Maha: Districts - States - Nationals

MAHA – Districts, States and Nationals General Info and Intent to Enter

• Each Association may send two boys’ teams to represent each age level in District play
• KVHA's Higher level teams (My Hockey Rankings and/or LCAHL)) have first choice to enter
• Teams entering districts have the opportunity to win their way to the State Tournament
• Girls Teams do not compete in districts; they declare intent to enter the State Tournament
• Only one girls’ team per age classification may enter the state tournament
• Tier 2 and Tier 3 State Tournaments for 10U through 19U; Mite Cup for 8U Girls
• If more teams enter than there are spots open, there are play-in/qualifying games
• Intent to Enter
• Teams register online and pay the registration fee (boys = $150; Girls = free)
• Deadline to Enter is November 1st

MAHA – Districts, States and Nationals Player and Team Eligibility

• In order to qualify for Districts/State/National Tournaments please note the following game counts for Individual Players and teams:
• Individual Player Game Counts
• National Bound Teams: Player must participate in 10 USA Sanctioned games before Feb. 1st or before the first game of District Playoffs with their team.
• Non-National bound teams: Individual players need to play in 7 games before Feb. 1st or before the first game of District Playoffs with their team.
• Team Game Counts 
• National Bound teams: must play at least 17 games in its classification, category and division before the earliest of Feb. 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs
• Girls Classification and Non-National bound teams: must play at least 14 games in its classification, category and division before the earliest of Feb. 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs

MAHA – Districts, States and Nationals Exceptions

• Any team may apply to the State Playoff Committee for the granting of an exception to the eligibility rules set forth herein, except for the out of District rule. The request for exception must be in writing and it must first be submitted to the District Council (by November 15) for the District in which the team is registered. The request for exception must be acted upon by the District Council and its actions
  evidenced by written endorsement upon the team request. The request must be submitted to the State Playoff Committee at its December meeting. The decision of the State Playoff Committee is final and cannot be appealed. All exceptions are due to the MAHA by November 15th https://www.maha.org/exceptions
• The most common exception is when a player or team will not make their game count before the start of Districts or States, an exception must be filed to explain why the game count was not met and to obtain approval from the MAHA State Playoff Committee for the player or team to be eligible to participate.

MAHA DISTRICTS

MAHA is the governing body that oversees amateur hockey in Michigan through seven established districts. Each District is responsible for the local teams and Associations in their area. KVHA is located in MAHA's District 4 

Squirt through Bantam Teams (10u-12u-14u travel only) are allowed only 3 Out of District Players; Midget Teams (16u & 18u) and All House/Tier 3 have no limit on Out of District Players; Girls' hockey has no district limitations, but you cannot have more than three (3) players who reside outside of the state of Michigan. 

A player is a resident of the District in which he/she resides. In cases of two parent households, the player may be recognized to play as an “In District” player in either of the Districts in which the parents reside. Once the player chooses, the player will remain as an “In District” player, for that District only, for the balance of the regular season.

Out of State players wishing to play on a Michigan Boys' Travel team must obtain an interstate waiver from their home association or organization prior to being approved to play in Michigan for the Fall/Winter season. Michigan_Residency_Policy_Revise_Jan-2025 (1)

DISTRICT 2 All residents of Wayne, Monroe Counties except: - residents of Redford Twp., Livonia, Plymouth, Plymouth Twp., Canton Twp., Northville and Northville Twp. are designated as District 4. Residents of Harper Woods and all Grosse Pointes are in District 3. Note: - residents of Milan Twp. are District 2; residents of the City of Milan are District 6.

DISTRICT 3 All residents of Macomb County and those residents of Oakland County in cities / townships east of the north/south vertical line formed by Greenfield, Adams, Kern and Barr Roads from the Wayne County line to the Lapeer County line except residents of the city of Birmingham. Residents of Harper Woods and all Grosse Pointes.

