Alberta Junior Hockey League fans can expect to see a number of different rule changes for the upcoming season.
The changes were put in place following the league's annual general meeting, which took place in Red Deer on May 29.
For starters, there will no longer be any reseeding of playoff teams after the first round. This was designed to ensure the two divisions remain separate until the finals.
“Instead of the cross-over we're going with a new South/North format,” said Craig T. Cripps, the league president. “We found that the South was missing out on a lot of playoff action with our old format.”
Another significant change is the implementation of the shootout. The National Hockey League has used the shootout for five years now while the AJHL has used a number of different formats. This past year the league played one period of four-on-four hockey followed by one period of three-on-three. If nothing was settled in the old format, the game was a tie.
Starting next year, the league has abandoned the four-on-four period and will instead have a five-minute three-on-three. If the game is still tied after three-on-three action, a shootout will take place.
“We did four-on-four for a number of years but we found the three-on-three pretty exciting for the fans.” Cripps said. “The shootout should be fun for our fans also.”
The AJHL will also be using a two-referee system for select games during the regular season. In the playoffs, the league has used the two-referee system since 2006. According to Cripps, it will be based on availability of officials.
In other news from the AGM, the season will begin on Friday, Sept. 10 and teams will play an unbalanced schedule of 60 games.
For more information on the changes, visit www.ajhl.ca.
Also at the AGM, Bonnyville Pontiacs president/governor Don Sydora was elected to the AJHL management committee for 2010-11.
Those on the management committee help deal with league issues such as suspensions and other league operations.
Every year one representative from the North division and one from the South are elected and serve a term of two years,
According to Cripps, Sydora will give a valuable perspective to the group.
“The whole group should give us a good representation of the league,” he said. “We have Ken Morris from Calgary representing a big market, Ray Mildenberger from a growing market like Grande Prairie and Don will represent a rural small-town market.”
He added that the different voices will make sure that the committee will serve the AJHL and its fans well.
