Rules & Regulations (2026-2027)

All Southern Girls Hockey League games will be played under the rules of USA Hockey. In addition, the Southern Girls Hockey League may modify or supplement USA Hockey rules with local rules applicable to Southern Girls Hockey League games as appropriate. There is no longer a maximum number of goals that a player can score per game. All scrimmages will not count towards points and has nothing to do with the Southern Girls Hockey League. League play against the drop-in teams will count towards your overall SGHL record.

League play may be scheduled for teams entered in the following classifications for the 2025-2026 season: 10U (Separate Rules Provided - Addendum A) 12U 14U 16U 19U

The Southern Girls Hockey League Executive Board may restrict the number of teams in any one division or classification.

USA Hockey Tier II rules for the registration of players and teams strictly apply. No team may dress a player(s) that are not on that team's (a) official USA Hockey 1-T roster and (b) official Southern Girls Hockey League roster for League games. Any team found to have violated this rule shall forfeit all games played with the ineligible player(s) and the Head Coach will be subject to league disciplinary measures.

It is requested that players be at the rink thirty (30) minutes prior to the scheduled start time for their respective game. Games may be started as many as 15 minutes prior to their scheduled time. Referees have the latitude to issue delay of game penalties and teams will forfeit the option to warm-up if they are not ready to take the ice immediately after it has been resurfaced.

The length of periods, time-outs, penalties and the number and the arrangement of games in a league weekend are determined by the playing rules for each division of play. 8/10U Development - Refer to Addendum A. 12U – 12- minute stop time periods; 1-minute and thirty second minor penalties, 5-minute major penalties, 10-minute misconducts, and one 60 second time-out allowed per team. Fighting is a Major, automatic dismissal from that game and an additional game. 1 minute between periods for intermission. 14U, 16U and 19U – 15-minute stop time periods; 1-minute and thirty second minor penalties, 5-minute major penalties, 10-minute misconducts, and one 60 second time-out allowed per team. Fighting is a Major, automatic dismissal from that game and an additional game. 1 minute between periods for intermission. 3rd period times could be subject to change based on time allotment for each game during the 2025-26 season. No Mercy Rules - No running clock will occur. The scoreboard will only show a goal differential of 6 or less goals. The scorekeeper will add goals if the goals are scored by the team with less goals.

Games shall not start before 6:00 AM or after 11:00 PM.

The SGHL will supply all on ice and off ice officials including timekeeper and/or scorekeeper for all games. All teams should provide a team representative/volunteer to handle the duties in the penalty box. Each team representative/volunteer will need to have all USAH requirements including a background check and SafeSport completed prior to participation. Coaching is not permitted from ANY area other than the bench or by anyone who is not on a 1-T SGHL approved roster.

All League games on the Southern Girls Hockey League master schedule are to be played as scheduled. In the event that inclement weather is imminent, the association representatives for the organizations affected should be in contact with each other and with the various state agencies and media sources as necessary to gather information to make the most prudent decision. In the interest of the safety of the players, coaches, families, and officials, it is best to err on the side of caution. Every effort must be made to reschedule the games as soon as possible. If the league weekend cannot reschedule the games, all affected games shall be counted as tied games. All organizations must make reasonable, good faith efforts to schedule the games; especially if the games have an impact on the positioning for playoffs. If all age groups cannot be rescheduled, then the divisions where playoff implications are greatest should be rescheduled first.

Every effort will be made to schedule not less than two on ice officials for 12U, 14U, 16U, and 19U per current USA Hockey rules. In the event an official cannot be present, both coaches must agree to play the game with the number of officials present and record and sign the scoresheet.

An Emergency Goalie is a goaltender that can play a limited number of games as a substitute only in the instance that a team's rostered goalie(s) is/are not available to play. The following stipulations apply: a) The Emergency Goaltender MUST be from the same age classification or younger as the team seeking the emergency goalie. b) Tier I / Full season Alliance/Predators/Jr. Canes goalies cannot be an Emergency Goalie in the SGHL unless approved by the SGHL Roster Committee and the SGHL Board. c) A team may only use an emergency goalie for a maximum of 4 Southern Girls Hockey League games(the Southern Girls Hockey League reserves the right to make an exception to this rule due to extenuating circumstances such as injury). d) The Emergency Goalie will not be added to the USAH roster of the team that requires the Emergency Goalie. e) In all instances, the Southern Girls Hockey League Board MUST be first notified and then pending approval will confirm with the parties. f) The Emergency Goalie must be a currently registered member of USA Hockey and must currently reside in the USA Hockey Southeast District.

Only full-time SGHL teams who are paid in full are eligible for the Championship weekend. Exhibition teams, even if they play 50% of the games, will not be eligible to compete. League champions may be recognized as per the direction of the Southern Girls Hockey League Executive Board. Teams will receive the following points based on game play: 2 points for a win in league play 1 point for a tie 0 points for a loss League champions may be recognized as per the direction of the Southern Girls Hockey League Executive Board. In the event of a forfeit, 2 points will be rewarded to the opposing team regardless of the outcome of the game.  In the event of a tie in the standings, the following tie breaker rules listed below will apply in this order until a team or teams is/are placed. If at any point during the tie-breaking process one or more teams is placed, and two or more teams remain tied, the Tie-Breaker process starts back at Tie-Breaker #1 to place the remaining tied teams. Most Points Most Wins Least amount of games that a scoresheet was not submitted for a game played by the team Head to Head game results of Tied Teams Least Goals Allowed in Games among Tied Teams Most Goals Scored in Games among Tied Teams Least Total Goals Allowed Most Total Goals Scored Least Number of Majors + Misconducts + Game Misconducts + Match Penalties. Least Number of Misconducts + Game Misconducts + Match Penalties.

In the event of a tie in the SGHL Semi-Final and Championship games there will be a 3-minute 3v3 sudden death overtime to determine a winner. This 3 minute overtime will be a running clock. For the 14, 16 and 19 age groups: Only changes on the fly will be allowed during the overtime as the clock runs. Officials will immediately start play at center ice for OT at the conclusion of regulation play. Teams are to put their first 3 players out immediately. If a team is delaying the game, the officials have been instructed to call delay of game penalties. This also applies to whistles during overtime play. If a team scores, the overtime will end. If a penalty is assessed, the penalized team will play short-handed 3v4 for the 1 minute and 30 second penalty. If neither team scores in the 3-minute sudden death overtime then a 3 player shoot-out will occur. The lower seeded team will shoot first. Each team will provide 3 separate shooters. If a player, or players, end the 3-minute overtime in the penalty box, they are not eligible for the shoot-out. The shoot-out will continue until all 3 selected shooters have shot. If there is still not a winner, then 1 additional shooter will shoot from each team until a winner emerges. No player can shoot twice until all players are given an opportunity on each team with the exception of any penalized players who are still in the penalty box.