DISTRICT 4 All residents of Livingston and Oakland Counties and: - residents of Redford Twp., Livonia, Plymouth, Plymouth Twp., Canton Twp., Northville, Northville Twp., and the entire city of Birmingham. except: - those residents of Oakland County in cities / townships east of the north/south vertical line formed by Greenfield, Adams, Kern and Barr Roads from the Wayne County line to the District 5 border are designated as District 3. except: - those residents of Oakland County in the townships of Brandon, Groveland, Holly, and Oxford, and all communities within them, are designated as District 5.

DISTRICT 5 All residents of the counties of: St. Clair, Lapeer, Genessee, Shiawassee, Saginaw, Tuscola, Sanilac, Huron, Bay, Midland, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare, Gladwin and Arenac. and those residents of Oakland County in the townships of Brandon, Groveland, Holly, and Oxford, and all communities within them, are designated as District 5.

DISTRICT 6 All residents of the counties of: Mason, Lake, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Muskegon, Montcalm, Ottawa, Kent, Ionia, Clinton, Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Washtenaw, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Branch, Hillsdale and Lenawee. Residents of the City of Milan are District 6.

DISTRICT 7 All residents of the counties of: Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, Presque Isle, Charlevoix, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw and Iosco.

DISTRICT 8 All residents of the counties of: Luce, Schoolcraft, Alger, Delta, Menominee, Dickinson, Marquette, Baraga, Iron, Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton and Keweenaw.

MAHA District_Boundaries

CLOSEST TO THE RINK RULE

• Michigan resident players of any age classification are permitted to play for an Association/Club that has the rink closest to their residence, based on shortest distance via roads according to Google Maps, and will not be counted as an Out of District player if it is beyond District Boundaries. 
• Players who qualify for closest to the rink should apply for closest to the rink approval here:  Youth (maha.org) 
• The State Playoff Committee has no authority to consider or grant an exception to the Out of District rule.

NOTE: IN THE SPRING SEASON THERE ARE NO OUT OF DISTRICT RULES

Tier two teams may not play more than 30% of their games against Tier 1 teams to be eligible for Districts, States or Nationals.

The 30% is computed as a straight percentage. For example, if a team has played 20 total games before credentialing on January 4, the calculation would be 20 x .3 = 6. So at the time of credentialing, you can play up to 6 games against Tier 1 opponents.

Effective in the 2023-2024 season, USA Hockey has changed their rule and will no longer allow substitute goalies
to participate in States or Nationals.

For regular season and District playoffs, substitute goalies will be allowed for all Age, Division, and Classifications.

For the MAHA State Tournament, only non-national bound teams will be allowed a substitute goalie.

The current MAHA substitute goalie rule pertaining to the circumstances in which a substitute goalie
may be used shall be found on page 25 of MAHA’s annual guidebook. It states, “A substitute goalie,
under such circumstances, may be used only in the case of an injury to the regular goalie. If a team
elects this method for a substitute goalie, the team may have only nineteen (19) players registered at
any time so as not to exceed the maximum number of players allowed.”

For the intent of this rule, injury is defined as a player who is injured or medically unable to compete.
Players out due to illness, with a supporting doctor’s note, will be deemed as “injured” for the intent of
this rule. Thus, a substitute goalie shall be allowed.

Common situations where a substitute goalie shall not be permitted: goalie unavailable due to family
vacation, conflicts with school or sporting event, team has a rostered back-up goalie who is eligible to
participate, etc.

Finally, teams requesting a substitute goalie must fill out the proper substitute goalie form and obtain
their respective District Chair’s signature. Directors and councilmembers are not eligible to approve
the substitute goalie. The substitute goalie form can be found on the State Playoff page of the MAHA
website (https://www.maha.org/stateplayoffs)

Substitute Goalie Clarification 11.5.24

MAHA Substitute Goalie Criteria

MAHA Substitute Goalie Form

Per the MAHA Annual Guide pages 50-51 The following conditions shall constitute a valid game:

• When two registered teams occupy the same ice surface for the purpose of competitive play.
• A game shall consist of at least three (3) periods of 10 minutes stopped time or 15 minutes running time, except where the game is interrupted, (by some unforeseen event) after two (2) periods have been completed. The game must be officiated by registered referees and with a completed and signed score sheet.
• Once the teams commence play, this session counts toward the maximum game count for both teams regardless of the minutes played. (Completion of a game stopped due to a curfew only counts as one game in total.)

