1. League Setup

    1. Structure
      The Realistic Subspace Hockey League (RSHL/MSHL) is run by a League Commissioner (LC) of each league. All rules governing the hierarchy and staff of the League are established and governed by the Zone Leader. The league runs seasons on a regular basis, and each season is independent of the others (rules, franchises, etc. may change between seasons.) The season itself is broken up into four parts: Off-season, Pre-season, Regular-season, and Post-season.
    2. Preseason
      When preparations are announced for a new season (during the offseason), teams will have a couple of weeks to organize and submit their rosters (or whatever is required to be considered for a spot in the league) to the league coordinator. Preseason games will be scheduled for all teams accepted as candidates, the preseason may be used to judge who to cut before the regular season. Teams that demonstrate stability, depth, and skill, will generally be allowed into the RSHL if there are open spots. Other teams will play in the MSHL.
    3. Regular Season
      The Regular Season immediately follows the Preseason, with a schedule that is released at least a week prior to when teams are scheduled to play. There may be breaks for holidays, All-Star events, or unforeseen interruptions. Rosters are locked between the midway point and the end of the regular season. The date for the lock is announced with plenty of notice, because there are no exceptions.
      In the regular season, the format is a double round-robin (each team plays other teams twice.) The number of teams determines how often games are played. With 10-12 teams, each team will play 3-4 games every 2 weeks on average.
      Teams will receive the following points for regular season games:
      • Regulation Win: 2 points
      • Regulation Loss: 0 points
      • Overtime Win: 2 points
      • Overtime Loss: 0 points
      • Overtime Tie: 1 point.
      Teams will be ranked by their total number of points and in the event that teams are tied, the following tiebreakers are used to determine the higher seed.
      • Most Total Wins
      • Head-to-Head Record (Between the two tied teams)
      • Head-to-Head Goal Differential
      • Overall League Least Goals Against
      • Overall League Goal Differential (Goals against subtracted from goals for)
      • Shoot-out. The format and schedule for this shoot-out will be determined by the league coordinator should the need arise.
    4. Postseason
      Teams will be seeded according to their regular season records. The team earning the most league-points in the regular season will advance to the post season with the top seed (1), and so on down the line for the remaining teams, with the top seeded teams also earning home ice advantage against their opponent. See Tie-breakers above regarding how to break ties with the same number of league-points.
      RSHL
      There will be three rounds within the post season: the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals, and the Blackie Cup Finals. In the quarterfinals, the 3rd seed plays the 6th seed and the 4th seed plays the 5th seed.

      The 1st and 2nd seeds may challenge the other to a single game series for the right to pick the opponent they will face in the semifinals. If neither team initiates a challenge, then it falls to normal reseeding rules where the highest seed plays the lowest seed.
      If one team initiates a challenge, the other team may decline to play it and automatically give the right to choose the semifinals opponent to the other team. If the challenge is accepted the teams will find a suitable time to play before the quarterfinals could potentially be over (so before at least one series' Game 2, so that there will be at least one quarterfinals game after the challenge so that the rest of the playoffs are not stalled over this game.)

      MSHL
      There are two rounds in the postseason: semifinals and the Live-Wire Cup finals. In the semifinals, the 1st seed plays the 4th seed and the 2nd seed plays the 3rd seed.

      The quarterfinals are best of 3 games, the Semifinals are played as best of 3, and the Finals as best of 5. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, the highest seeds play versus the lowest seeds (all teams will be reseeded upon completion of each playoff round.) The winners of the semifinals play each other in the finals. The Blackie Cup Finals will decide the Blackie Cup Champions of the RSHL Season. The Live-Wire Cup Finals will decide the champions of the MSHL Season.

      Reseed: Teams will be organized depending on the outcome of the first round and moving forward. Should a top seed fall to a lower seed; the 2nd highest seed to advance will assume the top seed and play the lowest seed of the next round.
      Example -- #1 seed falls to #6 seed -- #2 advances against #5 - The following round, the #2 seed will assume the #1 seed and play the lowest opponent of the second round.

  2. Schedule

    The RSHL/MSHL Preseason, Regular Season, and Post Season schedules will be posted by the League Scheduler every two weeks. This schedule will take into consideration the availability of the teams, and will be provided at least a week prior to games being played. The league referees will be scheduled by the Head Referee.
    1. Postponements
      Each team may use up to three postponements in the regular season, and up to two postponements in the post season. No postponements are permitted in the preseason save for extraordinary circumstances. Unused postponements do not carry over between the different phases of the season. A postponement may be used by a team for any reason by posting on the Captains Forum (or whatever other procedure the league coordinator requests, such as notifying the league through the Center Ice system.) at least 72 hours prior to the time a game is scheduled to start, or less if circumstances meet within the LC's approval (however such exceptions are extremely rare and should not be relied on). A postponement results in a scheduled game being rescheduled at a later date. The Scheduler will then schedule the makeup game.
    2. No Shows
      Failure to show enough players to play a scheduled game is unacceptable, and results in an automatic forfeit. Refer to game procedures for details. Additionally a team may be penalized a postponement for a no-show: teams are expected to use their postponements if there is a problem beforehand, as well as take responsibility to have enough backups to play a game.
    3. Schedule Release
      Teams should be given at least three days (72 hours) from the time the schedule is released until the deadline postpone to make a decision. However, this may not apply in certain circumstances, including but not limited to scheduled games worked out between two teams. Because the current deadline to postpone a game is 72 hours before game time, this means teams will generally have at least 6 days notice before game time. The league coordinator may grant an exception and postpone a game that was scheduled unreasonably late without warning, at no cost to either team.

