Rules and Regulations
ARTICLE I
Membership and Team Registration
1.1 All Premier Girls Hockey League (PGHL) member organizations are required to pay a non- refundable per team League fee prior to the beginning of each regular season. The amount and due date of said fee shall be set by the Board of Directors of the PGHL.
1.2 All teams fielded by an PGHL member organization must be registered with USA Hockey, Inc. (hereinafter “USA Hockey”), by and through its local affiliate, and as required thereby. Official USA Hockey rosters for each PGHL team will be filed with their organization prior to the first League game of the season. The Director of each organization will submit all certified team rosters in PDF form electronically to the League in one batch prior to the first PGHL game of the season.
ARTICLE II
Team and Player Eligibility
2.1 PGHL teams may only carry on their rosters players who are validly registered with their local USA Hockey affiliate. Except as may be otherwise provided for herein, once a team turns in its official roster to the League, it is frozen as to players who are eligible to play on that team for that year’s regular season and playoffs. Thereafter, a team may only add players to its roster by and with the express approval of the Commissioner of the PGHL. Said approval may only be granted when hardship or other exigent circumstances warrant it.
2.2 Teams claiming hardship or exigent circumstances that necessitate the adding of a new player to their roster must first receive the required permission from their USA Hockey affiliate for the addition and must thereafter petition the Commissioner for permission to roster the new player. This petition shall be made in writing to the Commissioner and shall explain in detail the circumstances that warrant the addition. In order for permission to be granted, the request must receive approval from the Commissioner. The Commissioner will inform the petitioning organization of the determination. Thereafter, the petitioning team shall only have recourse to the Board of Directors if it is able to muster enough support among the League members to call for a Special Meeting of the Board. In any event, the Commissioner’s or the Board’s determination, as the case may be, shall be final. The Commissioner may unilaterally approve additions to rosters under twenty (20) players as long as the added player did not come from a League partner in the current or previous season (pending all financial obligations with the prior club are met.)
2.3 Teams needing to bring a player up to an older level may do so providing the player is within their own organization, the move is for a specified amount of time (games) and the local affiliate has approved the temporary move of the player. This move should be viewed as temporary and does not constitute a change in the original certified roster provided to the league. Should a permanent roster change be warranted, please refer to section 2.1 and 2.2.
2.4 A player to be added to a team’s roster as provided for herein must receive written release from his current team, must be registered with his new team in compliance with all USA Hockey and USA Hockey local affiliate requirements, and must not have any outstanding financial obligations to another PGHL team or organization. Such a player may not play in any PGHL game until such player has received written permission to do so from the League Commissioner and or Board of Directors.
2.5 To be eligible for competition in the PGHL, a player must be validly registered with USA Hockey through the player’s USA Hockey local affiliate both individually and as a member of a validly registered team. There are no exceptions to this rule.
2.6 All PGHL team rosters must comply with USA Hockey requirements.
2.7 Any team that plays a game with an unrostered player, or with an improperly rostered player, shall forfeit that game. If a team persists in playing such a player, it shall be guilty of conduct detrimental to the PGHL and may be sanctioned or fined. The purpose of the following is to ensure all people affiliated with the PGHL have a clear understanding of the League policies governing tampering and the recruitment of Players, Coaches, and Managers. Failure to follow the rules, regulations, and policies may subject the offending individuals to disciplinary action including revocation of member in good standing status. Team and/or organizational success should be built around the development of individual and team skills and not through the recruitment of players. The PGHL operates under the auspices of USA Hockey and its local affiliates. As such, all USAH rules, regulations, and policies governing the conduct of Coaches, Players, and Organizations in regard to player recruitment apply to all PGHL members.
ARTICLE III
Player Registration
3.1 All players and parents/guardians must complete a Player Commitment document, supplied by the member organization or local affiliate, prior to the commencement of each season in order to be eligible to play in the PGHL for that season. Player Commitment documents must be signed by a designated organization officer.
3.2 All rostered players, parents/guardians and coaches who participate in PGHL games must register with the PGHL under the organizations they are currently rostered with and agree to abide by all rules and regulations of the PGHL and USA Hockey.
3.3 If a player moves within the season to a different PGHL organization, is rostered on a new team and the player is participating in PGHL games, a new registration is required for the player and parent/guardian under the new PGHL organization.
