2019 PENNSYLVANIA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Team Information

Congratulations to the Penguins Cup and Flyers Cup championship teams!  The information below should provide plenty of details about how the state championships will operate surrounding each game.  Please contact the PIHL Commissioner’s Office (commissioner@pihlhockey.com) if there is anything more needed in preparation for what lies ahead.

Our three state championship games carry tremendous importance in our collective goal to grow and enhance this sport within the state.  The heightened attention and increased media coverage on these games give us the opportunity to earn valuable respect and positive recognition, and the first requirement in that mission is a high level of sportsmanship from everyone involved in the event.  Sportsmanship is also the key ingredient in our primary mission: create a memorable and rewarding experience for everyone in attendance, especially the players on the ice.  Sportsmanship is everyone’s responsibility; please uphold your part.

Teams arriving via charter bus can unload at the main entrance to the venue upon arrival.  Buses should then park in the extended lot across the street from the facility.  This parking lot can be accessed by driving to the rear of the parking lot nearest the golf dome and proceeding through the underpass for the bridge, or simply by driving back out of the main entrance to the parking lot and going straight to the lot across the road.

Team Personnel should enter the building only at the front of the facility; please do not attempt to enter through the rear doors.  Team Personnel will then check-in at a table in the rear lobby of the rink, which is located behind the front desk.  Each person will be checked upon arrival against the approved team roster.  Each approved team member will be given an event credential upon check-in.  This credential must be worn when not in uniform as a means of identifying individuals authorized to be in the locker room areas.  Credentials should not be passed off to anyone other than the individual to which it is issued.

The locker room areas are reserved only for those with approved credentials for the event.  It is for the safety of the players that this area is highly restricted, as well as a means of limiting distractions on the athletes prior to their championship games.  An abundance of signs will designate these areas as permissible only to authorized individuals, so anyone in this area that is not a rostered member of the team, the event staff, or the media will be ejected from the arena.

The PIHL provides all staffing for championship games, including the penalty box attendants.  An EMT will be on each team's bench for the duration of the game unless that person is otherwise attending to an injured player.  Game Operations Staff will be present in the locker room areas to help the players and coaches with their needs and ensure the teams are on the ice at the right time.  Security will be present in the spectator seating areas during all championship games, and an additional guard will assist in monitoring the locker room areas.  

The PIHL can provide the teams with a bag warm-up pucks and a set of water bottles, if needed.  This may be particularly useful for the teams traveling across the state by limiting the number of items that teams need to bring to the event.  Each team is responsible for any additional game supplies for its locker room and benches, such as marker boards, tape, etc. 

The championship games are played under the current “Official Rules and Casebook of Ice Hockey” issued by USA Hockey.  The “Pennsylvania State Finals Rules” for the current season shall provide further guidance on the administration and operation of the game.  Head Coaches are responsible for knowing the contents of the applicable rulebooks.  The Game Operations Staff will assist in the application of protocol items, such as intermissions and the overtime format.

The four-man officiating system is used in the championship games, as has been the case throughout the Varsity playoffs.  Goal judges are utilized for the championship games to assist the on-ice officials with decisions involving goals.  The on-ice officials are always the authority on the game, as a representation of the rulebooks.  The off-ice officials (goal judges, scorekeepers, clock operators) and league personnel are present to assist in game operations but will not overrule the referees. 

Each game will start at its listed time; no game will start any earlier.  There is an extra half-hour scheduled between games to allow for championship presentations and a change-over in spectators, as well as accommodate for the possibility of overtime.  If an extended overtime in a preceding game delays the start of another game, the operations staff will keep the coaches informed of schedule adjustments. 

All pregame activity will follow the protocols posted outside of each team’s locker room.  Teams will take to the ice exactly at the published start times (11:00, 1:30, 4:00).  The process will be introductions, anthem, warm-up period, opening face-off.  The visiting team will be introduced first, as a team (not individual players), and the players will skate immediately to their blue line.  In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players should go straight to their blue line and face their opponent’s blue line.  The Game Operations Staff can assist in getting extra sticks and team supplies to the benches so the players do not have to go to the team's bench first.

The second intermission will go by a 12-minute countdown clock and not by the pace of the resurfacing.  Teams will be summoned when there is 2 minutes left on the countdown clock and shall be in the hallway to enter the ice surface by the end of the countdown.   If multiple overtime periods occur, the ice will be resurfaced after the odd-numbered overtime periods.  Those intermissions will go by the pace of the resurfacing, with a 2-minute warning given to the teams once the resurfacing is completed.

There will be the traditional handshake following the game.  The losing team should remain near its bench after the handshake and will be given a short, honorary send-off as part of the post-game ceremony.  That team may exit the ice surface after that send-off.  The winning team should gather on its blue line after the handshake.  The captain of the team (1 person) will be presented with the championship trophy, and the players will have the opportunity to skate with it and pass it around.  We will finish with a team photo and then exit the ice surface.

The players, coaches, families, and friends from the championship school are invited to the Hat Trick Club inside the arena following the game.  The members of the championship team will join this gathering, and everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to take pictures with the players and trophies.