  3. Teams, Players, and Suspensions

    1. Allowances, Additions, and Drops
      Teams are allowed 18 players on their roster in the RSHL. In the MSHL, 20 players are allowed.
      During the Offseason and Preseason players may join and leave any RSHL/MSHL team without being subject to any penalties.

      During the Regular Season, players, as well as captains, will be subject to the following rules for leaving/joining a team:
      1. Any player that was not on an RSHL/MSHL roster prior to the first game being played of the RSHL/MSHL regular season may join any RSHL/MSHL team without receiving a suspension. However, that player is ineligible to play in his teams games scheduled in the next 16 hours. Even if 16 hours have elapsed, they are still ineligible to play in games that were scheduled to start during that 16 hour period.
      2. If a player leaves an RSHL/MSHL team or gets axed from an RSHL/MSHL team and she/he joins another RSHL/MSHL team; then that player will receive an automatic suspension that counts for 30% of the total games in the league they end up in. For example, moving from an RSHL team to an MSHL team will result in the suspension being 30% of total MSHL games. This suspension should not carry over into the post-season.
        1. During this period, the player is able to change between teams without incurring a new suspension. So long as the original suspension for changing teams is still in effect, it will be adjusted such that the number of games remaining reflects games played by the team the player is currently on, since the player left his original team. For example, if Joe Q. Public leaves Team A, joins Team B, and then sits out two games on suspension, then joins Team C, his suspension will be adjusted to reflect what would have happened if he joined Team C in the first place and never joined Team B. So if Team C played 3 games since Joe left Team A, he would have 3 games served on his suspension, and if Team C had only played one game in that time, he would only have 1 game served on his suspension.
          Note: Suspension adjustments in this case may not be automatically reflected correctly on rosters. Please contact the League Coordinator or Appeals Coordinator to have your listed suspension corrected.
        2. If a player voluntarily quits a team that is removed from the league before it successfully completes two games (forfeiting not counting as a completion,) that player may instead be subject to a suspension of 50% of the regular season, rounded up, starting from when he left that team. This suspension can carry over into the post-season.
        3. If a player is active and supportive of his/her team, but the team is removed from the league, the player may instead be suspended for only 10% of the season, rounded up, and this suspension would count from the last successfully played (not forfeitted) game by the disbanded team. To qualify for this exception, the player must be showing to scheduled games, otherwise the normal 30% suspension will be applied, starting from the last successfully played game.
      3. In case of an error on the rosters that causes a player to be listed as unsuspended when he or she should be suspended, that player is still responsible to sit out of games they should be suspended in. Failure to do so will result in a longer suspension, and possibly any games they illegally played will have their results overturned into forfeits against their team.
      4. If captains abuse postponements in an attempt to have a player unsuspended for a particular matchup, the player's suspension may be deferred from one of his or her's next games to the makeup game in question. This transferal is not automatic.
      5. A player who leaves an RSHL/MSHL team during the regular season cannot rejoin that same team during that same regular season. Do not remove players from your roster that you might want back later, and do not leave a team that you might want to rejoin later.
      6. Rosters are locked at a point where all normal team-changing suspensions will be finished before the postseason starts, and after the midway point of the season. No additions to the roster are permitted, under extreme circumstances a player could be removed with League Coordinator approval. Changes to captain status at this time also require League Coordinator approval.
      7. A player is allowed to occupy only one league spot on one team no matter how many different accounts he has.
        Players may not share accounts during the season, even accounts that are not being used on league rosters, otherwise those players may be subject to suspensions or be considered Double-Squadding. If a player has relatives/friends that use the same computer or connection as them, those players must be authorized by the League Coordinator and Zone Sysop before they are allowed to play, failure to get authorization will cause all parties to be treated as Double-Squadding. Double-Squadding at any time during the season will result in a suspension from the league for one year, a ban from the zone for one year, and any games won by a team which had a double-squadder play in may be overturned.
    2. Suspension Appeals
      The Appeals Coordinator will allow players, with his own set of rules, to appeal automatic suspensions given to players as required by league rules. Other suspensions that are explicitly given out by the League Coordinator or other officials are generally not subject to appeal, but extreme circumstances may require otherwise. Reductions in suspensions are given as the situation warrants it, at the Appeals Coordinator's judgment.
    3. Expansion and Contraction
      1. Teams will be admitted into the RSHL/MSHL during the Offseason only. Prospective teams will have to follow whatever guidelines the LC issues at the beginning of the offseason. Those teams will then be scheduled into the RSHL/MSHL preseason and must show to every game, appear competitive, show an understanding of the rules, and conduct themselves accordingly.
      2. Teams will be removed from the league by the LC if they fail to meet a basic level of competitiveness. Guidelines which teams should follow to avoid being removed from the league are as follows:
        1. Teams should maintain a roster above 12 players.
        2. Teams should avoid No-shows. Specifically, 2 no-showed games may result in immediate removal. (A no-show is when a team fails to show 4 or more players to a properly scheduled game. Additionally, forfeits caused by players quitting in the middle of the game are unacceptable.
        In the event that a team is removed from league during the preseason: No negative action will take place, players and captains are free to join any other team, barring special exceptions such as the team being removed for unsportsmanlike conduct.

