Youth hockey is back in many areas of the United States, and MyHockeyRankings (MHR) is thrilled to finally be ramping up toward providing our weekly national rankings for boys’ and girls’ teams all over the country. With various rules and restrictions regarding game play being implemented in different areas, MHR felt that it was important to update and clarify our Game Rules to address these unprecedented times.

MHR's guiding principle since our inception has been that EVERY game played should be entered and counted unless a MHR game rule was violated. While that guiding principle still holds true, MHR is adding a new game rule wrinkle this season.

As a result of the uncertainty currently surrounding youth hockey because of COVID-19, MHR is updating and clarifying our game rules regarding unsanctioned games:

Unsanctioned games are not eligible to be entered or recorded into MHR for non-league, exhibition, tournament and showcases unless…

1. The coaches of two opposing teams agree, PRIOR to the start of a game, to have the game be included in the MYHockey rankings. This agreement should be in writing (email) or recorded in some verifiable way in the event the game result entry is contested by one of the teams.

2. All league games can and should be recorded into MYHockey regardless if the game is sanctioned or not.

MHR held numerous discussions with hockey directors, leagues and state/district officials, and there are two main reasons we came to this decision.

First, USA Hockey does not recognize "unsanctioned games". Unsanctioned games are not valid when determining which teams qualify for state, district and/or national championship tournaments. They are prohibited by USA Hockey in virtually every instance unless a stringent set of requirements is followed. It is important that MHR’s policies remain consistent with USA Hockey’s to avoid any confusion; this is especially true for USA boys’ and girls’ national-bound teams.

Additionally, MHR understands that a team may choose to play in an unsanctioned game or event due to restrictions in certain geographic areas. That is a team's choice, which of course MHR respects, especially when it is the only option to get the kids on the ice playing games. MHR does not want to play the role of the "unsanctioned game police.” We do not want our platform to be the reason a team is punished, nor do we want it to be used to tattle on opposing teams.

To help us make sure our results and rankings are as accurate as possible, please use the red checkmark in the "Fix" column next to the game result to submit a game score correction request if you notice an unsanctioned game in the system.

We appreciate the feedback and support regarding our decision and are truly excited that so many kids are back on the ice playing hockey during these trying times! We ask that you respect and follow MHR's unsanctioned game rules this season.

Feel free to reach out to director@myhockeyrankings.com with any additional questions.