The tournament shall follow the Official Playing Rules of USA Hockey and the Rules and Regulations of the Amateur Hockey Association Illinois, Inc. (AHAI) except as noted herein.

• Boarding, Checking from Behind, and Head Contact—A minor penalty plus a misconduct penalty shall be assessed.
• For the second misconduct penalty assessed to the same player during the same game, a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to that player in lieu of the second misconduct penalty.
• A “GAME MISCONDUCT” penalty involves the suspension of a player or Team Official for the balance of the game. A player or Team Official incurring a game misconduct penalty shall also be suspended for his team’s next game.
• Fighting—A major penalty plus a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player who engages in fighting. Any player who engages in fighting will be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.
• Any player or Team Official who receives a “MATCH” penalty will be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.
• Zero Tolerance will be observed by all participants—Any coach or spectator ejected from a game for a zero tolerance violation may not be allowed back into arena for the remainder of that day’s session.

• Participating teams shall be registered with AHAI and shall submit an official copy of the team roster to the Tournament Officials.
• Participating coaches are required to have a valid, up-to-date USA Hockey Coaching Education Program (CEP) card. Coaches may be asked to show their CEP card.
• Locker rooms will be assigned to teams by the ice arena front desk. Locker room keys will be issued following the guidelines of the Rolling Meadows Park District. Managers or coaches should inspect their respective locker rooms before allowing players to dress and report any damage found prior to their usage to the front desk. Teams will be responsible for any damage done to the facility. Please keep locker rooms clean.

Tournament format

• Consists of a three-game Seeding Round followed by a Consolation game or a Semi-Final game.
  • Winners of the Semi-Final games will advance to the Championship game.
  • Home teams for the Championship games will be determined by the Tournament Officials.
• JV and Varsity games will have three periods of 20 minutes with a running clock.
  • Clock will stop in the third period in the last two minutes if there is a goal differential of 2 or less.
  • The clock will be stopped for any major injury or major penalty requiring explanation by the referees.
• There are no timeouts except in the Semi-Final or Championship games, where each team will be permitted one 1-minute timeout per game.
• All games will begin at the scheduled time. Teams shall be prepared to play at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
• Ice will be resurfaced at the start of each game.
• Home team will wear white or light colored jerseys.

Overtime rules for Semi-Final and Championship games

• If a Semi-Final game or a Championship game is tied at the end of regulation time, there will be a five (5) minute sudden death overtime period.
  • Any unexpired penalties at the end of regulation time will carry over to the overtime period.
• If the game remains tied at the end of the overtime period, there will be a three person shoot-out to determine the winner.
  • The first three shooters are to be submitted by the coach to the referee prior to the shootout.
• If a winner is not determined after the first three shooters, a sudden death shootout will commence wherein the two teams will work through the remaining players on the bench until a winner is determined.
  • Once either team has used all its available skaters in a shoot-out, both teams will revert back to the original three shooters selected by the coaches at the start of the shoot-out.

Scoring format for determining Seeding Round standings

• 2 points for a win
• 1 point for a tie
• 0 points for a loss
• Any forfeit will be settled with a 1-0 score. The winning teams average goals for and against of its other two games will be used for tie breaking measures in place of the forfeit score.

Criteria for determining Pool/Group/Bracket Winners as well as Wildcard winner

• Team with most point awarded
• Most wins
• Head-to-head
• Goal differential (Maximum 5 per game)
• Fewest goals allowed
• Least penalty minutes
• Coin toss or random drawing if three tied teams

All Zero Tolerance rules as defined by USA Hockey and AHAI Policies will be strictly enforced for all players, coaches, parents and fans. In addition:

• Any player deemed to “attempt to injure” will be removed from the tournament immediately.
• Any player or coach receiving two game misconducts will be removed from the tournament.
• Any obscene act or gesture will result in the player or coach being removed from the tournament.
• Any removed player or coach that does not immediately leave the ice area and go directly to their locker room or leave the building will be removed from the tournament.
• Any parent or fan acting in an obscene, inappropriate or poor sportsmanlike manner will be removed from the tournament. In addition to the on-ice officials, tournament officials will also have the authority to remove fans acting in this manner. Refusal to leave the property will result in forfeiture for their team.
• Good, clean hockey with solid checking as a normal part of the game and supportive fans cheering their teams is strongly encouraged.

• Display good sportsmanship. Always respect players, coaches and officials.
• Act appropriately; do not taunt or disturb other fans; enjoy the game together.
• Cheer good plays of all participants; avoid booing opponents.
• Cheer in a positive manner and encourage fair play; profanity and objectionable cheers or gestures are offensive.
• Help provide a safe and fun environment; throwing any items on the ice surface can cause injury to players and officials.
• Do not lean over or pound on the glass; the glass surrounding the ice surface is part of the playing area.
• Support the referees and coaching staff by trusting their judgment and integrity.
• Be responsible for your own safety—be alert to prevent accidents from flying pucks and other avoidable situations.
• Respect locker rooms as private areas for players, coaches, and officials.
• Be supportive after the game—win or lose. Recognize good effort, teamwork and sportsmanship.

As a condition to being granted permission to enter and watch the Showcase Tournament games, each spectator agrees to the following:

• Any person entering the viewing and game area of the ice arena as a spectator shall comply with the Spectator Code of Conduct above.
• Any spectator who displays inappropriate or disruptive behavior which interferes with other spectators or with the game may be directed to leave the viewing/game area by an on-ice official or tournament official.  Spectators shall leave the viewing/game area immediately upon being so directed.
• Once removed from the viewing area, a violator will not be authorized to re-renter the ice arena to view any other game for the remainder of the tournament.  Any unauthorized re-entry by a violator will be result in the police being contacted.