        In the event that a team is removed from league during the regular season: The LC and BoD will determine whether or not games/wins/stats should be removed from/added to the record. A team that had mostly losses on their record will generally be regarded as having forfeited the rest of their scheduled games, where as teams that were more competitive but disbanded anyway may have all games played by them removed from the records.

        If a team drops during the postseason, further action may be taken for the next season for responsible parties.
    4. Unsportsmanlike Conduct (ALR)
      Any team, player, or captain, will be subject to serious punishment for any actions deemed unsportsmanlike during the course of their time spent in the Zone (actions outside of league games are included).

      Referees will submit to the League Coordinator an instance of unsportsmanlike or disruptive behavior. The League Coordinator along with the Board of Directors will investigate whether a suspension is warranted. If the League Coordinator decides to issue a suspension, it will be announced and explained publicly.
      Automatic suspensions given out in rare (but documented situations) should also be announced and explained publicly.

  4. League Game Procedures

    1. Pre-game Procedures
      1. All games are played on SSCE Hockey/Football Zone's main server. If server conditions are unplayable, the zone sysops, league coordinators, or referee if applicable may move the game to an alternate server if one is available. Otherwise the game will be postponed at the referee's discretion.
      2. If the home team has an activated team arena in the zone, the referee will load the game in that arena. Otherwise the league referee will load games in the "rshl" arena or "mshl" arena.
      3. Teams are expected to be ready at their scheduled time. However, teams may wait until 10 minutes after the scheduled time in order to finalize ship registrations, lineups, and resolve any problems with being able to get into the game. If after this delay the team does not have a full lineup the ref will start the game anyway, and will call a forfeit if necessary.
        In the case of the game starting a few minutes late, the referee may require captains to get their players in more quickly.
    2. Responsibilities
      1. Referee: The referee drops the puck, runs the clock, watches for violations, and makes all official calls. The referee is appointed by the Head League Referee. In the event that the appointed referee is absent, a substitute referee that is online at the time of the game will host the game. The referee must keep a log of each game, with kill messages in the log.

        Only the referee in charge of the game will make official calls. League referees will usually follow majority vote of the goaljudges barring extreme circumstances.
      2. Goal Judge: Non league-referee goal judges should be approved by both teams. However, a team may not wait until a vote is being or has been conducted to request a goaljudge to be removed. Ultimately captains must be reasonable about these requests, a referee will not be obligated to remove an excessive amount of goaljudges. League referees may only be removed if the referee running the game agrees.

        It is discouraged to have more than two players from the same team on the goaljudge frequency at once, and the league referee should substitute goaljudges to avoid this situation if possible.

        In case of no acceptable goaljudges being available, the captains may agree to let the league referee make calls on his or her own. If they will not agree on this, the referee must not let the game continue, and will either stop the game and wait or postpone the game to have it finished later.

        Goaljudges are expected have a stable connection to the server. Any goaljudge that exceeds the posted lag limits should be removed. Goaljudges should be substituted if ones with better connections are available.

        The referee may remove any goaljudge for any reason, and the league coordinators and zone sysops may permanently bar someone from being a goaljudge. Abuse of the goaljudge position, included but not limited to vote abuse, being a goaljudge in your own game, or other circumventing the rules for goaljudges will be severely punished.
      3. Captains: Captains will be the only players from their respective teams that will communicate with the refs during the game. They will choose the home team's side, call timeouts, dispute calls in a sportsmanlike manner, and ask for rule clarifications. Any captain who badgers the refs will receive a public warning; a repeat offense will result in a silencing, or trigger a rule violation.

        Home team captains will choose which side they will play on for periods 1 and 3 before the first period starts.
      4. Players: Players will be responsible for themselves and for registering their positions. Any badgering of the ref will also result in a public warning, and any repeat offense will result in a silencing or trigger a violation.

