Schedule
Schedule
Schedule
Schedule

ATLUCC 2026 RULES


ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE CUP

(ATLUCC) 2026 RULES

  1. The Official Rules of Ringette Canada will apply. Special rules apply to the playoff and medal games, as detailed below.
  2. In the case of a conflict in jersey colour, the visiting team must change their jerseys.
  3. A two-minute warm-up starts as soon as the Zamboni leaves the ice. In the event this is earlier than the 10 minutes referred to in paragraph 10 below, the two-minute warm-up will start at the 10-minute mark. Play will commence immediately after the two minutes expires whether teams are on the ice or not.
  4. There will be a 1-minute rest period between halves. A flood will be scheduled between all games.
  5. In playoff games the higher placed team shall be designated the home team.
  6. Teams must declare goaltender(s), captains and alternate captains on the game sheet by indicating (G), (C), (AC).
  7. Only those players and bench staff who appear on the game sheets provided by the organizers, are permitted to participate in games. It is the responsibility of the team to ensure the ATLUCC player and bench staff eligibility rules are followed. National Ringette League players are not permitted to participate in the UCC as players. Any team found using an ineligible player or bench staff member, at any time during a game, will automatically forfeit that game with their opponent being awarded a win with a game score of 7-0.
  8. All round robin games will consist of two 17-minute stop time halves. One timeout will be granted per game. The round robin games will finish, regardless of game time remaining, once the allotted ice time is completed – see paragraph 13. Semi-final and medal games will consist of 2-20 minute periods and will continue to full game time/overtime completion.
  9. Good sportsmanship will be stressed throughout the tournament.
    • Any team accumulating more than 30 penalty minutes in a game shall see the head coach, or acting coach for that game, suspended from the team’s next tournament game. No grievances will be accepted in this regard.
    • A match or misconduct penalty will automatically result in suspension from all subsequent tournament games.
    • Game scores will be displayed on the time clock, and recorded for tie breaking procedures, with a maximum 7 goal difference.
  10. Teams must be ready to go on the ice 10 minutes before game time. Teams not iced within 2 minutes of the referee’s whistle being blown to start the game will be assessed a 2-minute delay of game penalty. Following 5 additional minutes, if that team is not prepared to play, the game will be forfeited with their opponent being awarded with a game score of 7-0.
  11. Score sheets are to be picked up from the organizers at the arena. They are to be completed and signed by the coach at least 30 minutes before game time and returned to the organizers. 
  12. The clock will be set to running time if there is a 7 or more-goal spread in the second period. However, should the goal spread return to less than 7, stop time would resume until such time as the game ends or the goal spread once again becomes 7 or more which would cause running time to resume. Running time will never be applied in the first period of a game.
  13. Where ice time does not permit conclusion of a game (due to injury or other delays) the team that is leading at the expiration of the ice time, providing more than half the game has been played, shall be declared the winner.
  14. Alternate goalkeepers may be warmed up between periods in the end their team will defend for the next period. They may use one skater and two rings for the purposes of warm-up. There will be no time outs permitted to warm up an alternate goaltender except in the case of an injury to the starting goaltender in which case the Official Rules of Ringette will be followed.
  15. Any team wishing to file a protest may do so by submitting their request in writing, along with $300, to the competition committee. Notification of a protest must be received within one hour of the incident occurring to enable sufficient time to deal with the protest. The competition committee will meet to deal with any protests received. If the protest is upheld the $300 will be refunded. No game protests involving referee judgement will be accepted as the referee’s decision is considered final.
  16. Teams receive 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and no points for a loss. There will be no overtime when games are tied during round robin play. At the completion of round robin play, teams will be ranked according to total points in games played or via tie-breaking rules where needed .
  17. Tie Breaking Rules for use after Completion of Round Robin Play: 17.1 - When two or more teams have an equal number of points after completion of round robin games, the Atlantic UCC Competition Committee is to determine the rankings. Using the ranking procedures outlined below to resolve all ties in standings. 17.2 - The maximum goals per game is seven (7) more than the goals against. 17.3 - If a team(s) has forfeited a game, the team(s) will be ranked the lowest position(s) amongst the tied teams. 17.4 - If all tied teams have not played an equal number of games against each other, the tie breaking procedure will start at step 18.6.5. 17.5 - This procedure, in more cases, will declare the team in the HIGHEST position. However, in some cases, the procedure will declare the LOWEST position between tied teams, and the team shall be dropped from the tie breaking procedure. (eg, the top two teams remain tied). In these cases, the procedure shall revert to 18.6.1 to break the tie between those tied teams that remain tied.
  18. The ranking of the tied teams will be determined in the following order: 18.6.1 - The team with the most games won amongst the tied teams during the round robin will be ranked the highest. 18.6.2 - If still tied, rank teams in order of the plus/minus (goals for minus goals against) in games between the tied teams during the round robin. 18.6.3 - If still tied, the team having the fewest total goals against in games between the tied teams during the round robin will be ranked highest. 18.6.4 - If still tied, the team having the greatest positive difference between goals for and goals against in all games during the round robin will be ranked highest. 18.6.5 - If still tied, the tied team with the fewest total goals against in all games during the round robin, will be ranked the highest. 18.6.6 - If still tied, the team having the fewest penalty minutes in games between the tied teams during the round robin will be declared the highest position. 18.6.7 -If still tied, the team having the fewest penalty minutes in all round robin games, will be declared the highest position. 18.6.8 - At this point, if still tied, the following may be considered to break the tie: 18.6.8.1 - Coin Toss, or 18.6.8.2 - Draw from a hat.
  19.  Overtime and Shootout Procedure for Semifinal & Medal Games: 19.1 - If a semi-final or medal game is tied at the end of regulation time: 19.1.1 - A maximum of one five(5)-minute sudden victory overtime period will be played. 9.1.2 - One additional timeout will be granted for overtime. 19.1.3 - There will be a one-minute break before the overtime period. 19.1.4 - The possession to start the overtime period will be decided by the tossing of a coin by an on-ice official. The home team will clearly call the toss of the coin while the coin is in the air. The team winning the toss will get the free pass. The other team will get the choice of ends. 19.1.5 - If still tied after the overtime period, the game will be decided by a shoot-out. The procedure for the shootout is as follows: 19.1.5.1 - The selection of shooters will occur at the start of the shoot-out within the two-minute time limit at the end of the overtime period. 19.1.5.2 - The coaches will be required to provide a list of shooters to the on-ice officials. 19.1.6 - Coaches will select three (3) shooters from all players for their team listed on the game sheet for that game. Two additional shooters will be designated, to be used only in the event of an injury to any of the first three shooters. Ejected or suspended players are not eligible to participate in the shoot-out. Players serving a penalty at the end of the overtime period will be eligible for the shootout. 19.1.7 - Home team will shoot first. 19.1.8 - The three (3) players from each team will alternate shots until each shooter has shot. Goalies will stay in the net where they ended the first overtime period. 19.1.9 - If the teams are still tied after this shootout, then a sudden victory shootout will occur. The same three players will again alternate shots and when one team scores and the other does not, the game will be deemed over. The players will go in the same order.