3.4 A player with unpaid financial obligations to any PGHL Member or Associate Member club or team will not be permitted to participate in any PGHL game or other League activity for any other PGHL Member or Associate Member club in the present season or any future seasons until such financial obligations are paid in full.
ARTICLE IV
Tampering And Recruitment of Players, Coaches, And Managers
The tampering or recruitment of Players, Coaches, and Managers rule includes the following. The intent of the following is to prevent a coach or Manager from taking a team or group of players from a team from one organization to another.
4.1 This rule is in addition to all applicable rules, guidelines, and codes of ethics issued by USA Hockey and USA Hockey Affiliates (e.g., AHAI, MAHA, WAHA, MISSOURI HOCKEY etc.).
a) In-Season Contact - Contact with any player(s) should not occur during the progress of a season when the player’s team is still actively engaged in their schedule of play.
4.2 For purposes of this rule, recruiting and tampering is defined as any communication to or from a current PGHL Player (including a parent or guardian), Coach, or Manager to attempt to persuade the Player, Coach, or Manager to become affiliated with any other PGHL team or club for the current or future PGHL playing seasons.
a) All Directors, Coaches, Managers, and other agents (including players and their parents or guardians) of member and/or associate member organizations or teams are prohibited, directly or indirectly, from recruiting or otherwise tampering with players, coaches, or managers during the playing season.
b) For purposes of this PGHL Policy, the playing season commences on the date a Player, Coach, or Manager signs on with his/her organization for the upcoming season and ends on the last day of the season for his/her age division.
c) Any person registered with USA Hockey as a Coach or Manager of an PGHL team is prohibited from coaching or managing in the same age division the following season without the express written permission of the preceding member organization’s Director unless the current PGHL organization has elected not to retain the coach or manager for the upcoming season.
d) Notwithstanding the above, a Coach or Manager may move to a prohibited age division provided the Coach or Manager (if he/she was previously on the USA Hockey roster) obtains written consent (filed electronically with the PGHL Office) from the previous organization's Director. If the current PGHL organization elects not to retain the Coach or Manager in his current position for the following season, the Coach or Manager is free to move to any PGHL organization in any position.
e) A player, if he/she wants to switch teams during the season (prior to the official tryout date for said division), must have written consent (filed electronically with the League Office) from the previous organization's Director, as well as a release from USA Hockey through its affiliate, before being officially released to pursue or join another organization.
f) Notwithstanding the above, a Player, Coach, or Manager is eligible to receive or initiate discussions with a Director, Coach, Manager or agent of a member organization and/or associate member organization provided that written permission is granted by the recruitee’s organization in advance.
g) Exceptions to the policies outlined above may be made at the discretion of the PGHL Board of Directors.
h) Claimed violations of this policy shall be referred for investigation to the Board of Directors, which shall have the authority to investigate the claim, determine if a policy violation occurred, and assess discipline to the involved Player, Coach, Manager, or Team or Club official. i) Violations of this policy subject the identified party(s) to disciplinary action up to and including revocation of member in good standing status in the PGHL and consequent ineligibility to participate as a member of the PGHL until such designation is rescinded by the League office.
j) Organizations must notify a Coach or Manager that he/she is not being retained no later than 48 hours after the last game of the Youth National Championships for National bound teams and 48 hours after the last State Championship game for non-National bound teams.
4.3 League Process: The complaining organization/team compiles the documentation outlining and supporting the allegation. The complaining organization/team notifies the League Office of allegation via email. The complaining organization’s Director will contact alleged violating organization’s Director to discuss the issue and attempt to reach understanding regarding what happened. The complaining organization sends the League Office a detailed statement of the issue and the status reached after conversations with the alleged violating organization. If applicable, the violating organization recommends internal disciplinary action against the perpetrator and sends a formal statement of planned action to the PGHL Board of Directors for concurrence. The PGHL Board of Directors takes appropriate action based on the above.
ARTICLE V
Player Equipment and Jerseys
5.1 All players shall be required to wear USA Hockey approved and required equipment for all games and practices.
5.2 Each team shall have both a “home” jersey based primarily upon a light color and a darker “away” jersey based primarily upon their organization’s colors. The home team in all games shall wear their lighter-colored home jerseys and the visiting team shall wear their darker-colored jerseys. However, if the referees determine that it is difficult to distinguish one team from the other based on these jerseys, it shall be the responsibility of the home team to change jerseys.
