Regular Tri-County Season
Although results of the Tri-county season determine Tri-county play-down seeding, the EHMHA views the Tri-county season as an exhibition season. Player and team development should be the top priority over individual game results during the Tri-county season.
Equal and fair ice time will be in effect during the regular season. It is acceptable for coaches to shorten the bench sometimes to give players the experience of being the competitive as a team, but ALL players should have equal exposure to all those situations during tri-county. It is expected that everything will balance out over the course of 2 or 3 games during regular tri-county season. The team’s rules and guidelines regarding missed team events (such as practices, games or other) will be presented by the Coaching Staff to players, parents and guardians prior to the start of the season.
In addition:
- no player should be benched based on skill or ability.
- a player can be disciplined “in game”. Ultimately the coaching staff are responsible for evaluating the severity and circumstances of the incident and can apply the discipline deemed appropriate. The player and parent(s) will be made aware why the player was disciplined.
- Equal start times for goalies.
OHMA Playoffs, Tri-County Playoffs and Tournaments
The association recognizes that during playoffs and tournaments, the rep program is expected to be more results oriented, and that coaches will have more latitude in making ice time decisions with a goal of making the team achieve more successful results on the scoreboard. Even with this in mind, the principles of player development and fostering a sense of teamwork and contribution to the team’s success should still be the guiding principle.
Guidelines for changing ice time:
- shortening the bench during the last 5 minutes of the game.
- making use of 'special teams' during key penalty kills, power plays or overtime situations.
- structuring line rotation so that players get a regular shift, but the frequency of that regular shift may not be the same for all players.
- no player should be benched for an entire period based on skill or ability.
- a player being disciplined can be benched for up to two shifts but not an entire period. The player and parent should be told why they were benched.
- Goalies played at least 1/3 of the time. For example:
- Once every 3rd game.
- If a series is tied 2-2, the stronger goalie might play the 5th game.
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