Tournament Rules & Player Eligibility

General Rules

No Checking

No fighting Any player who intentionally checks another player will be assessed a minor penalty. Any player intentionally attempting to injure or who fights will be expelled from the tournament, forfeiting all monies and expulsion from the building for the remainder of the tournament and may be permanently banned from all future Chowder Cup Events.

Team Registration

All teams need to be fully paid at least 45 days from the start of a tournament. A Deposit of $550, reserves the slot. If a team is not fully paid by the 45 days, the slot in the tournament occupied by that team will be up for grabs and ALL money paid to that point will be forfeited. Any check that bounces will result in a disqualification from the tournament and the team will be placed on the suspension list until all money is paid (the tournament fee, return check fee, and a 10% penalty fee). NO REFUNDS GRANTED from 30 days out from the start of the tournament.

Team Rosters

All captains must complete a roster ONLINE by 10 days prior to the start of the tournament. Each player needs to have a number assigned to them and no team can have duplicate numbers. Also, on the roster, a team captain needs to assign 2 players as alternate captains. In the event a captain is not at a game, one of the alternates will assume the captain duties. No team can get on the ice without a roster submitted to the tournament off-ice officials. No longer can a team fill out a roster on the bench and give it to the officials. Prior to every game, the team captain must come to the registration desk to get the team roster for that game.If, once the tournament starts, it is determined that a player is playing but not on the roster, then the entire team that the player is currently playing with will be automatically eliminated from the tournament and the team and all its players will be placed on the lifetime suspension list. No refund will be provided. Also, if it is determined that a player on the roster was on a team that is on the suspended list or the player is on the player suspension list, then the entire team that the player is currently playing with will be automatically eliminated from the tournament and the team and all its players will be placed on the lifetime suspension list. No refund will be provided.

Player Age Exception Rule

For every division except 21A, there can be a max of 2 players below the minimum age but must be 21 years old or over and less than 5 years younger than the minimum age. The year is based on the year of the tournament minus the year born. Look at the following examples:

21A - no player can be less than 21 years old

25C - 2 players can be between the ages of 21 and 25.

40C - 2 players can be between the ages of 35 and 40.

To calculate the eligibility age, if a person was born 12/1/2000 and the year of the tournament is 2022, then the person will be listed as a 22 year old player.