        Players will register up to one skater ship (1-6) and up to one goalie ship (7-8) before they can enter the game. As long as they have not accumulated any amount of ice time in a ship, they may switch to another ship.
    3. Timeouts
      Each team is allowed to take one 60 second timeout per game. Timeouts may only be taken during stoppages of play, before the referee drops the puck. The referee will announce when the timeout begins and ends. In the event a game is postponed part of the way through the game and completed later, teams use of timeouts will reset during the makeup portion.
    4. Verify Player Amounts/Faceoffs
      The referee should make sure both teams have five field players and one goalie, if capable, before unspeccing to drop the puck. The referee should allow a short period of time for a player to enter, but should drop the puck if one does not enter within a reasonable amount of time.

      In the case of a player lagging out while the referee is in the process of dropping the puck, or a long delay in teams substituting players, the referee should proceed to drop the puck.
      If a player encroaches to stop the drop to allow a player to enter, the referee may force the team to call a timeout if one remains, or if not, assign a delay of game penalty. The intent of this ability is only to prevent teams from delaying the game; the referee should be generous towards the occasional substitution.

      Considering the critical nature of the goalie position, the referee should avoid dropping when a goalie is unintentionally not in play, and should not penalize for delays unless they are truly excessive; teams are expected to substitute their goalie if he is unable to enter.
      Regardless of the players on the ice before or during the drop, play commences once the puck is dropped and the clock is started. In the case of a face off violation by a team whose goalie just lagged out and reentered the game, however, the referee is encouraged to not penalize, and to restart the play.
    5. Replays and Close Calls
      Replays may occur during any stoppage of play, during an intermission, or after the game. Replays will never occur during a play. The replay will also be used in order assist in making calls; to break a tie vote among goal judges should the referee not feel confident enough to break the tie himself.
      1. Replays can be used for assisting in making calls if the referee chooses, so long as the replay is not being used to judge whether lag due to spike or due to phase impacted a play. Instead referees should err to the side of calling lag if it is not clear.
      2. Judging whether a bullet was tanked, shielded, or whiffed is a valid use of replays.
      3. Use of replays to judge whether a player shot a goal or caught a shot from inside the crease is heavily discouraged.
      4. Judging whether a defensive crease stopped a sure goal is a valid use of replays.
      5. Replays may be used for other situations as the need arises.
      6. Referees should err towards calling clean if crease vs. clean is not clear, calling lag if lag vs. clean is not clear, and no-defensive-crease vs. defensive-crease if it is not clear.
      This section is just advisory, and referees will always use good judgment to make a call. Replays should never be taken to contradict what was watched and noticed by the referees/goaljudge's during actual gameplay.
    6. Gameplay
      1. Regulation time will consist of three twelve-minute periods. Teams switch sides after the end of the 1st and 2nd period.
      2. Preseason and regular season: If after the three regulation periods, the score is equal, one 12 minute period will be played as sudden death overtime. If one of the teams scores, the game will count as a win for the team that scored, and an overtime loss for the team that was scored against. Overtimes are played 5v5 (total player count including goalies.) At the end of overtime, if neither team has scored, the game will end in a tie.
      3. Postseason: An unlimited number of standard length periods will be played as sudden death overtime. Teams will play 6v6 until a clean goal is scored. Sides will be switched before all overtime periods except the first.
      4. The clock will stop after any goal, violation (except delayed penalties, see the Delayed Penalties section), or for any other unforeseen reason (such as massive lagouts).
      5. Two minute breaks are given between periods for warm-up and any substitutions.
      6. A face-off will be conducted at the beginning of each period, and after each stoppage of play. One player from both teams will enter the safety tile in the face-off circle. The rest of each team will line up on their respective sides of the face-off circle. The ref will then retrieve the puck, and drop it at center by going to spectator mode while holding the puck.

        A face-off is won by the team that first has possession of the puck after it leaves the faceoff circle.
        If a player jumps the faceoff and wins it, he/she will be penalized (refer to the penalty chart.)
        If a player jumps and loses the faceoff, play continues as normal.
        If a player is slightly offsides but their team loses the faceoff, play will continue as normal.
        If a player is significantly offsides play stops immediately.
      7. Arguing a call: Only captains may dispute a call with a referee. If a captain badgers the referee he will be given a public warning, and any repeat offensive will be punished with a silence or a penalty. Players also have the right to debate most calls by the referee; however, if a player from a team has already received a public warning, any further repeat actions by his teammates will result in a silencing or bench penalty. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.
      8. Lagouts: All players are subject to the arena lag limits. A player who falls above the lag limits will be removed from the game, and may not reenter until they fall below the lag limits again. However, if a player is constantly lagging out, they may be locked into spectator mode by the ref until their connection is more stable.
      9. Mass Lagouts: If at least three players are specced due to lag, or if the server is experiencing an overwhelming surge of latency, this situation constitutes a mass lag-out and the game will be stopped immediately. Any goals or violations that occurred before the mass-lag out will remain intact. Goals or violations that happened after the mass-lagout will not count. Team captains and referees can then discuss to continue, postpone the game, or move to another server. The referee will make the final decision.
      10. In the case that a player lags out during a stoppage of play, the ref will provide ample time for a substitution to be made. If a player lags out just as the ref is about to drop the puck, players must expect play to resume anyway.