The following conditions shall constitute an invalid game:

• When two registered teams occupy the same ice surface and compete without registered referees, with or without the clock and scoreboard, with or without coaches on the ice and without a completed/signed score sheet. Coaches and players for both teams are subject to suspension under rules II., B., 1 and 2. This session does count toward the maximum game count for each team.
• This rule is not intended to prohibit controlled practice sessions between teams in a single Association/Club only under the following circumstances:
•  an Association assigned split ice practice;
• coaches are on the ice and using this as a teaching situation
• this takes place during the final portion of the practice session, not to exceed 15 minutes. This session does not count toward the maximum game count for the teams involved

IX. GAME REQUIREMENTS
1. All USA Hockey Rules and Regulations apply to all games and practices.

2. Definition of a game:
The following conditions shall constitute a valid game:
   a. When two registered teams occupy the same ice surface for the purpose of competitive play.
   b. A game shall consist of at least three (3) periods of 10 minutes stopped time or 15 minutes running time, except where the game is interrupted, (by some unforeseen event) after two (2) periods have been completed. The game must be officiated by registered referees
and with a completed and signed score sheet.
   c. Once the teams commence play, this session counts toward the maximum game count for both teams regardless of the minutes played. (Completion of a game stopped due to a curfew only counts as one game in total.)

3. The following conditions shall constitute an invalid game:
  a. When two registered teams occupy the same ice surface and compete without registered referees, with or without the clock and scoreboard, with or without coaches on the ice and without a completed/signed score sheet. Coaches and players for both teams are subject to suspension under rules II., B., 1 and 2. This session does count toward the maximum game count for each team.

4. This rule is not intended to prohibit controlled practice sessions between teams in a single Association/Club only under the following circumstances: 1) an Association assigned split ice practice; 2) coaches are on the ice and using this as a teaching situation; 3) this takes place
during the final portion of the practice session, not to exceed 15 minutes. This session does not count toward the maximum game count for the teams involved.

5. The authority for monitoring the game count of each team / player shall be vested with the appropriate District Council.

6. The number of games played by any player or team on one day in Michigan shall not be more than two (2) with a minimum of four (4) hours between the finish of the first game and the start of the second. This rule will be waived if a team is competing in both League playoffs
and District or State Playoffs on the same day. Teams competing with teams from District 7 and District 8 may have the four-hour rule waived with the consent of each team’s District Chairperson due to travel distances. Excludes all Adult & Senior Women’s games, leagues,
and sanctioned tournaments. The maximum of two (2) games in one day cannot be waived. Failure to comply with this rule may result in a recommended six (6) month suspension of the head coach.

7. All games played in the State of Michigan must utilize a score sheet with space for a team officials’ signature and referees printed names and signatures. If the head coach is not present, the person on the bench that is responsible for the team for that game (i.e.: assistant
coach) must denote themselves as the head coach. If the head coach appears after the start of the game, he/she must sign the score sheet prior to going on the bench and denote that he/she is the head coach.

8. No more than four (4) registered team officials in good standing will be permitted in the vicinity of the players’ bench or will be allowed to coach or manage a team. Any violation of this regulation could result in the forfeiting of the game. A score of 0-1 will be recorded on the official game sheet(s) for all games if any game is forfeit.

9. Only players who are dressed and ready to participate in the game shall be identified on the official score sheet. Any player or coach serving a suspension or game misconduct penalty shall be identified by name, team, and jersey number on all copies of the score sheet prior to
the start of the game as serving the suspension or game misconduct penalty. Players or coaches serving suspensions or misconducts are not allowed in the vicinity of the player's bench.

10. A registered team shall not play a non-registered team or a team under suspension by the MAHA or USA Hockey. (Reference paragraph V., F., 5.)for allowable play against high school/prep school varsity teams.)

11. All teams must have available an electronic USA Hockey Roster (the USA Hockey Form 1-T) or a paper copy of the Team Roster Form (USA Form 1-T) at all games. If a team is found not adhering to this rule the head coach shall be referred in writing to the proper District Council
for action under Rule II. B.

