NEAHL 2019-20 Season Plan

Sep. 01, 2018

NEAHL 2018-19 SEASON PLANS (as communicated at AGM):

Per NEAHL Bylaws and Regulations, teams must be fully registered with NEAHL by October 4th
There will be NO pre-season scheduling meeting (at all divisions)
All pre-season games will be scheduled by Division Governors
Teams will be playing a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 9 pre-season games
Pre-season ice allocations must be provided to respective Division Governor by October 7th
For pre-season, all associations will need to provide 20% more home ice slots than teams they have registered in the division (this will provide Governors the required flexibility to schedule all pre-season games)
- for example: number of home ice slots to be provided per pre-season weekend based on number of teams:
- [1 team=2 ice slots; 2 teams=3 ice slots; 3 teams=4 ice slots; 4 teams=5 ice slots; 5 teams=6 ice slots; 6 teams=8 ice slots; 7 teams=9 ice slots; 8 teams=10 ice slots; 9 teams=11 ice slots; 10 teams=12 ice slots]
In pre-season we will be striving for parody, not geography.
- Expect to play 2 games per weekend during pre-season, with short notice as to who and where you play.
- Teams will know who and where they are playing weekly by Tuesday at NOON so they will be able to release their ice if not required.
- Teams may be playing against teams from different tiers to determine where they best fit.
- Regular season may take geography into account at Governor’s discretion (ie: using a North/South sub-division to help reduce travel- if number of teams in a tier allows this. We need a minimum of 10-12 teams in a tier for N/S to work effectively).
TOTAL number of games for pre-season and regular season will be around 20-24 games, based on number of teams/tier (playoff games are not included in this count).
Pre-season games will NOT count for Atom & Peewee
Pre-season games will count for Bantam & Midget (but only games for teams who remain in same tier after pre-season
Regular Season scheduling meeting will take place in Vermilion on Saturday, November 10th
Pre-season Timeline:
- October 12 - November 3rd (3 full weekends)
- Exhibition games can count towards pre-season analysis (need to be sanctioned by Hockey Alberta as usual)
- Games can be scheduled on the Nov 3rd weekend (but only with Governor input and approval of opponents)
Regular Season Timeline:
- November 12 - February 16 (Atom & Bantam)
- November 12 - February 23 (Peewee & Midget)
Playoff Season timeline:
- February 18 to March 10 (Atom & Bantam)
- February 25 to March 16 (Peewee & Midget)
TIERS: based on the total number of teams registered per Division (striving for approx. 8-10 teams per tier)
- Atom & Peewee divisions will have 5 Tiers (Tier 1-5)
- Bantam division will have 4 Tiers (Tier 2-5)
- Midget division will have 3 Tiers (Tier 2-4)
**Teams will NOT be allowed to participate in Tournaments during the pre-season timeline (Oct 12 - Nov 3) in order to best determine placement and proper tiering for Regular Season play in the league**
Associations are given some flexibility to place teams where they belong based on GRID according to skill level

If two teams are placed in the same tier based on the grid (or end up in the same tier), they MUST be split evenly
ie: for those with multiple teams, if a team is too strong and gets moved UP one tier, all affected teams will need to be reassessed by the said Association before regular season play

The accountability of making and placing teams properly is put upon Associations. Honesty and Integrity is required to make this season plan successful.
Associations will place their teams in the appropriate tiers according to the "NEAHL Tiering Grid" below (based on Alberta One Standardized Tiering Grid)