ARTICLE VI
League Structure, Teams and Team Divisions
6.1 Playing Classifications. The PGHL will offer playing divisions for the following age classifications
a) 19U (19 and under)
b) 16U (16 and under)
c) 19U/16U Combined (19 and under)
d) 14U (14 and under)
e) 12U (12 and under)
f) 10U (10 and under)
6.2 Playing Divisions. Each age classification will offer multiple playing divisions (2-3), depending on a team’s competitive level, application, results, seeding rounds, and any other available metrics.
6.3 Age groups 14U / 16U / 19U:
a) Placement: No seeding rounds as direct placement is made by the selection committee.
b) Scheduling: All scheduling can start upon team placement and acceptance.
c) Composition: 5-12 teams per division.
d) Play Format: Each team plays 2-3 times against each other (home + away).
e) Total Games: Total Games will be determined by the selection committee after divisions
placements and seedings are completed.
f) (See Objective Framework for Team Selection and Division Placement)
6.4 Age groups 10U &; 12U:
a) Placement: All divisions will include a seeding round, including between 4-8 games, and a full season division schedule (after the seeding round).
b) Scheduling: (See Schedule for Team Placement, Seeding and Scheduling)
c) Composition: Fewer than 15 teams in each division, with possible subdivisions based on compete levels (higher and lower)
d) Play Format: Teams play 2-3 times against each other, depending on division size and team counts.
e) Total Games: Total Games will be determined by the selection committee after the seeding round and full season division placements are completed.
6.5 Combined 16U + 19U Division:
a) Placement: The selection committee shall make the division based on criteria if a separate 16U and 19U is possible at the Top Divisions and/or Lower divisions.
b) Intra-Club Play: In the event a division has a combined 16U and 19U division, Intra-club teams will not play each other and will be replaced with teams from like-minded clubs selected by the selection committee.
c) Playoffs: In the event a division has a combined 16U and 19U division, it will be evaluated by the league board, with input from the selection committee, if a separate 16U and 19U league championship should be played at the end of the season and will be announced no later than Dec 31st of that season.
6.6 Local Teams & Local Clubs: Local Teams and Local Clubs are defined as any team and/or club whose home rink is within 100 miles of the PGHL home office – 6690 S Route 53, Woodridge, IL
a) All local clubs with teams matching Tier 2 AA or A must commit to having all their eligible teams commit to league participation. Clubs failing to do so will not be allowed to join the league.
b) Local teams’ entry fee is $1,500 per team.
6.7 Non-Local Teams & Non-Local Clubs: Non-Local Teams and Non-Local Clubs are identified and defined as any team whose home rink is outside of 100 miles of the PGHL home office – 6690 S Route 53, Woodridge, IL
a) Non-local teams will be evaluated individually for league acceptance and not subject to the above “all teams” requirement.
b) Non-Local teams’ entry fee is $1,875 per team.
i) Non-Local teams are charged a 25% escalator to help offset the local team’s ice cost for additional ice fees incurred when exercising the Peoria Rule.
ii) See Peoria Rule and Tavel Refusal for Local and Non-Local Teams
6.8 Peoria Rule and Travel Refusal for Local and Non-Local Teams:
a) Local Teams Travel Refusal – Local Teams are not required to travel to Non-Local home games. If a travel refusal is decided by the Local Team, the Local Team must provide the ice, refs and scorekeepers for the non-local home games.
i) These game slots cannot be scheduled on Friday evening.
ii) Saturday Games must be scheduled with a start time at or AFTER 9:45 am
iii) Sunday games must be scheduled with a start time BEFORE 3:30 pm
ARTICLE VII
Games
7.1 Playing Rules. USA Hockey rules and penalties shall apply to all PGHL games.
7.2 Length of League Non-Playoff Games.
a) Girls 19U & 16U games:
i) League Scheduled Non-Playoff Games: All League Scheduled Non-Playoff games
shall be three (3) 15-minute stop-time periods with a five (5) minute pre-game warm-up.