12. A rostered team in any of the Youth and/or Girl’s classifications may not occupy the same ice surface with an Adult Men’s or Women’s team for the purpose of competitive play. Teams may be granted exceptions via a special event sanction approved by the USA Hockey Risk
Manager for Michigan and/or the USA Hockey Registrar for Michigan.

MAHA – Districts, States and Nationals Player and Team Eligibility

• In order to qualify for Districts/State/National Tournaments please note the following game counts for Individual Players and teams:
• Individual Player Game Counts
• National Bound Teams: Player must participate in 10 USA Sanctioned games before Feb. 1st or before the first game of District Playoffs with their team.
• Non-National bound teams: Individual players need to play in 7 games before Feb. 1st or before the first game of District Playoffs with their team.
• Team Game Counts 
• National Bound teams: must play at least 17 games in its classification, category and division before the earliest of Feb. 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs
• Girls Classification and Non-National bound teams: must play at least 14 games in its classification, category and division before the earliest of Feb. 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs

The following game counts shall be adhered to by players and teams in the classification in which they participate or roster.

Effective in the 2024-2025 Season, MAHA has created a pilot program allowing Youth and Girls Tier 3/House teams in the 10u and 12u age classification to increase the game count from 40 games to 45 games in the 10u classification and from 40 games to 50 games in the 12u classification. 

All games played with a referee and a scoresheet will go toward your game count unless specified below. This includes:

All preseason scrimmages or alignment games played with a referee and logged on a scoresheet.

All games played in LCAHL or MGHL, including playoff games, are included in the game count.

All Tournaments games shall count four (4) games maximum (10u and older), regardless of the actual number of games played. So if you go to a 5th championship game, that game will not count. 

District, State, and National games do not apply to the maximum game count.

ESTIMATING YOUR # OF GAMES

When you are planning your season, much of what you play from September 1st until the State Tournament will count toward your game count.

The # of league games is hard to determine, it depends on how many teams. You should estimate 16 -20 games for LCAHL league play from beginning to end of playoffs. You will know early in the season how many games you will be on pace to play

For District games, you can expect to play 3 first round games, 4 second round games, if you advance to hockey day it is one game and then the state tournament is another 4 games and these do not count toward your total game count.

From USA Hockey Annual Guide 22-23 Page 44-46:

USA Hockey and its Affiliates are charged with establishing rules and policies for the organization, coordination and betterment of hockey, including developing players, coaches and officials, and managing and minimizing risks associated with the sport. Recent examples include implementation of the ADM, including cross-ice hockey for players 8 and under, and processes and procedures for expansion of junior hockey programs. USA Hockey strongly believes in these programs as evidenced by the overwhelming support they have received across the country, the continuing growth in membership, and the advances that have resulted and are expected to result in the development of hockey players in our country. USA Hockey has had inquiries regarding the rights and obligations of USA Hockey, its various Affiliates and local programs with respect to ice hockey that is not sanctioned by USA Hockey. To provide guidance to Affiliates and local programs, USA Hockey, as the National Governing Body for ice hockey in the United States, Annual Guide 45 Policies provides the guidelines below acting pursuant to USA Hockey’s authority under the Amateur Sports Act (36 U.S.C. § 220501 et. seq.).