        If a goalie lags out before the drop, the referee should be notified via private message. A team may also stand where the referee is dropping to get his attention. If the puck is dropped anyway, the clock may be quickly stopped to allow a goalie substitution (and any faceoff violation will be cancelled.) Once play has started teams are expected to play on. Teams are expected to have a goalie backup ready to enter the game.

        During play, if a player lags out, and a mass-lagout is not called, teams are responsible for what happens next. If their goalie lags out and a goal is scored, then the goal will stand if a mass-lagout did not occur.
      11. Substitutions: The arena will be kept open to allow teams to substitute freely. If goalies sub in across their blue-line and interfere with the play, they will receive a penalty (refer to the penalty chart.)
      12. Own Goals: Any and all own goals will count as a goal for the opposing team (assuming that the goal was not caused by lag, or by the goalie being killed inside the crease.)
      13. Puck Lost: If the puck should leave play or be respawned at center ice due to any abnormal activity (such as a bug in the server software), the referee should immediately stop the clock, discount any goals that are scored or violations that happen because of this occurrence.
      14. Post Game: The referee will award a first, second, and third stars, announced publically, to the three best skaters of each game. He'll then perform his normal referee duties designated by the Head Ref (ie: procedures for posting of games onto CI).
      15. Game Appeals
        After the game has been completed, a team may contest the result of the game. The League Coordinator will evaluate the result of the game and they will verify the submitted result of the game is correct, and then forward the matter to the Appeals Coordinator.
        Appeals should be used if there is a reasonable claim that a mistake in running the game significantly impacted the final result. Conditions include ineligible or suspended players playing in the game, calls mishandled, vote abuse, or referee misconduct. The Appeals Coordinator will decide whether the results will be changed, overturned, or if the game in question will be replayed. Games will either be completely replayed or not at all, individual periods or minutes in the game may not be redone.
    7. Forfeiture/Mercy
      A team will forfeit a game or be mercied (ending the game) if any of the following situations occur:
      1. Less than four players show up to the game. (Forfeit / No-show)
      2. A team with 4 players falls behind a team with 6 players by two goals. (Mercy)
      3. A team falls behind by ten goals in a game. (Mercy)
      The referee may override these rules if:
      1. A team intentionally keeps players out of the game to avoid causing a mercy.
      2. A team temporarily falls under the required player count to continue due to lag outs.
      3. A team is running up the score by allowing an opponent to score to keep them from reaching a mercy.
      If during a stoppage a team temporarily has fallen below the number of required players to avoid a forfeit or mercy, the referee may stall the game momentarily to allow the players to reenter the game. However, if the players do not enter or are not able to stay in the game, the referee will call the game.

      When a forfeit is called, if the forfeiting team was also not losing the game, the score will be set so that the winning-by-default team scored 1 more goal than the defaulting team. Otherwise the score is not modified.

  5. Calls and Violations

    1. Goal Area Violations
      1. Lag: Goals that are caused by lag (puck phase, spikes by involved players, delay release, illegal tanks) as determined by the goal judging frequency will not count. Shots that lag, passes to the shooter that lag, or any scoring opportunity caused by lag may have the goal negated.
      2. Crease: A crease goal will be called, and the goal negated, if any part of the shooter's ship is past the red inner-crease line. The inner-crease line is the red 1-pixel thick line between the crease tiles and the goal.
      3. Defensive Crease: Any defensive player who catches a shot or pass from the opposing team (or who has the puck lag through them) inside their own team's crease will be assessed a defensive crease penalty (DC) with the following exceptions:
        1. no defensive crease will be assessed if there is no goalie ship in the crease, and the person who caught the puck was the only one from the defending team in the crease. to be clear, this exception does not apply when more than one defender is in the crease. also unlike previous seasons, the only people who can catch an enemy shot/pass in the crease are the goalie (any time) and a defender assuming he is the only defender in the crease and there is no goalie.
        2. no defensive crease will be assessed if the puck bounced off a wall and headed opposite the direction of the side the team was on. for example, a puck bouncing off the wall and flying to the right into the left side crease would not count for defensive crease, but a puck bouncing off the wall and flying to the left would be eligible for a defensive crease on the left goal.
        3. no defensive crease will be assessed if the puck hit the goal post and ricocheted away from the net afterwards. (pucks hitting the post and bouncing into the net are still eligible for defensive crease.)
        4. no defensive crease will be assessed if the puck was shot while the offensive player was in the crease.
        5. no defensive crease will be assessed if lag caused the defensive crease, either by the pass lagging, or any other situation which would result in a goal on the same shot being called lag instead.
        Note that the position that the player is in counts, not the position of the ball when it is picked up. For this rule, catching a live ball that is in the crease is legal, catching a live ball while inside the crease is not.
        A defensive crease will be deemed a blatant defensive crease (BDC) if it stops a sure goal. A sure goal is one where the referee determines with absolute certainty that the puck was heading into the net as opposed to hitting the post and bouncing away or flying wide of the net altogther, and the goalie had absolutely no chance of stopping the puck based on position and momentum. Refer to the penalty chart.

