Note: In the event of conflict between these rules and any other set, the rules distributed to the teams at registration will govern and the tournament administrations decision on any matters will be final.

• Any player receiving three penalties in one game will be ejected from that game.
• Fighting will not be tolerated and will result in the player being suspended from the tournament.
• Gross Misconduct's will result in expulsion from the tournament.
• Any player touching, bumping, tripping or pushing an official or any player verbally threatening an official intentionally in any manner will be assessed a 7-minute major penalty, a game misconduct, and expulsion from the remainder of the tournament.  The Referee's report will be forwarded to the appropriate Referee-in-Chief/Chair of Discipline for future sanctions as deemed warranted by association.

Minor Penalties - 3 minutes running time from the drop of the puck, Major Penalties - 7 minutes, Misconduct - 12 minutes.

Bodychecking
Bodychecking will not be permitted at our tournament.  

Dressing Room Policy
No one, other than players, coaches and trainers are allowed in the dressing rooms and the hallways leading to the dressing rooms before and after games. A maximum of four coaches and one trainer are permitted. Please respect this rule and notify your parents that this will be enforced and their co-operation is appreciated.

GCMHA, ODMHA and HOCKEY CANADA disciplinary rules are in effect for the tournament. The GCMHA and ODMHA rules are generally stricter regarding suspensions than many other jurisdictions. Copies will be available www.gcmha.com.

Game Length
Please Note:  Teams must be prepared to move up the start time of their games by 20 minutes. There are extra minutes built into the schedule and a mercy rule is in effect.  Teams that are not ready to start their games on time or within the 20-minute window, may forfeit such games at the discretion of the Tournament administration.  Due to the nature of our scheduling, time restrictions will be strictly enforced.

The Mercy Rule
The Mercy Rule shall take effect if in the last two minutes of the game, one team is ahead of the other by a margin of 4 or more goals.  In such an instance, the stop time rule will not apply.

Time Outs
No time-outs are allowed in any tournament games.

Overtime
Overtime will be played only in playoff and championship games. Overtime shall be conducted in a series of sudden death overtime periods.

First Overtime Period:
A sudden-death period comprised of three (3) minutes stop time in length with teams playing with four (4) skaters plus a goaltender. Substitutions are allowed.

Second Overtime Period (if necessary):
A sudden-death period comprised of twenty (20) minutes stop time in length with teams playing with three (3) skaters plus a goaltender. Substitutions are allowed.

Game Length - Round Robin and Play-Off Rounds
Note: Tournament administration may use their discretion for the use of the running clock. They may elect to use it, or not to use it, depending on the tournament schedule. Teams will be notified prior to the start of the game if the running clock time will apply. Also, the game clock for the first period may be started immediately following the completion of the two-minute pre-game warm-up. Teams should be ready to commence play immediately following the conclusion of the two-minute warm-up clock.

• 2-minute warm-up
• 12-minute straight time periods
• Last two minutes of third period are stop time.

Round Robin Standings
Standings will be based on points: two (2) points for a win, one (1) point for a tie.

Game Length - Finals
Note: See Round Robin Note (above).

• 2-minute warm-up
• 12-minute straight time periods
• Last two minutes of third period are stop time.

Hurry Up Face-Offs
Teams must be ready quickly following each stoppage in play. ODMHA officials have been using this rule effectively to speed up the length of the game.

Mouth Guards
Players are required to wear mouth guards for all tournament games should their associations make mouth guards mandatory. ODMHA teams are required to wear mouth guards.

Neck Guards
Players are required to wear neck guards for all tournament games should their associations make neck guards mandatory. ODMHA teams are required to wear mouth guards.

Offside Pass (Two-Line Pass)
As a sanctioned tournament of the ODMHA, our tournament will be played without the offside pass rule (two-line pass) in effect.

Play-Off Format
The winning teams from each of the 3 pools per division will advance to the playoff round.  The team having the best record of those not qualifying for the play-offs at the conclusion of Round Robin play, will as well advance to the playoff round as the Wildcard team.  If there is a tie among teams, the tie will be broken as determined by the tie-breaking procedures listed within the rules.

• The head-to-head result involving the teams tied (two-way ties only).
• The team with the most wins during round robin game.
• The team with the lowest number of penalty minutes.
• The best ratio of Goals For /(Goals For + Goals Against), in round-robin games.
• The team with the most goals scored.
• A toss of a coin by the arena coordinator.

Protests
Protests will be heard by a Tournament Executive committee. All protests and disputes must be accompanied by a $200 deposit that will be returned if your protest is successful. A protest may only be heard if it is brought to the attention of the arena coordinator or their delegate within one (1) hour of completion of the game in question. A formal written submission can follow the initial notification. A hearing and ruling will be completed prior to the team's next scheduled game.

No protest will be heard regarding a referee's decision.

All decisions made by Tournament Administration, or their delegates, are final.