1. For a game to be sanctioned by USA Hockey, all players, coaches and officials in the game (“Individual Participants”) must be members of USA Hockey and the USA Hockey Affiliate with jurisdiction over their respective geographic area(s). Participating teams must also be members of the applicable USA Hockey Affiliate.
2. There may be occasional exceptions to the above-stated membership requirement where in certain limited, special circumstances, USA Hockey or the applicable USA Hockey District Registrar may provide a special event sanction for an event where not all participants are members of USA Hockey (“Special Events”). These Special Events are occasional and have generally been limited to exhibition games between USA Hockey teams and High School Federation, prep schools or NCAA teams, Try Hockey For Free programs, and charity games. The limited nature of these exemptions is largely due to USA Hockey insurance and risk management concerns.
3. Any Individual Participant may become a member of USA Hockey. Membership in or registration with another sanctioning body may not be used as a basis to deny membership in USA Hockey, its Affiliates or local programs. Correspondingly, no Individual Participant may be penalized for participating in a program that is not sanctioned by USA Hockey. On the other hand, an Individual Participant may be disqualified from membership for violation of USA Hockey Bylaws, Rules & Regulations or Policies in accordance with USA Hockey’s Dispute Resolution Procedures.
4. Affiliates may establish reasonable rules for compliance by such Affiliate’s member organizations and/or teams seeking membership in or who are already members of the Affiliate, provided that such rules do not conflict with the Bylaws, Rules & Regulations, Policies or directives of USA Hockey.
5. If a team desires to play in a USA Hockey sanctioned game, tournament or event, then, unless it is sanctioned as a Special Event, the team and its Individual Participants must be registered with USA Hockey and the applicable Affiliate. Such registration implies and constitutes the registrant’s agreement that the team and all of its Individual Participants will be subject to the Bylaws, Rules & Regulations, Policies and Playing Rules of USA Hockey and the reasonable requirements of membership for the applicable Affiliate. The only exceptions to the requirement that sanctioned games, tournaments and events require that the team and all Individual Participants be registered with USA Hockey and the applicable Affiliate, are for Special Events noted above, and circumstances where the applicable USA Hockey registrar has approved such participation in writing and in advance (see USA Hockey Rules & Regulations, Section VIII.B).
6. Once an organization, team, or Individual Participant becomes a member of USA Hockey and the applicable Affiliate, that Affiliate may require that the member organization, team, and all Individual Participants continue to comply with the reasonable requirements for membership in the Affiliate. This may include, for example, such rules as coaching certifications, background screening, equipment requirements, safety mandates, and other guidelines, including the ADM and cross-ice hockey, and such other reasonable requirements of a USA Hockey Affiliate.

An Affiliate may enforce a rule that prohibits its member teams from participating in games or practices that are not sanctioned by USA Hockey. Unless sanctioned as a Special Event, USA Hockey’s insurance policies may not be available to cover USA Hockey programs, teams and Individual Participants when participating in a game or practice among or against a non-sanctioned team. A parent of a youth hockey player that has registered with USA Hockey with the expectation of receiving the benefits of such membership, should not be placed in a situation where they may be surprised to learn after their child is injured that USA Hockey insurance is not available because the injury occurred during a non-sanctioned event.

1. An Affiliate may also enforce a rule that its member organizations must register all of their teams and players with USA Hockey and the Affiliate. If an Affiliate has such a rule, a member organization within that Affiliate cannot register some of its teams with the Affiliate while other teams in that organization are not registered with the Affiliate. Important reasons for such a rule are so that neither USA Hockey nor its Affiliates become liable for activities conducted by a member organization that is also conducting non-sanctioned events, and to prevent the occurrence of situations where USA Hockey’s insurance could potentially be asserted to apply in a non-sanctioned event.
2. Despite the foregoing, if an Affiliate’s member organization or team desires to play in events or games that are not sanctioned by USA Hockey, they may seek a Special Event sanction for such game or event, or they may also do so provided that certain other requirements are met. A group of Individual Participants from a USA Hockey team playing in a non-USA Hockey sanctioned event or game must do so as part of a separate organization (for example, a separately incorporated corporation) that is sufficiently distinct from the USA Hockey sanctioned program. The non-sanctioned organization or team(s) should also have a separate board of directors, the team cannot wear the same uniforms or have the same team names, and all rink or vendor contracts relating to the non-sanctioned team(s) or activities must be in the name of the separate organization rather than the USA Hockey member organization or team. A sanctioned program should have separate bank accounts from the non-sanctioned organization. Additionally, sanctioned and non-sanctioned programs should not be included in the same advertisements or websites. Distinguishing teams participating in non-sanctioned events or programs from teams that are members of USA Hockey will help avoid making USA Hockey, its Affiliates or member organizations liable for activities conducted in connection with non-sanctioned play; prevent the occurrence of situations where USA Hockey’s insurance could potentially be asserted to apply in a non-sanctioned event; and will also help make Individual Participants (and their parents or guardians) aware of which games or events are under USA Hockey rules and oversight and are covered by USA Hockey insurance and other benefits. For a violation of these requirements, the team, coaches, administrators and/or program may be subject to sanctions as determined by the Affiliate following a hearing and any appeals provided in USA Hockey Bylaw 10.