Player Registrations

  1. All players must fill out a registration form every year prior to the first game.  All registration forms get filled out at the Registration Desk.  All players must show their drivers license to staff person at registration desk. Any player who does not fill out a form cannot play on the ice. If a referee sees a player on the ice who has not filled out a registration form, a delay of game penalty will be assessed and the player needs to be removed from the game and any future game until that player has filled out a registration form.
  2. Player Qualifications:
  1. A player cannot play on two teams within the same division and cannot be on the same roster of two teams in the same division. The burden is on the player not the tournament officials to follow this. If an opponent wishes to challenge this, then the tournament officials will check both rosters of the teams in question. If there is a duplicate player, the player in violation of this rule will be asked to leave the tournament and suspended for 1 year. The scoresheets of each game played by the player will be checked. Any goal that has been scored or assisted by the player will be taken off the score sheet. The goals will not count. If a win turns into a loss or a tie, or a tie turns into a loss, then the standings will be updated to reflect these changes. If the player played in a playoff game, then the game is an automatic forfeit no matter if the player factored in the scoring or not.
  2. If a player is on 2 different rosters, all of the following criteria MUST be met:
  • The player must be within ALL age requirements
  • The player must be within the same Level (B, C, etc). A player may go between 25C1 and 25C2. A goalie may be excluded from this if the tournament officials are notified prior to the tournament.
  • The player must be on each roster prior to the tournament.
  1. These rules were added for fair play! If the rules are not followed, a team will forfeit a game.  The staff will then determine if the team will be removed from the tournament.  If that happens, the team will not be asked back to future tournaments. This goes for all rounds including playoffs!
  2. A player with Professional Level or Junior Level Experience have additional rules(see sub heading below)
  3. Up to 2 players may be excluded by the age restrictions. However, the minimum age cannot be more than 5 years younger. In the 21A division, ALL PLAYERS MUST BE 21 or older
  4. In the 25 yr old divisions, no more than 2 players can be under 25 but must be 21 or older. This age level exception INCLUDES the goalies
  1. Player Conduct
  1. At no time will verbal or physical abuse will be tolerated during the tournament, on the premises or in the parking areas. Verbal or physical abuse will result in expulsion from the tournament and any physical abuse will be prosecuted in a court of law in the state of Massachusetts. At no time will a player abuse an official, including score keepers, exhibitors, fans or personnel from the rink or Chowder Cup Tournament Personnel.
  2. Players must stay off the ice during resurfacing, violations will be a minor penalty delay of game assessed to the violation team.
  3. After your game, your equipment must be removed no more than 1/2 hour following your game. If you leave your equipment in the locker room areas unattended after your game it will be removed and locked in a storage unit.
  4. Conduct in the locker room before and after the game and any where in the facility will be monitored. Rooms must be kept clean and there is absolutely no drinking of alcoholic beverages in the locker room areas. Drinking is restricted to only tournament sights that have designated areas for drinking. And in those posted sites, all drinks must be purchased at the rink. Anyone caught drinking in the locker room faces expulsion from the tournament per the request of the rink. In addition drinking in the parking area could cause arrest and prosecution from local and state authorities.
  5. Any player displaying any unnecessary roughness will be warned once, if the warning is ignored the player will be expelled from the tournament.
  6. Any player deemed intoxicated by the tournament organizers or on ice officials will be removed from the game and not allowed back into the tournament and placed on the suspended list for at least one year.
  1. Professional, Junior, Semi Pro Level Experience
  1. Professional Level Experience
  1. For those with any NHL, AHL and ECHL experience, player must play in 21A ONLY
  2. For those with FHL, NLAH, SPHL, International and any other professional league not listed:
  1. If the experience is under 10 years ago, player must play in 2A ONLY
  2. If the experience is 10 years ago or more, the player can play in any division
  1. Junior Level Experience
  1. If the experience is under 10 years ago, player must play in 21A only
  2. If the experience is 10 years ago or more, the player can play in any division 
  1. Semi Pro Experience
  1. If the experience is under 10 years ago, player must play in 2A ONLY
  2. If the experience is 10 years ago or more, the player can play in any division
Game Rules
  1. All games are NO check, full slap shot
  2. All players must wear helmets at all times including warm ups
  3. All players must be the minimum age of the age bracket of the division.
  4. All players must play in at least 2 games to be eligible for Sundays playoffs
  5. Blue line icing will be enforced in all games, the tag up rule for delayed off sides is also enforced.
  6. There is no red line for off sides.

Additional Rules

  1. All captains need to put their roster online.  We will be using these rosters for all games.  Every player needs a number prior to the start of the tournament.  We will not accept hand written rosters for any game.  All rosters need to be online.
  2. Any players that are not playing for a given game must be crossed out on the roster for that game.  Any subs may be added and hand written in on that game roster.
  3. Before each game, all captains need to come to the registration table upstairs and sign a roster for that game at least 30 minutes before your game is scheduled.  A game cannot start unless a captain (or an assistant captain) comes to the table and signs the roster.  Also, a player cannot step on the ice unless they have signed a registration form.  A penalty will be assessed if no roster is signed.
  4. Please make sure you get player numbers assigned before the tournament.  We cannot have a roster without a unique number being assigned to each player on the roster.  No duplicate numbers are allowed.  And the player needs to keep the same number for all games.  If you need a sub for a game, that player cannot wear a number that is already on the roster.  Please plan well in advance.  We will be checking rosters and any problems could result in a forfeit or a player disqualification. So please just do the simple task of planning ahead and entering the info on the website.
  5. We do realize that players do play on multiple teams.  Having said that, we cannot have several players from each team play on multiple teams.  Therefore, a roster can only have at most 3 players that play on another team.  A player who plays on multiple teams cannot play on multiple teams in the same division.  Also these players need to be on your roster prior to the tournament to be allowed to play on your team.
  6. A player qualifies for the playoffs if they play in 2 out of the 3 preliminary games.
  7. A captain MUST come to the registration desk prior to each playoff game.  An unsigned roster will result in a penalty and could result in a forfeit.