MYHockey - Definition of a Game:

• Rosters - Must contain USA/Canadian rostered fall/winter teams. While roster changes specifically for a tournament are highly discouraged, MYHockey cannot monitor this activity. In cases where teams are clearly altering their level of play by adding players, some games may not be added (or may be removed) from MYHockey.
• Referees - The game is referreed by non-team affiliated people who are certified to referee hockey games.
• Game - No coaches on the ice, no extra timeouts for teaching, no pre-planned powerplay, penalty kill, 4v4, etc. In general, it must look like a real game to any casual observer.
• Time - The game must have 3 periods or 2 periods of 20+ minutes. At least one period must use a stopped clock unless running time is 50+ minutes. Exception - Some Midget tournaments have been playing shorter quarterfinal and semifinal games, these still count when part of a tournament that has many other qualifying games. Curfewed games are OK if 1) running clock used, but period was full standard length or 2) at least 10 min of stop time play was completed in the third period. If play was stopped by the officials or even a team with less than two minutes remaining on the clock in the third period, it is a game with that as a final score. If more than two minutes remaining when game is stopped or less than 10 minutes of total third period time, then it will may be considered a game. Any game terminated early based upon tournament rules (i.e. 6 goal rule) that dictate a game end early when the score reaches a certain point, is acceptable.
• Dates - No game played prior to 20-AUG-2010. August games versus tryout teams will be deleted upon request. Games by tryout teams versus non-tryout teams after 01-SEP-2010 will not be deleted unless agreed upon by both teams.
• Forfeits - Forfeited games do not reflect the ability of the teams on the ice and are thus should not be entered unless they are noted to be forfeits.
• Bottom Line - It must be played like a real game. Any disagreements on this issue are left to the discretion of MYHockey.

Not All Games Qualify:

• Both teams must be in the system for a game to be entered.
• Age - Only games played against opponents of the same age level are entered. A minor peewee team can play a major peewee team, but a major peewee team cannot play a minor bantam team (and have the game score recorded in MYHockey). There are some exceptions to this policy based upon league play and requests by paying members of MYHockey. While these games can now technically be recorded, they do not (and cannot) factor into the rankings calculation.
• Level of Play - MYHockey has been analyzing the level of play across the North America for years. In the US, it recognizes two levels of youth hockey, Tier I (AAA) and Tier II (everything else). Only the Tier II leagues/teams playing at the "highest" level in a geographic area are included. This can be more of an art than a science, but it is usually pretty clear. If a local league has a "AA" division and a "A" division, the "A" level teams will NOT be in MYHockey. Most Massachusetts town teams are not currently included in MYHockey since there are over 40 AAA clubs within the state. Additionally, outside of the top level VHL teams, most of these teams teams do not play many, if any, games against other teams in MYHockey. When Michigan minor birth year teams play outside the state they almost always play "A" level teams from surrounding states that do not qualify. This also happens in other parts of the country, but is particularly prevalent with Michigan teams. If the opponent does not qualify, then the games cannot be entered. Review the Leagues and the Divisions of those league for a clarification on which are in the system and which ones are not.
• Preseason Games - All pre-season or exhibition games should be included in MYHockey with some exceptions related to tryout teams. Any August games played by tryout rosters by either team may be removed by at the discretion of MYHockey. If the roster is finalized and the other rules above apply, then a pre-season game counts like any other game. Beyond August, most games will be considered "regular season" with a few exceptions. Known exceptions include Ontario Midget Major AAA (Sept 15) and Minnesota (Oct 15) where a majority of the teams playing before that date are tryout teams.
• Exhibition Games - While some games may not qualify based upon the rules above, the goal of MYHockey is to include every game played by every team. MYHockey is not a league ranking system that only includes your league games. MYHockey requests/requires that all qualifying games be entered. At some levels of hockey (High School & Juniors in specific), there is a desire by some to make MYHockey a league ranking system because some teams play only opponents within their league and by including only league games it "levels" the rankings. This is not appropriate. MYHockey would not work if this was practice was followed across the board. ALL qualifying games should be included and used to rank teams.