How to fill out a NORCAL score sheet
Chuck Collins

This is a guide for managers, coaches, referees and score keepers to help you to correctly fill out a NORCAL game sheet.

A properly filled-out game sheet is required for all NORCAL games, be they pre-season, regular season, exhibition or playoffs.

Managers / Coaches

Pre-game

• please make sure the game identification is filled in: game #, date, time, rink, teams, division (Squirt, Midget), level (B, A, Tier)
• coach must sign, and include his/her coaching certification number and level
• please make player names and numbers READABLE
• manager or coach should fill out names, not players
• fill out roster in alphabetical order by last name
• as of the 2003 season, players are no longer required to sign the score sheets. By his signature, the coach is guaranteeing that the list of players is accurate.
• a player serving a game suspension SHOULD be listed in the regular place on the roster, but beneath the name write "- suspension -". Note player's number, name and team, and "serving suspension" in the notes section. It does not help to see "#4 serving suspension", but no #4 in either roster, and no indication of which team the player is from
• a player who is part of the team and eligible to play, but is not playing, SHOULD be listed as well, but beneath the name write "- absent -". If the player arrives late, make sure the "absent" notation is crossed out

Post-game

• make sure you get your copy; save them for proving playoff eligibility
• if you are the home team, make sure the white sheet goes where it is supposed to so the league will get it; lost white sheets can lead to forfeits
• check for suspensions right after referee is through; ask questions if there's something you don't understand
• if the coach gets 15 penalties, or a player gets 5 penalties, and the ref does not notice, the statistician will; point it out to the ref and get it noted on the sheet so we don't have to levy penalties later

Referees

Pre-game

• check that head coaches have signed
• rosters filled out WITH NUMBERS
• count players during warm-ups, see if the roster matches
• if the count does not match roster, inquire as to why (2 players have not shown up, etc.); be certain you know why if the sheet lists fewer players than are on the ice
• player signatures are no longer required
• a player serving a game suspension SHOULD be listed on the roster, with number, but under the name, they should write "- suspension -", with another notation in the Notes section
• if a player is not present at the beginning of the game, mark "- absent -" under that name, and make sure the score keeper crosses out the "absent" when the player arrives

During game

• if there's a complicated situation brewing, help the score keeper
• check in with score keeper between periods for questions
• if a scorekeeper is in the weeds, go suggest to the home team coach that the score keeper might benefit from an experienced helper

Post-game

• READABLE officials' names please
• Check penalties:
• 15 penalties means goach suspension; please write it up
• 5 penalties for 1 player means game misc; please write it up
• Check that double minors are listed and counted as 2 + 2 not a 4
• Check that checking from behind is listed as 2 + 10, not a 12
• Check "served by" penalties are noted correctly
• Scorekeepers often have no clue how to record goalie stats; please politely help if you understand (goals allowed over shots faced), but don't try too hard; be helpful, not overbearing

Score keeper

• please make sure the game identification is filled in: game #, date, time, rink, teams, division, level
• note the actual start time and curfew time
• find out the referee's name and print it legibly, so he/she can be identified for questions later
• it is often easier to write events down on a separate sheet of paper while the referee is telling you something, then transcribe it carefully onto the score sheet; it's easy to write the right thing in the wrong place if you go directly onto the score sheet
• The score keeper has three main responsibilities during the game: recording goals / assists; recording penalties; recording goalie stats; each poses its own challenges
• Most score keepers in youth hockey record times as they appear on the clock, i.e. down-time. If you insist on using up-counting time (like in the NHL), please be completely consistent and only use one system

Goals / Assists

• Record each goal on a line alone; do not leave blank lines
• The number of the player who scored the goal according to the ref is registered in the first box; one or two players may be credited with assists, or none; it's the ref's job to award assists
• some parents will get very heated over unregistered or incorrect assists; feel sorry for them and try and teach them it's a team game; only with the officials' approval can a score sheet be changed; a wise man once said there's way too much focus on individual stats in youth hockey
• after the game, please note the final score in the upper corners as provided on the score sheet
• if a goal is a power play mark "pp" near the goal number on the left; also mark "sh" for short-handed, and "en" for empty net