        Further Clarification of Lag and DC:
        • If the defensive player is in the crease and catching the puck would cause a DC, but instead causes the puck to phase on its way to the net, the penalty for defensive creasing will still be assessed. Refer to the penalty chart.
        • A lag goal through a Defensive Crease (DC) which would have surely otherwise resulted in a goal will be called: No Goal. Blatant Defensive Crease on the BDCing player.
        • A lag goal through a Defensive Crease (DC) which would have been a defensive crease (not a sure goal if the DC didn't happen) will be called: No Goal: Defensive crease on the DCing player.
    2. Open Ice Violations
      1. Killing: Any non-goalie player is considered open to being killed at any time by anyone, within limit.

        Goalies inside their own crease may not be shot at. Any player shooting a goalie in his crease will draw a general public warning. Further shooting by any player will result in a penalty. Blatantly shooting the goalie in the crease (when there were no other ships to even shoot at, for example) may draw a penalty at any time if the check impacted the play. Killing a goalie in the crease will always draw a penalty. Any goals scored as a result of a penalized check/kill of the goalie in the crease will not count. Refer to the penalty chart.
      2. Respawnkilling: A player killed more than twice in five seconds has been respawnkilled. The players who made the third and any subsequent kills will be assessed penalties, unless the offending kills occurred as a result of trying to take the puck away from the puck carrier, as a result of trying to kill a player right as or right before they catch the puck, or as part of any effort by the a player who in the play to disrupt the other team's pass, movement to catch a pass, or shot.
        Other situations may qualify as being "in the play" and will not be penalized. Situations that are "out of the play" will be penalized. Note that only the third and subsequent kills are evaluated for assessing this penalty, the first two kills may occur in the play and still draw a violation a few seconds later on the third kill.

        Using a ballkill on a player does not grant you automatic immunity from a respawnkill penalty; if a player is being ballkilled intentionally and repeatedly (at least 3 times in 5 seconds), a respawnkilling penalty may be called.
      3. Offsides: If any player on the team that is not the player taking the face-off lines up on the wrong side, is inside the face-off circle (past the face-off circle tiles), or across the center ice line, a penalty will be assessed.

        Offsides will not be assessed if a player is barely offsides and their team loses the faceoff. A face-off is won by the team that first gets possession of the puck after it leaves the face-off circle.
        Refer to the penalty chart.
      4. Jump / Face-off Encroachment: If when the referee drops the puck, the player taking the faceoff for a team is not on his team's safe-zone, or the player is in motion, a faceoff violation will be assessed for jumping.
        If the player is encroaching off of the faceoff pad, near where the referee is trying to drop, the referee may require another teammate take the faceoff instead. The referee, however, should first look to see if the player was trying to have a player substitute in, if reasonable no penalty will be called in this situation.

        No penalty for jumping will be assessed if the player's team loses the faceoff. A face-off is won by the team that first gets possession of the puck after it leaves the face-off circle.
        Refer to the penalty chart.
    3. Miscellaneous Violations
      1. Delay of Game: Any intentional delay of game, as deemed by the referee, will be penalized. Refer to the penalty chart.
      2. Unsportsmanlike Team Misconduct: Should any team act in a manner that is deemed inappropriate and childish, the team in question will be accessed a Delay of Game 1st violation penalty and the player selected will be at the discretion of the Referee. If the team fails to adhere to the Head Referee’s warning, the game will be ended immediately and the team in question will be reported to the LC for further disciplinary actions.
      3. Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Any player who uses inappropriate language or has an inappropriate attitude, as deemed by the referee, will be given a public warning. If the player continues or repeats an offense, the referee will silence the player.
      4. During a stoppage of play (excluding breaks), a player should not touch the puck, unless to pass it to the referee who just passed it to him. Failure to comply may result in a Delay of Game penalty.
      5. Illegal Ship: Each player may only use one goalie ship and one non-goalie ship per game. The first ship of each type used by the player will be the one he must use for that game. If he uses another ship for any duration of time, a penalty will be assessed. Refer to the penalty chart.
      6. Bug Exploitation: Any form of exploitation of bugs in the current version of Continuum or the server is a violation. Refer to the penalty chart.
      7. Goalie Across Blue Line: As long as the goalie is not interfering in the play, they may cross their team's blue line. Otherwise play will be stopped and a penalty will be assessed.

