Playoff Rosters and Spare Rules

Are you ready to be a champion?

Okay boys the playoffs are here and the rosters are locked.

We’re missing Arse, Dr. Brad, and Alex Z as we head into the post season.

Wishing speedy recoveries for them all!

Going into the playoffs both the Caps and the Nords have 12 skaters.

The Whalers have 11 skaters.

The Seals have 10 skaters.

Because of known injuries and absences the Caps will never actually have more than 11 players in the lineup.

The Nords may have 12 guys on the bench for three of the four playoff games.

Despite this inequity, which could have resulted in moving a Nords player to the Seals, we are keeping the rosters as they are.

Captains Pags and Wedge did not want to let anyone go.

This means that we are going with a 10 player minimum roster for all teams and all games.

There are only three conditions under which a team can skate with only 9 players:

• both teams have 9 skaters and the captains agree the game is a fair match up
• one team has 9 and the opposing captains agree the game remains fair
• no spare was available, despite active and sincere efforts to find one and you have talked to your opposing captains.

Please consult with the competition committee executive Mel, Niner or Dunner if there is a an issue.

The situation that we most want to avoid is having 9 skaters vs 12 skaters.

That can lead to a game where high level players on the the short team are double shifting and getting a lot of chances to impact the outcome, while on the other side it’s hard for the team to find a rhythm.

So captains if you are playing the Nords, and the Nords have 12 coming out make sure you are on top of your attendance and in dialogue with Pags and Wedge about your spare plans to make sure it’s not a 9 v 12 game.

Spare Rules

The spare rules have evolved in recent seasons for the betterment of the league and players.

This year we are sparing to 10 skaters except as described above.

The number one spare rule is that the captains collaborate looking at BOTH lineups to make sure we have the most competitive game possible.

This means you do not spare to advantage but spare to make sure the teams power scores are as close as possible.

Often this means sparing on par for who is missing but this must be a complete picture looking at the outcome for the game.

You might be missing a 2, a 4 and 6.  Your opponent might be missing a 2, both 5’s. So look at who is available for both teams and come up with a solution to get you to fair game with 10 players each.

Dunner will send the most up to date rosters with power scores to the captains this weekend.

This is about making sure the guys on both teams have a great experience and great chance to win.

More to come on the round robin format and tie breakers as well as the schedule!