All players must sign a Player Eligibility form prior to the first game and may be required to sign the form prior to each successive game.

Registration
Teams participating in the tournament must complete and provide a comprehensive registration package. Registration will take place at your arena, one hour and fifteen minutes prior to the start of your first game. Note: If your game is the first game of the day at your arena, registration will start one hour prior to game time. All teams must register then. Failure to register then may result in ejection from the tournament. The coach or manager from each team must attend with the full registration information. Players do not need to be present at registration.

We will receive the following information in advance:

• Completed application form.
• A cheque or money order for tournament entry.
• Team photo for program purposes sent in electronic format.
• Team Roster listing jersey #, player name, player birth date and coaching staff to be included with roster information.
• League standings and individual game scores - updated on Tournament Administration.
• Designated players for the Skills Competitions

Teams must bring to registration the registration package for competitive teams must include all of the following information at the time of registration (we do not require copies in advance).

• A copy of the birth certificates, health card (optional), and photo of all players. You must have these documents available at registration and during all scheduled games as well.
• The team's copy of the tournament participation forms and travel permits (where applicable). U.S. teams must submit the required documentation for travel.
• Score sheets from the team's last five (5) games.

Cancellation
Teams that withdraw after November 15th will be assessed 50% of their entry fee. Any team that has been confirmed and withdraws is subject to no refund, unless a replacement team has been accepted. Teams that withdraw after December 1st will not be issued a refund under any circumstance.

Cheques
Team cheques are not cashed until the team has been accepted (i.e. after November 1st). Teams can submit an early application with a personal cheque and replace the personal cheque with a team cheque once the team has been formed.

Eligibility
Bantam players must be 13 or 14 years of age as at December 31, 2005.  Players must be born in 1991 (or later). i.e. if a team has any players born in 1990 they are not eligible for participation. Players may be all 1991 or a combination of 1991 and 1992 birth years.

Travel Permit
Teams outside of the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association shall provide a "travel permit" issued by their local branch or association. Travel permits must be provided as part of the Registration package noted above. U.S. and European Teams will require specific U.S./Euro travel permits.

Admission
Admission to all games, at all arenas is free of charge to all players, coaches and families and fans. 

Teams
A total of 19 players per team may play each game, two of which may be goalies. i.e. maximum 17 skaters and 2 goalies. Teams may register more players than this for the tournament through use of an Affiliated Player’s roster although the maximum 19 may dress and play in any single game. The Tournament reserves the right to amend this player restriction for European teams and other teams that may be traveling great distances with more than 19 players.

Please note that a player that does not play (at least one shift) in the Round Robin games may not play in any play off games. The exception is where a player misses all of the round robin games due to a suspension and the suspension is served in full by play-off round commencement. In this case, the player is eligible to play in the playoffs.

Please note that a player may only play for a single team during the tournament. If an Affiliated Player plays for a team that has been eliminated he cannot then play for the affiliated team.

The Tournament Organizers reserve the right to amend any rule, schedule or decision as they see fit. As well, the Tournament Organizers may accept or reject any entry as they determine.

Teams are guaranteed 3 Round Robin games, and a maximum of 5 games and participation in our skills competition.

Seeding
All teams are seeded by the Tournament Seeding and Selection Committee. In order to assist in this process, teams are required to complete the “Games Schedule” component of their application. In this section, teams will record scores and opponents for all of their games. Teams are asked to complete this section regularly. The intent is to provide a competitive balance amongst divisions and to have the round robin groups as balanced as possible. The Seeding and Selection Committee relies on teams completing their Games Schedule in a timely manner to assist in this process. In previous tournaments a number of teams were not accepted because they failed to complete this section.

Seeding of teams will commence at approx November 15th. The seedings will change for a few weeks as additional information and scores are provided. A final seeding will be determined and Round Robin Groupings formed in mid December. Seedings will be posted on our web site.

To enter the "B" division, your team must be either:

• be part of ‘tiered’ house league organization and your team is not in the first tier; or
• be playing in a recognized “HOUSE B” league.

Note: The Cougar Cup reserves the right to move House League B teams into the House A division to provide for a competitive balance.  House League teams from small rural centres are not allocated to House B based on population. In order for a ‘non tiered’ team to be allocated to House B, they must provide verifiable evidence through game scores, exhibition games and tournament results that they are most appropriately classified in House B.

Bantam "A" - ODHMA - House A teams, elite House B teams.
Bantam "B" - ODHMA - House B teams, must be part of "tiered house program" (see above).

Skills Competition
All teams must designate players for the skills competition.  Teams failing to comply with this rule will face disciplinary actions by the Tournament Administration.  Please note that all players (other than goaltenders) must come dressed (all equipment other than skates) to the skills competition. There will be no dressing room space allotted for the competition.

Stick Measurements
Teams are not allowed to request stick measurements during the tournament.