
next game.
2.
(PARKING) The Travellers designated parking lot at
Lansdowne Park (Civic Centre) is located behind the west end zone (through the
parking gates). All players should enter the grounds through the Bank Street
entrance and it is suggested that all players arrive a little earlier than
normal on weekends as other events are staged at Lansdowne Park and the parking
lots gets filled quickly.
3.
(PARKING) At the team rep meeting in early
September, the league issued Carleton parking passes to approximately 40% of
its teams. The Arena Complex Manager has notified us that the remainder of the
passes are not yet available. In the interim, all Travellers players are asked
to park in Parking Lot 3 (P3), which is located off Raven road. All players will be
asked to use their Ottawa U/Civic Centre pass and have it visible, hanging from
their rear view mirror.
4.
(CIVIC
CENTRE) We are asking all
teams that only league players are permitted down the stairs at the
Civic Centre. Children are not allowed to be roaming down the hallways leading
up to the dressing rooms. We would also ask that teams be responsible when
entering the playing surface and close the entrance door. There have been way
too many close calls where individuals have nearly been hit by a flying puck
caused by an open door.
5.
(CIVIC
CENTRE) The private
boxes at the Civic Centre are not to be entered by anyone during the course
of the league’s activities.
6.
(DRESSING
ROOM KEYS) All teams are
responsible for any damages that occur to the dressing room keys. Teams that
bend or break their keys will incur charges for replacements keys. If this
occurs, affected teams will be notified and charges will be deducted from the
team bond.
7.
(DRESSING
ROOM KEYS) Note:
Travellers League personnel will handle the distribution of dressing room keys
at the Civic Centre. For all other arenas (Ottawa U, Carleton U), it is each
team’s responsibility to retrieve a dressing room key by contacting the arena
front desk personnel.
8.
(OTTAWA U
DRESSING ROOMS) All teams
should be aware of the Ottawa U dressing room alarm policies and procedures.
Please contact their front desk should you require any clarification.
9.
Arena
officials are reporting to me that some players are stepping onto the ice prior
to the arena doors (the Zamboni area) being closed. All players must
wait until this door is completely closed before proceeding onto the ice. In
addition, it has been reported that some teams are taking too long to leave the
playing surface once a game has been completed. Please be respectful of this
and leave the playing surface immediately.
10.
I am noticing
that the warm-ups are taking too long. The whistle will be blown at the
23 minute mark and all teams are expected to be ready to begin play soon
after. There are only 50 minutes of ice
time allotted for each game and we would like to give you the longest possible
playing time. A team taking too long to get ready could incur a delay of game
penalty.
11.
We would also
ask that all pucks that leave the playing surface be returned to the
timekeeper. They are not souvenirs, and must be returned. The cost of pucks is
expensive and we would appreciate your cooperation.
12.
(TEAM
SWEATERS) The grace period
for all teams to have two sets of matching sweaters has expired. Please refer to rule 8 in the league’s rules
and regulations for further clarification.
13.
(LEAGUE
STATISTICS) Individual statistics will continue to be tabulated for the entire season (25 games);
however, the league will recognize the top individual performers after 23 games
are completed. All goaltenders eligible for the top goaltender award must have
played at least 75% of their team’s games. Empty net goals are not to count
against a goalie’s average. League awards at the end of the season will
include:
Top Scorer
Top Goaltender
Most Gentlemanly Team
Regular Season Champions
Playoff Champions
14.
(RE-ALIGNMENT)
Once divisional
re-alignment has been completed, teams that move up a division will not be able
to have more points than the current first place team. Conversely, teams that
move down a division will not be able to have fewer points than the last place
team. As well, the individual statistics of some players could be adjusted
should they have more points than the leading divisional scorer (if moving up a
division).
15.
The league
reserves the right to suspend ANY player for on or off ice conduct that
jeopardizes the safety of other players or league officials. A player could
receive a suspension for any infraction that either warrants only a minor
penalty or goes unnoticed during the course of a game. We are making every
attempt to catch players who maliciously use their stick to intimidate or
injure an opposing player. The League will not condone such actions and will
act swiftly with severe suspensions in order to deter this conduct. Our league
has always and will continue to be one of the strictest amongst Ottawa recreational
adult hockey leagues and this is important to note, with almost 40 new teams
joining the fall/winter league for the first time. All players should familiarize
themselves with our league rules, which are posted on the website, in order to
avoid any unnecessary confusion.
16.
The
league reserves the right to abruptly terminate any game (regardless of
the score) if it feels that the teams are no longer focused on playing hockey
within the confines of the rules.
17.
We would
just like to remind all teams that smoking and the consumption of alcoholic
beverages are strictly forbidden inside all three Arenas (the Ottawa Civic
Centre, the Ottawa U Sports Complex and the Carleton U Sports Complex). Any team or individual caught in violation
of this League rule will face possible immediate ejection from the Travellers
Hockey League (with no refund). We are fortunate to play in three of the best
hockey arenas in Ottawa, let’s not jeopardize it!!
Finally, we feel that we have the best
referees group in Ottawa and strong leadership skills from Pat Frost, the
League’s Referee-in-Chief. It is the league’s belief that all referees are
approachable on the ice should you have a related concern. If you are polite
and not sarcastic or belittling in your comments, we feel that all referees
will be more than happy to offer any explanation to avoid any on ice confusion.
Please respect the referees and the same respect will be reciprocal. This
league should provide a recreational milieu for one’s mental and physical
well-being. This can be achieved through camaraderie, sportsmanship and
generally having fun on the ice where all of one’s troubles are far removed.
It’s only when players start to take the game and each call too seriously that
they encounter on ice frustrations, which can hardly be part of the
recreational spirit.
We sincerely hope that all players in our
110-team league are enjoying their experiences this year. Should you have any questions or concerns,
please do not hesitate to contact myself or any Travellers League Arena
Supervisor. We are making every effort possible to ensure the greatest level of
enjoyment during a break from life’s often-stressful environments.
Brian Kukulka
League Convener
Travellers Fall/Winter Adult Hockey League
(613) 234-1349
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