Spring League
Join the Dayton Icehounds for an exciting 7 week Spring Hockey League. Play with and against old and new friends in this fun addition to the hockey season. Teams will be formed to be as competitive as possible based on information collected at registration.
New for 2024
- Goalie Discount
- Goal is to split 10U and 12U into separate divisions, but that will depend on if we have enough players to do so.
- New formula for dividing teams. Nothing will be perfect, but we are going to try something a bit different to improve the team balance
- New final week format - single-elimination playoff
- GameSheet electronic scoring
- All families required to help for at least 2 hours (check-in, clock, scoresheet, or bench manager). Sign-up will be sent after registration ends.
Ages
Boys and Girls 8U through High School. Players can sign up either in their current age division, or play up to their next season age division. Last year, 10U/12U and 14U/HS were combined divisions. We would like to split 10U and 12U, so you will be asked to pick one or the other at registration, but we need enough players to form 4 team divisions at each age level, so 10U/12U could be combined if there are not enough players. ALL AGE DIVISIONS ARE NO-CHECKING!
When
Sundays; April 7 - May 19; Morning through Afternoon
NOTE that the current plan is to play all games on Sunday, but depending on numbers of players, some games may need to be played on either Saturday or Monday evening.
In previous years, 14U/HS has played in the morning, 8U around lunchtime, and 10U/12U in the afternoon. We expect to stick to a similar schedule this year.
Where
Practices
There are no practices, only games on Sundays
Games
Games will be scheduled for 50 minutes and will be officiated. 8U will be half-ice. Older divisions are expected to be full ice. Points will be awarded and standings kept during the first 6 weeks leading up to a single elimination playoff and League Champion in the 7th week.
Teammate Requests
We do not accept teammate or team placement requests.
Absences
We understand that Spring can be a busy time for families, and that absences will happen. However, keep in mind that being absent will affect your team. If you know that you are going to miss more than 2 or 3 weeks, this may not be the best fit for you.
Team Balance
We do our best to form competitive teams. It is our goal that every game end in a tie. Unfortunately, this is not realistic, and some teams will emerge stronger than others. Players being absent can drastically affect the strength of the team as well. We have discussed many approaches to take when this happens, but feel that any attempt to rebalance or change teams is not likely to be successful, and do not feel it is fair to pull one or two kids from a team with which they have hopefully made new friends and put them on a different team.
We encourage everyone to have fun playing each game regardless of the outcome.
Goalies
Goalies will not be placed on a team, and will instead rotate among the teams each week. Goalies will have a separate friendly competition (based on goals allowed per minute played, or GAM) to determine the final week team assignment.
Depending on number of goalies who register, they may not play full games every week, but should always play at least 2/3 of each game.
If we do not have enough goalies - this is often the case at 8U - we will ask a player to volunteer each week to play as goalie.
Because of all of this, goalies only pay 1/2 price, but there is a limit to how many can sign up at each age level.
Jerseys
Bench Managers
There are no Coaches for this league. We will ask parents to volunteer as Bench Managers. The role of the Bench Manager is to ensure line changes happen and that everyone plays equally. There are no "systems" or Power Play or Penalty Kill lines, or shortening the bench or benching a player, unless it is a safety issue. For 10U/12U, you may need to help upcoming players understand the rules (icing, offsides), but that is really all that is expected and desired from the Bench Managers. This is intended to be a fun, no-pressure league for the kids and we expect Bench Managers to behave in such a way that it remains that way.
Additional Costs
We are an affiliate of USA Hockey, which means a valid current season USA Hockey registration is also required. Cost varies based on the player's age.
Check Back Later...
We are not currently accepting registrations for this program.