The MAHA Credentialing Meeting is where a MAHA Director reviews each team who declares their intent to enter Districts or States by looking at their  "credentialing packet"

• For Split Season teams, this is held before the split-season playoffs begin
• For all other teams (Travel, Girls and House), it is held the first Saturday in January - usually at Farmington rink
• 2 representatives from each team MUST attend a one-hour meeting at their divisions designated time
• Credentialing Packet will be created by office and given to teams
• Teams are responsible for completing packets and ensuring all items are in order
• Official Roster
• MAHA Team Questionnaire – team demographics
• MAHA game log - A spreadsheet that teams fill in listing all games played; used to verify the game count
• Credentials Verification Sheet - write in your team's game dates in the numbered boxes (1 – 24) across the top, then mark an “X” in the boxes of the players who played in those games.
• Ensure all score sheets are in your binder in chronological order 
• Score sheets must clearly show Match penalties/Game Misconducts - Circle the player’s name and the penalty; Note Name, #, penalty in the comments section both on the game when the match penalty occurred and for the game that the player sits out along with “serving game misconduct from xx/xx/xxxx“. If they are not noted properly, the player will have to sit out another game!!
• USA Hockey Consent to Treat Forms are required at the time of credentialing for all National Bound Teams

• Round 1 district games
• Girls Divisions do not have District Playoffs, they go directly to states
• Games from Mid to the end of January, scheduled at credential meeting
• Played on teams existing ice
• Each team is responsible for the cost of one referee
• Round 2 is a district tournament weekend with multiple games
• 1st weekend in February
• Teams are charged a tournament fee that varies by host location
• Board will vote on whether to reimburse the teams depending on budget
• Division Finals (Hockey Day)
• 2nd weekend in February
• All fees are paid by the host association and MAHA
• State Championships
• Takes place starting the last weekend in February through Mid-March
• Tournament weekend: Locations vary
• Teams pay a tournament fee; A portion MAY be paid by KVHA
• National Championships
• Usually the first week in April
• 14U, 16U & 18/19U A/AA Girls and Boys Teams Only
• Locations vary every season by division

From the MAHA Annual Guide Pages 51-54

X. Rules and Regulations for District and State Playoffs (Refer to the yearly District and State Tournament Book)

1. Each season, MAHA shall conduct District Playoffs and State Championship Tournaments in the Youth, Girls’/Women’s, High School, and Adult age classifications. The Rules and Regulations governing eligibility and qualification for the District and National Championships
are set forth in this Article XI. The MAHA State Playoff Committee shall approve a MAHA State Championship Tournament Guidebook, which shall be published and available on the MAHA website on or before September 1 prior to the following year’s District and National
Championships. Except as set forth herein, to the extent of any contrary information in the MAHA or USA Hockey Annual Guide, the State Championship Tournament Guidebook shall be the binding authority for the requirements, rules, regulations, operation and procedures
of all MAHA District and State Championship Tournaments.

2. Eligibility for District & State Playoffs.
   a. To be eligible to enter the MAHA District and/or State playoffs, only teams rostered legally in Michigan and conforming to all USA Hockey and MAHA age classification, division classification and Registration Rules and Regulations are eligible to enter District Playoffs.
Teams shall only be eligible in the age classification, category, and division in which they play the majority of their games prior to districts or States.
   b. All teams are eligible for District Playoffs in the District in which they are legally registered, as defined in paragraph A above. The District Council, being the governing body for the District, shall have and exercise general control and authority over the affairs of the District as defined in MAHA Bylaw #6. The method of selection of eligible teams as candidates for District playoffs shall be determined by the District’s Council. All teams will be notified by their District Council, in writing, before September 1, of any changes to the selection process. No notification is required if the selection process remains the same as
the previous season, and, shall be considered as an established practice for the current season. A written copy of the selection process shall be kept on file with the District Chairperson.