        Interference includes but is not limited to:
        • Catching the puck
        • Shooting at a member of the opposing team (even non-kills are considered interference)
        • Causing players, especially the ball carrier, to have to move in order to be open to make or receive a pass.
        • Causes an opposition ball carrier or opposing player to take evasive action
        • Shields a teammate from an opponent's attempt to check
        Refer to the penalty chart. Note that the first violation for this rule should have the penalty assessed against another teammate at the captain's discretion.
    4. Types of Penalties
      When a rule violation has occurred, the referee will stop the play (except in the case of Delayed Penalties, see below.) Any significant events that happen after a rule violation and before play is stopped (such as a goal, or another rule violation) will still be counted.
      If a clean goal is scored after a rule violation but before the penalty is assessed, both the penalty and goal will count. Referees should process events in the order they happen: if a Respawnkill occurs, then a Defensive Crease, then a goal, the referee should issue penalties first for Respawnkill, then for Defensive Crease, then call the goal.
      Effectively, minor penalties will not be served if a goal is scored against the offending team right after, but the penalties should still be assessed so that they go on record.
      1. Delayed Penalties: The play will be stopped to evaluate a violation or assess a penalty only when one of the following conditions has been met:
        • The puck is not in the offending team's defensive zone (the puck is not behind the blue line on their side of the rink)
        • The offensive momentum has been stopped: puck is not being held by or passed to an offensive player, and no offensive player has an immediate chance to steal/check the defender or pick up the puck (i.e. a ballkill by the offensive team may occur without stopping momentum. any turnover to the defensive team will not immediately cause momentum to have stopped, only if there is no imminent chance for the offense to take the puck back.)
        • More than one violation has occurred.
      2. Penalty Shots: When a penalty shot is assessed, all players except the goalie and shooters must remain at center ice or in the spectator mode until the penalty shot has been completed. A penalty shot is initiated when the goalie is ready, and when one of the shooters touches the puck.

        The goalie must be in the crease when the penalty shot begins. If the goalie is not inside the crease when the penalty shot begins, unless a clean goal is scored on that try, the penalty shot will be redone.

        If two MiPS are assessed for different penalties, then two MiPS will be taken, not one MaPS.

        Only players that were on the ice at the time of the rule violation may participate in the penalty shot, including shooters and goalies. The goalie for the offending team in the game when (or immediately before) the violation happens must be goalie on the penalty shot.

        If a goalie expected to take a penalty shot leaves the game for any reason and either is unable to or refuses to reenter the game, the team may be additionally assessed with a Delay of Game penalty.

        If the team had no goalie during or immediately before the violation, any player who was in the game at the time of the violation may shipchange to their goalie ship for the penalty shot.

        Penalty shots will be redone in these situations:
        • The goal was called lag because the shot lagged through a shooter, or one of the shooters was the cause of the lag. (Lag Goal/Redo) This only applies once, if on a redo after this exception is invoked, a shooter causes lag, the penalty shot is over and no goal is scored (Lag Goal/End Penalty Shot)
        • Any penalty shot participants (goalie or shooters) leave the rink due to lagging out before the penalty shot has begun. (Stop Play/Redo)
        • A mass lagout occurs during the penalty shot. (Stop Play/Redo)
        Penalty shots will not be redone in these situations:
        • The goal was called lag because the shot or a pass lagged through the goalie. (Lag Goal/Save)
          Exception: If the goalie begins lagging extremely such that it disrupts the play and causes a lag goal, a redo will be permitted. (Lag Goal/Redo)
        • The goal was called crease. (Crease Goal/End Penalty Shot)
        • Any penalty shot participants (goalie or shooters) leave the rink after the penalty shot has begun. (Continue Play)
        • A ship legitly survives a shot from the goalie, not a lag/tank (Dud/Continue Play)
        Penalty shots automatically result in no-goal by the shooters in these situations:
        • On a MaPS, one of the shooters shoots the goalie when the goalie is in the crease. (No penalty for attacking a goalie in the crease will be assessed, however violations for delay of game, unsportsmanlike conduct, and other misconduct may still be assessed.) (Stop Play/No Goals Count/Save)
        • 15 seconds elapse from the start of the penalty shot. Goals that go in after time is called will not count. (Stop Play/No Goals Count/Save)
        • The puck hits the back wall. (Stop Play/No Goals Count/Save)
        • The goalie catches the puck (Stop Play/Save)
          Exception: If the goalie begins lagging extremely such that it disrupts the play and causes a save, a redo will be permitted. (Redo)
      3. Minor Penalty Shot (MiPS): One shooter gets an attempt to score on the goalie. Once the puck leaves his ship, he cannot regain the puck and try again. The puck will be set on the blue line before the penalty shot begins.
      4. Major Penalty Shot (MaPS): Two shooters working together at once get an attempt to score on the goalie. The puck is set on the blue line before the penalty shot begins. Shooters may pass to each another. The puck may not bounce off the back wall (walls in the corner or the top/bottom sides are okay), and the goal must enter the net before 15 seconds elapse.
      5. Minor Penalty (MiP): The offending player is moved into their team's penalty box, and their team must play with one less player than normal for two minutes of gameplay. If a clean goal is scored against the offending team, one minor penalty (with the least amount of time remaining, if there is more than one, and the first one assessed if the penalties were assessed at the same time) will be automatically ended.

