RULEBOOK

Rules of Ball Hockey

Most of the Rules of Ball Hockey mirror those of ice hockey, or what you are already familar with - this is not meant to be a comprehensive list. However, there are a number of special rules that you should be aware of if you have never played OBHA Ball Hockey before.

Periods

PBHL Ball Hockey games are two 15 minute stop-time periods. If you have not played ball hockey and think that is a short period of time to play, you will quickly find out that unlike Ice Hockey, where you can "coast" though some of your movement, Ball Hockey is a game for those who can keep their legs moving. 30 minutes is a lot of running.

Offsides & "Floating Blue Line"

OBHA Ball Hockey mirrors international hockey in that there is no 2 line pass. However, the largerst difference between Ball Hockey and most forms of Ice Hockey is the "Floating Blue Line" that regulates offides in the offensive zones. Once a player has moved the ball over the blue line into the attacking zone, the attacking zone increases to include the entire opponent's half of the rink. See the illustration on the right.

High Sticking & Stick Infractions

The OBHA has very stringent rules concerning penalties involving the use of the hockey stick. For this reason, "High sticking" the ball (touching the ball with your stick at a height greater than 4' (or above the crossbar) is a 2 minute penalty. Hence, it's best to rid yourself of the habit of chasing a ball in the air with your stick (Street Hockey players - beware!)

The OBHA has also enforces a double-minor for any slashing or cross-checking penalty. High sticking involving injuries will result in a 5-minute major and a game misconduct, and review from a league official.