This section applies to all PGHL games.
b) Girls 14U League Non-Playoff Games:
i) League Scheduled Non-Playoff Games: All PGHL 14U non-playoff games shall be three (3) 14-minute stop-time periods with a three (3) minute pre-game warm-up. This section applies to all PGHL games.
c) Girls 12U League Non-Playoff Games:
i) League Scheduled Non-Playoff Games: All PGHL 12U non-playoff games shall be three (3) 13-minute stop-time periods with a three (3) minute pre-game warm-up. This section applies to all PGHL games.
d) Girls 10U League Non-Playoff Games:
i) League Scheduled Non-Playoff Games: All PGHL 10U non-playoff games shall be three (3) 12-minute stop-time periods with a three (3) minute pre-game warm-up. This section applies to all PGHL games.
e) Tie Games in League Non-Playoff Games:
i) If the game is tied after regulation play, the following will apply:
a) A three (3) minute sudden death 3 on 3 (three on three) overtime period. Any overtime period shall be considered part of the game, and all unexpired penalties shall remain in force. If a team ended the game in regulation time with a 5 on 4 advantage, the advantage will continue as 4 on 3 in the overtime period. If there is still no winner at the end of the overtime period, the game will end in a tie.
f) Rest Time between Periods:
Rest time between periods shall be one minute. In all PGHL games the timekeeper shall
immediately run one minute (1:00) on the game clock and the next period shall begin
immediately thereafter.
7.3 Game Officials. All PGHL games shall be officiated by the USA Hockey two-official system. When the two official systems are used, the duties of the linesmen will be carried out by both referees. The home team shall provide the scorekeepers. All PGHL games will require each team to provide an off- ice official for their team’s penalty box.
7.4 Scoresheets & Game Reporting. The home team is responsible for reporting the game score.
i) the score must be reported in the REGYSTRA system within 24 hours of the game completion.
ii) the scoresheet must be uploaded to the REGYSTRA system within 24 hours of the
game completion.
iii) fines may be levied per team/organization for repeat failure to report
scores/sheets within the 24 hours of game completion
7.5 Timeouts. During the regular season and playoffs, each team will be allowed one (1) minute
timeout.
7.6 Handshakes. Team handshakes take place after each PGHL game.
7.7 Running Clock. In all PGHL games, whenever a goal differential of six (6) goals or more exists in the third period, the game shall revert to “running” time. Under this rule, the game shall revert to “stop” time whenever the goal differential is three (3) goals or less.
7.8 Major Penalties. All major penalties, whether for fighting or otherwise, shall be governed by USA Hockey Rules in effect at the time, and by Article 10 of these Rules and Regulations.
7.9 USA Hockey has adopted changes to the USA Hockey playing rules to address proration of penalty minutes based upon period lengths.
a) The PGHL in accordance with AHAI have adopted the following penalties for all playing levels beginning with the 2025-2026 season.
1) Minor penalties for all games: 1:30
2) Major penalties for all games: 4:00
3) Misconduct penalties for all games: 8:00
b) A player who receives 4 or more penalties within the same game will serve a game under Rule 401b per USA Hockey Rule book.
c) A team that is assessed 12 or more penalties within the same game, the head coach will serve a game under Rule 401b USA Hockey Rule book.
7.10 Curfew Games. No PGHL games may be cut short by a curfew. It shall be the responsibility of the home team to make satisfactory arrangements with its rink or rinks to guarantee that no PGHL games shall ever be subjected to curfew. If unusual or extraordinary circumstances result in a curfew being imposed on a PGHL game, the game shall be interrupted at that point, the time remaining in the game noted, and the balance of the game replayed at a later date, at the home team’s expense and at the visiting team’s convenience. In the event of such an interrupted game, the home team shall within twenty-four (24) hours of the interruption inform the PGHL Commissioner of the situation. The Commissioner, in his/her sole discretion may call a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors for the purpose of reviewing the circumstances that gave rise to the interrupted game and imposing any appropriate penalties, including forfeiture of the game and/or fines.
7.11 Pucks for Games and Warmups. Each team is responsible for supplying their own warm-up pucks for all League Non-Playoff & Playoff games.