        Note that when less than two minutes remain on the clock in the third period (or fourth period when not in playoffs,) MiPS will be assessed instead of MiP.
      6. Major Penalty (MaP): The offending player is moved into their team's penalty box, and the team must play with one less player than normal for five minutes of gameplay. No major penalties will be removed when a goal is scored against the team.

        Note that when less than five minutes remain on the clock in the third period (or fourth period when not in playoffs,) MaPS will be assessed instead of MaP.
      7. Game Misconduct Penalty (GaM): The offending player is removed from the game and may not reenter at any time. A teammate that was in the game at the time of the violation, of the offending team captain/acting-captain's choice is moved into their team's penalty box, and the team must play with one less player than normal for five minutes of gameplay. No game-misconduct penalties will be removed when a goal is scored against the team.

        Note that when less than five minutes remain on the clock in the third period (or fourth period when not in playoffs,) a MaPS will be assessed instead of boxing a player (but the offending player will still be removed from the game.)
      8. Substituted Penalties: Captains may optionally substitute a penalty against a player who was in goalie ship at the time of the violation, with another player who was in the game at the time of the violation, for the following penalties only:
        • Respawnkilling MiP
        • Respawnkilling MaP
        • Goalie Susbtitution Delay MiP
        • Goalie Susbtitution Delay MaP
        • Goalie Across Blue Line MiP
        These exceptions are provided to allow for competitive play even through accidental violations. Other penalties against the goalie may be substituted at the referee's discretion. The goalie is still expected to adhere to sportsmanlike and orderly conduct, and should not expect to avoid sitting in the box if he or she is not. In the event a goalie is boxed, the goalie must sit in a non-goalie ship or spectate.

      9. Designated Penalties: Some penalties may apply to a team in general as opposed to an individual player, but a player must still be boxed for these penalties. The captain of the penalized team may choose the player to box on the following penalties:
        • Goalie Substitution Delay MiP
        • Goalie Substitution Delay MaP
        Additionally another player may sit in the box while a penalized player is substituted out--the penalized player must remain in spectator mode or the box, the substitute may sit in the box until the penalized player enters the game.

        The referee will decide who to box on the following penalties if a specific choice is not clear from the violation:
        • Delay of Game MiP
        • Delay of Game MaP
        • Unsportsmanlike Team Conduct MiP
      10. Double Penalties: Should a player have two or more box penalties assessed against him at the same time, another player that was on the ice at the time of the violation must be boxed instead for one of the penalties (unless the exception in the next paragraph is invoked). The captain of the offending team will choose the substitute. The offending player should be boxed for the most amount of time in the case of one MaP and one MiP.

        In the situation of two MiP being assessed to one person at the same time, the captain may opt to have only the offending player boxed, but for four minutes instead of two, to serve both penalties consecutively. Any clean goal scored by the opposing team will reduce this penalty by 2 minutes. This exception is only available to combine two MiP against one player, and only if the violations occur during the same play, a player earning one penalty and then later earning another penalty when he is still penalized is not eligible to have penalty time added on.
    5. Penalty Chart
      Table of Punishable Actions and the Associated Punishment Type (All suspensions are automatic suspensions)
      Violation1st Violation2nd ViolationSubsequent Violations
      Attacking Goalie in the CreaseMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Blatant Defensive CreaseMaPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Bug ExploitationMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Defensive CreaseMiPMiPMaP
      Delay of GameMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Delay of Game in Overtime*MaPMaP + SuspensionMaP + Suspension
      Faceoff ViolationMiPMiPMaP + Suspension
      Goalie Across Blue LineMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Goalie Susbtitution DelayMiPMiPMiP
      Illegal ShipMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      RespawnkillingMiPMaPMaP + Suspension
      Unsportsmanlike ConductMiPGaMGaM + Suspension
      Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Team)MiP(see above)(see above)
      * Delay of Game in Overtime penalties also count the number of violations committed for regular Delay of Game.

      All penalties are assessed as a team. i.e., if one commits a penalty for the first time, but it is his team's third penalty of that type, he will be assessed the third-time penalty.

      In addition, should any minor violation be committed within the last two minutes of the third period, a minor penalty shot will be assessed instead. For a major violation, a major penalty shot will be assessed during the last five minutes of the third period. On a Delayed Penalty, the time the penalty is assessed is what decides whether a penalty shot or a box penalty is used, instead of the time of the violation.

      During preseason and regular season overtime, penalties are assessed as normal (not penalty shots) until the last 2 and last 5 minute thresholds are reached, at which point penalties are treated like it were the third period. During the postseason, no penalty shots are used during overtime.

      For example: a goalie crosses his blue line and interferes in the play while across three times. On the first time, the offending team will be assessed a minor penalty. On the second time, the team will be assessed a major penalty. On the third time, the offending team will be assessed a major penalty and the offending goalie will get an automatic one-game suspension to be served on their next game.

  6. Disclaimer

    These rules are subject to change when circumstances require it. These rules are meant to be guidelines to the referees and players but under special circumstances the Board of Directors, League Coordinators, Zone Sysops, or Referee may announce an alternate ruling.