Penalties

• a penalty is 2, 5 or 10 minutes. There are no 4 minute penalties (those are recorded as 2 2-minute penalties) and there are no 12-minute penalties (those are recorded as a 2-minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct).
• the wide blank area is for the actual penalty; "rough", "trip", "cross-check"; keep it terse (however, please note there are no "F"s in rough; "ruff" is either part of Bridge, or Dennis the Menace's dog); if a penalty is being served by another player, just list the player serving by putting their number in parenthesis after the penalty type; make sure the player who did the deed is listed in the second column
• the "Off" time and the "start" time are usually the same, but not always. For example, if a player gets a minor penalty, and no one else is in the box, The "off" and "start" times are the same. The "on" time may be 2 minutes later, unless the other team scores a power-play goal, in which case the "on" time is less than 2 minutes later.
  
  If a player gets multiple penalties on the same play, the "off" and "start" times are different. For example, with 13:00 remaining, player #5 gets 2-and-10 for checking from behind. That is entered on the sheet as 2 separate penalties:
  

  Per  #   Penalty             Min  Off Ice   Start   On Ice
   1   5   Check from Beh (14)  2   13:00     13:00   11:00
   1   5   Misconduct          10   13:00     11:00    0:32
  

  
  The (14) says the minor penalty was served by team mate #14. Assuming the other team does not score, #14 re enters the game at 11:00. Then the 10-minute part of #5s misconduct starts. That player re-enters the game at the first whistle after the 1:00 mark, in this case 0:32. Another example is a player gets 4 minutes for roughing. Let's say the other team scores after 1:30 of the penalty. That looks like:
  

  Per  #   Penalty             Min  Off Ice   Start   On Ice
   2   8   Roughing             2   13:00     13:00   11:30
   2   8   Roughing             2   13:00     11:30    9:30
  

  
  If you're running the score clock too, and it shows penalties, you post the first penalty as 4:00 minutes. When the other team scores, the clock would read 2:30 remaining. You need to change the clock to read 2:00 at that point.
  
  "Off" and "Start" are different when you have three or more players serving penalties.
  

  Per  #   Penalty             Min  Off Ice   Start   On Ice
   1   2   Roughing             2   13:00     13:00   
   1   3   Hooking              2   12:00     12:00    
   1   4   Slashing             2   11:30     
  

  
  When #4 gets his penalty, his team is already 2 players short. So his penalty does not start until #2's penalty is over. And #2 cannot go out on the ice until #3's penalty expires, when his team is entitled to 4 players again. So this one may end up looking like:
  

  Per  #   Penalty             Min  Off Ice   Start   On Ice
   1   2   Roughing             2   13:00     13:00   10:00
   1   3   Hooking              2   12:00     12:00    9:00
   1   4   Slashing             2   11:30     11:00    8:32
  

  
  In this case, there were no whistles between 11:00 and 8:32. At 10:00, #2 re-entered on the fly when #3's penalty expired, but #3 had to stay in the box. Similarly, when #4's penalty expired, #3 enters on the fly, and #4 must wait for a whistle (8:32).
  
  Try explaining that one to a mite player...
• keep an eye out for a player receiving 5 penalties in a game and inform the ref when the fifth occurs; that player receives a game misconduct
• count the penalties at the end of a game; if a team has 15, tell the ref; the coach gets a game misconduct
• don't leave blank lines in the penalty section
• if a game has more penalties than will fit, the right thing to do is get a second blank score sheet and continue on that

Goalie stats:

• There are 4 lines for each team's goalie stats. The top two lines on the left hand side are the stats for the starting goalie for the visiting team. The top two on the right side are for the starting goalie for the home team. The third and fourth lines on each side are used when a team changes goalies. The first column is for the jersey number of the goalie.
• Common mistake: Putting the Home goalie on the visiting side.
• Second common mistake: not noticing when goalies change. When goalies change, it should be noted at what period/time the change took place in the "Notes" section. E. G.:

  Home goalie sub at 7:15 of 2nd period #30 replacing #1

• The top line of the goalie stats are used for "Goals allowed" per period and total. The second line is used for "shots faced". So if a team had 10 shots on goal in a period, and 1 was a goal, that meant the goalie had 9 saves. That is entered on the sheet as a "1" in the top line, and a "10" directly beneath it.
• Common mistake: Putting shots faced on the upper line. Second common mistake: Putting saves rather than shots faced.