7.12 Playoff Formats. Playoff formats will be determined by the board of directors, subject to the division size.
ARTICLE VIII
Protests
8.1 A game, including its outcome, may not be protested based on the judgments or “calls” made by an on-ice official. A game, including its outcome, may be protested based on the opponent’s use of an ineligible player, or on a gross violation of rules, or of protocol that clearly has an impact on the game and that inures to the detriment of youth hockey and the PGHL.
8.2 Any such protest must be filed by the protesting team as soon as is reasonably possible. It is highly preferably that the protest be indicated on the disputed game’s scoresheet. To give effect to the protest, the protesting team must nonetheless petition the Commissioner of the PGHL in writing, explaining in detail the circumstances surrounding the reason for the protest, and request a hearing on the matter before the League’s Board of Directors.
8.3 If the Commissioner determines that the circumstances either do or may warrant a hearing by the Board of Directors, he shall at the earliest possible convenient time call a Special Meeting of the Board for the purposes of conducting such a hearing. If the Commissioner determines that the circumstances do not warrant a hearing, he shall inform the petitioning team of that determination. Thereafter, the petitioning team shall only have recourse to the Board of Directors if it is able to muster enough support among the League members to call for a Special Meeting of the Board. In any event, the Commissioner’s or the Board’s determination shall be final.
ARTICLE IX
Forfeitures
9.1 Any PGHL team found using an ineligible player shall forfeit each game in which the ineligible player is used. Such ineligible players may not even dress for a game, or it shall be forfeited. The forfeiture shall take effect upon a finding by the Board of Directors to that effect. It is the responsibility of the team, and of the team’s organization, to immediately report to the League Commissioner any use of an ineligible player once such use becomes known by them.
9.2 Forfeiting of games is discouraged and should be invoked by the Board only under the most extraordinary of circumstances. Nonetheless, if it is determined that a team or an organization has persisted in any form of conduct whatsoever that was previously found by the Board of Directors to be detrimental to youth hockey generally and to the PGHL specifically, this shall, among other remedies and penalties, be grounds for forfeiture of games. All game forfeits will incur a minimum $500 penalty for the game forfeit plus all the related costs which can include ice, referees, etc. Penalties for any additional forfeits will be at the discretion of the Commissioner and subject to Board approval.
9.3 A score of 0-1 will be recorded on the official game sheet for all games if any game is a forfeit.
ARTICLE X
Regular Season and Playoff Schedules
10.1 The regular season shall be scheduled by the scheduling deadline. Each team in the PGHL must be prepared to upload their games into REGYSTRA by the designated deadline. All scheduled League regular season games must be played. The number of local league games will be determined at the start of each season.
10.2 Once a regular season game has been scheduled, changes are permitted only upon the agreement of both teams affected thereby, and upon the filing with the Office of the PGHL of a Game Schedule Change Form. All such Change Forms must be completed via the form on the PGHL website. If both affected teams do not agree to a scheduling change, then a change may only be made upon extraordinary circumstances and only then after receiving the approval of the League’s Commissioner and/or Board of Directors.
10.3 The PGHL regular season shall begin the first weekend after Labor Day. The format and locations for the playoffs shall be determined by the Board of Directors no later than the 15th of December each year. The end of the league season shall be the conclusion of the last game of the league playoffs in the age division. All regular season games will be scored in REGYSTRA no later than 10 days prior to the first day of playoff games. Any team who has not scored all of their regular season games by the due date of 5 days prior to the first day of playoffs games will receive a one game suspension and/or fine for the first game of playoffs for the head coach.
10.4 Tiebreaker Format for the Regular Season Champion and Playoff Seeding.
NOTE:
If there are two or more teams in a tie breaker, once a team is eliminated, the tie breaker starts over with the remaining tied teams. The process of starting over each time a tied team is eliminated will continue until the seeding is determined.
If two or more teams are tied, the following tiebreakers in the following order shall be used to determine which team finishes higher for final seeding:
1. If two teams are tied, Head-to-Head Competition.
2. If two teams remain tied, Most Wins (for all games played).
3. If two teams remain tied, Scoring Quotient (as defined below) shall be applied counting all games played in the round robin (playoffs) regardless of whether they played the same opponents.
If still tied, skip to Tiebreaker A without reverting to earlier two-team tiebreakers.