C. Any team may apply to the State Playoff Committee for the granting of an exception if it is specifically allowed for in the MAHA rules and regulations. The request for exception must be in writing and it must first be submitted to the District Council by November 15
for the District in which the team is registered. The request for exception must be acted upon by the District Council and its actions evidenced by written endorsement upon the team request. The request must be submitted to the State Playoff Committee for final
approval. The decision of the State Playoff Committee is final and cannot be appealed.

3. All players must be active players on the team they are registered with at the time of the District Playoffs, except in the case of an injured player.

4. A player who transfers to a team and who has participated in a combined total number of games in excess of that classification game limit shall be ineligible for District or State Playoffs in that classification.

5. Number of Games for Eligibility
   a. In National Bound Divisions, individual players must participate in ten (10) USA Hockey sanctioned games before the earliest of February 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs with the team for which they will participate in District and State Playoffs. Players on teams in classifications that do not have District Playoffs have until their first game of State Playoffs to reach ten (10) games. For all Non-National bound divisions, the number of games is reduced to seven (7).
   b. In order to qualify for State Playoffs, all National Bound teams must play at least seventeen (17) games in its classification, category, and division before the earliest of February 1st or before the regularly scheduled first game of District Playoffs, except for Girl’s Classification and Non-National Bound teams, which must play at least fourteen (14)
games in their classification, category, and division before February 1st.
   c. Exceptions to a. or b. may be granted by the State Playoff Committee.

6. Authority of MAHA Tournament Directors and Referees
(a) Under the supervision of the State Playoff Committee, in all District and State Playoffs the qualified and designated referees shall have sole authority of and responsibility for the enforcement and interpretation of the playing rules on the ice except as provided herein. The MAHA Director shall have sole authority and responsibility for all off-ice rules and regulations enforcement and interpretation. The Tournament Director shall have the sole authority, with the advice of the referee, to terminate play, determine resurfacing as set forth in these rules, and to decide if a game must be replayed and the manner of replay.

8. Each District will conduct Playoffs to determine the District entry into the State Playoffs. In the event the team representing the host association for States wins the District Playoff, the District Playoff runner-up shall represent the District.

9. No more than two teams from any District may participate in the State Playoffs in any one classification. No more than one team from the same Association may participate in the State Playoffs in the same classification. The State Playoff Committee Reserves the right to make
exceptions in extraordinary circumstances.

10. Adult Division players are allowed to play for more than one team in different leagues, but those players playing on more than one team that is eligible to enter District and/or State Playoffs are eligible to participate in these Playoffs only as follows.
a. In the Adult USA Checking, Adult Non-Checking Tier I and over 30 through Over 60 divisions. a) Up to (5) players on the roster of a team participating in any of the above playoff classifications may also play on one other team in a different classification in the District and State Playoffs
b. The Players must be on the roster of both teams that they are playing for these playoffs and must meet all other eligibility requirements.
c. In the Adult Non-Checking Tier II division, a player can play on only one team in the District and/or State playoffs. Once
Once a player participates in a District or State Playoff game in Adult Non-Checking TierII, he is ineligible to play for any Other team in any classification in these playoffs. Once a player participates in a District
or State Playoff game in any other Adult Men’s Division, he is ineligible to play for any Adult Non-Checking Tier II team in these playoffs.
11. Penalty for failure to comply with the above rules is forfeiture of all games in which the ineligible player participated. A score of 0-1 will be recorded on the official game sheet(s) for all games if any game is forfeit.

12. Number of games for Eligibility: Adult Division (Men’s)
   a. Individual Players must participate in six (6) USA Hockey sanctioned games on or before February 1st with the team for which they will be participating in the District and State Playoffs.
   b. In order to qualify for State Playoffs, a team must play at least eight (8) games in its classification on or before February 1st
.   c. Exceptions to a) or b) may be granted by the State Playoff Committee.

13. Adult Men’s Division teams that are rostered in more than one District are eligible to enter District and/or State Playoffs
Only from the District in which they play the majority of their regular season games.