While these rules apply to advancing to the State and National Tournaments, it is important to note that both the Lightning High School Hockey League (LHSHL) and Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League (FPSHL) may operate their leagues with their own set of rules and regulations, which may differ from those items outlined herein. Should teams be formed outside of the rules and regulations below, while those teams may participate in their own respective leagues, they shall not be eligible to advance to t he SAHOF State Tournament or beyond.

To qualify as a Pure, or Tier I team, all players, including goaltenders, must physically attend the same school

To qualify as a Combined/Tier II team, a maximum of 4 schools may be represented on a team's roster, unless they are a private school

• School Roster Trimming - Teams may not trim their regular season roster in order to get down to the 4 school maximum to qualify for the State and National Tournament
• Non-Traditional Schools - A player that attends a private, charter, religious or non-boundary school which school does not have its own hockey team, and but for player’s actual attendance at a private, charter, religious or non-boundary school such player’s primary residence would otherwise dictate that the player would otherwise attend a traditional high school within a team catchment area, shall not prohibit the player from playing for the traditional high school within the team catchment area, and such player’s school of actual attendance shall not count against or be considered to exceed the quantity of schools within any catchment area, so long as the player’s primary residence does not expand the geographical area of the high schools which form the team catchment area
• Goalie Pool - A Tier II team in need of a goalie, may roster a goalie from a League appointed/designated pool. The school that goalie attends shall not count against their roster maximum
  • A Tier I team may not utilize any player from outside of their school, including a goalie out of a goalie pool
• Private School Limitations - A private school may not combine with a public school in order to form a single Tier II/Combined team. 
  • A private school may only combine with another private school, where both schools are located within the same county
  • In the 2018-2019 season, a maximum of 4 private schools may combine to form a single Tier II/Combined team
  • In the 2019-2020 season, a maximum of 3 private schools may combine to form a single Tier II/Combined team
  • In the 2020-2021 season and beyond, a maximum of 2 private schools may combine to form a single Tier II/Combined team

• Billeted Players -  Players billited for the purpose of playing hockey, and/or competing on Tier I, Tier II or junior teams are not eligible
• Players Outside of North America - Teams may carry a maximum of 2 non-North American players, who were not registered with USA Hockey in the previous season
  • In the event a team feels they need an additional player beyond the 2 non-North American player maximum, they must apply for a waiver to be approved or denied by the SAHOF High School Committee.
  • In the event a waiver is submitted and approved by the SAHOF High School Committee, at most, only 2 additional non-North American players may be added to a roster.
• Tier II/Combined Catchment Area Adjustment Grandfather Provision - Players affected by a catchment/boundary area adjustment, who are in their final season of eligibility (High School Senior) may qualify for a "grandfathered" clause, allowing them to remain with the team they played for in their junior season, if they so choose. In such a case, the school they attend shall not count against the total school count represented on their roster.
• Pool Players - In the event a team accepts pool players (players from outside of their designated boundary/catchment area as determined by their local league), they shall be ineligible to advance to the SAHOF State Championships and beyond.
  • Goalie Exception - A Tier II team in need of a goalie may select a goalie from the pool in the event they are deemed in need by their local league, and shall remain eligible to advance to the SAHOF State Championships and beyond.

• TIER I - PURE
  • 2 teams shall be selected from both the LHSHL, and the FPSHL, for a total of 4 teams in the Tier I division of the State Tournament. Teams shall be selected by each League independently, following their specific League rules and regulations.
  • Each team within Tier I will play one (1) game against each Tier I team in attendance during the initial round of play, totaling 3 games played for each team
  • Following the open round of play, utilizing tie breakers as provided by SAHOF, the Tier I team in 1st place shall advance to the State Championship Game
  • Following the opening round of play, utilizing tie breakers as provided by SAHOF, the Tier I team in 4th place shall be eliminated from contention
  • Following the opening round of play, utilizing tie breakers as provided by SAHOF, the Tier I teams in both 2nd and 3rd place shall play each other in a semi-final game, where the winner of such game advances to the State Championship game, and the loser is eliminated from contention

• TIER II - COMBINED
  • 3 teams shall be selected from both the LHSHL, and the FPSHL, for a total of 6 teams in the Tier II division of the State Tournament. Teams shall be selected by each League independently, following their specific League rules and regulations.
  • The 3 teams selected from the LHSHL shall be placed in to a division of only LHSHL teams
    • The 3 teams selected from the FPSHL shall be placed in to a division of only FPSHL teams

SAMPLE DIVISIONS

• Teams will play opening round games cross-conference. Meaning LHSHL teams will only play games against FPSHL teams, and FPSHL teams will only play games against LHSHL teams in the opening round. This will total three (3) games played by each team in the opening round of play
• While games will be played cross conference, standings will be complied within your division, against the other teams within your league
• Following the open round of play, utilizing tie breakers as provided by SAHOF, the Tier II team in 3rd place in each division shall be eliminated from further contention
• Following the opening round of play, utilizing tie breakers as provided by SAHOF, the Tier II teams in 1st and 2nd in each division shall face each other in a divisional semifinal game, where the winner advances to the State Championship game, and the loser is eliminated from further contention
  • Semifinal games will be as follows:
    • LHSHL #1 v LHSHL #2
    • FPSHL #1 v FPSHL #2
• State Championship game will be LHSHL v FPSHL at the Tier II level