If more than two teams are tied and all tied teams played each other, the seeding shall be by the following tiebreakers in the following order:
1. Most wins against the tied teams.
2. Scoring Quotient. If still tied, skip to Tiebreaker A without reverting to earlier two-team tiebreakers.
If more than two teams are tied and all tied teams did not play against each other, the following will be used:
1. Most wins.
2. Scoring Quotient. If still tied, skip to Tiebreaker A without reverting to earlier two-team tiebreakers.
A. If teams still tied, Fewest Penalty Minutes.
B. If teams still tied, Coin Flip. If more than two teams are involved in the Coin Flip, the League Commissioner or his/her representative will determine the method of coin flip to be used.
Scoring Quotient is calculated by dividing a team’s goals for by the sum of its goals for plus goals against. The team with the higher number advances. For purposes of calculating the scoring quotient, the maximum goal differential a team can take for any one game is six (6) goals, arrived at by reducing goals for and counting all goals against; Example: Team A: 15 GF 7 GA Quotient is 15/22= .681 Team B: 14 GF 6 GA Quotient is 14/20= .700 Team B advances.
In all tiebreaker situations, the League Commissioner or his/her representative decisions shall be final.
ARTICLE XI
Suspension and Expulsion of Players, Coaches, Other Team Personnel
11.1 Coaches and other team or association personnel may be suspended or expelled from participation in PGHL activities, including all games and tournaments, for conduct deemed by the Board of Directors to be detrimental to the best interests of youth hockey generally or of the GPHL specifically.
Such conduct shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. fighting or inciting others to fight.
b. obscene conduct or behavior.
c. recruitment violations
11.2 Any player who receives a non-fighting major penalty in an PGHL regular season or playoff
game, which penalty by USA Hockey Rules carries with it any game suspensions, shall automatically be suspended from the balance of that game and shall be required to serve the suspension in the players next regularly scheduled PGHL & USA Hockey game/s. This is provided that the game was scheduled prior to the infraction in accordance with USA Hockey Rules.
11.3 Any player who receives a major penalty for fighting in an PGHL regular season or playoff game shall automatically be suspended from the balance of that game and in addition receive a (1) one-game suspension from the PGHL that must be served in their next scheduled PGHL/USA Hockey sanctioned game. Players receiving multiple game misconducts in the same game shall serve those game suspensions sequentially. There shall be no “concurrent” game suspensions. Games must be scheduled prior to the occurrence of the penalty.
11.4 Any player who over the course of the season receives multiple major or game misconduct
penalties for fighting or for other rules violations may, in addition to the penalties and suspensions otherwise required by USA Hockey’s Official Rules of Ice Hockey, be suspended from the PGHL by and in the sole discretion of the PGHL Commissioner.
11.5 Appeals from suspensions imposed by the PGHL Commissioner may only be instigated by a
League member organization and shall be directed to the Board of Directors. Such an appeal will only be considered by the Board if the appealing member is able to muster enough support among the other League members to call for a Special Meeting of the Board. In any event, the Commissioner’s or the Board’s determination, shall be final.
11.6 Member organizations are required to electronically submit copies of game score sheets where their players or coaches have received a fighting, major, game misconduct or match penalty to the PGHL Office with 24 hours of the game completion.
11.7 Any team that leaves the ice during a game in a dispute of a registered referee’s decision shall forfeit the game by a 1-0 score (regardless of the score at the time). The head coach of the team leaving the ice shall be immediately suspended from all League activities until a hearing is conducted by the League.
11.8 A coach or manager who upon the findings of the League knowingly allowed the participation of an ineligible player or coach in any game shall be subject to a recommended suspension of up to one year.
11.9 A player or coach upon the findings of the League, who knowingly participated in a game as an ineligible player or coach, shall be suspended for not less than thirty (30) days.
ARTICLE XII
Rule Changes
12.1 Any voting Director may propose a rule change to be considered for adoption by the League. Proposals should be sent to the League Commissioner who may elect to call a special meeting for consideration or include in the next scheduled League meeting. Passage of changes requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting Directors to approve, and the change becomes effective immediately or at a date specified in the rule change. Rule changes of substantively the same content, if rejected, cannot be brought forth for reconsideration until a twelve-month period has elapsed unless two-thirds (2/3) of the voting Directors agree to reconsider within the twelve-month window.
i) Date to submit new rule proposal shall be June 1 st prior to the upcoming playing season
