Q: Is the SDFHL a roller hockey league?
A: No, we play on foot, with a Mylec hockey ball, and standard hockey goals on a cement hockey rink that is a bit smaller than NHL regulation size. The term ‘floor’ in our name comes from our origin story…the UCSD floor hockey intramural program. If you play ball/dek/street hockey…this is the very same sport.
Q: How do I join the league?
A: We create teams via a draft each season, which establishes parity, and ‘keeps things fresh and exciting’ for everyone. Unfortunately, once teams are drafted, newcomers have to wait until the following season to play. If you are interested in joining, please email Mark and/or Chad.
Q: When do you play league games?
A: We play every Sunday (weather permitting), with the exception of a few major holidays. Game start times ranging from 3:00-8:00pm.
Q: Where do you play?
A: We play at a rink at the 4S Ranch Sports Park in Rancho Bernando: (Map and Directions).
Q: How long is a season?
A: The regular season typically runs eleven weeks. Playoffs are double-elimination, and run for five weeks. With the occasional rainout, and about half a dozen holiday weekends off, we typically get two to three seasons in per calendar year.
Q: Sundays are bad for me, is there anywhere else I can play outside of the league?
A: There are two Thursday Night Hockey (ThNH) sessions that run from 7:00-8:15pm and 8:15-9:30pm every Thursday (again, holidays and rainouts, excepted). If you are interested in playing in those sessions, please email Jeremy. Do NOT show up unannounced!
Q: Are there any special rules that I should be aware of?
A: See the Official SDFHL Rule Book for details. Some of the exceptions to “normal” NHL rules include the following:
- No body checking, nor any other overly physical play is allowed. Icing is from behind your own blue line (as opposed to the center red line in the NHL), and it is an automatic call (as opposed to the NHL requiring a defending player to touch the puck first).
- If a player hits the ball out of mid-air with their stick at a point above the player’s waist, but below the shoulders, the play is blown dead. This is a precautionary measure to keep everybody’s sticks down.
- Further, in an effort to (strongly) discourage dangerous stick play, raising your stick above your shoulders for any reason can be assessed a two minute high-sticking penalty…even if you are nowhere near another player, and even if you are not playing the ball.
- We play with a “floating blue line,” which means that, once the attacking team successfully gains the attacking zone (with the ball crossing the standard blue line in advance of any attacking players), the attacking zone then ‘expands’ back to the center line. The defending team must move the ball past center to force the attacking team to ‘tag up’ and gain the zone anew.
Q: What type of protective equipment should I bring?
A: Most of our players wear soccer shin guards and standard hockey gloves. Many wear full (over-the-knee) shin pads…especially defenders. A small percentage of our players wear a helmet (with or without a cage), eye protection, and other assorted protective gear. Some players play without any protection at all…none is required, unless you are a minor. While the league is non-contact, incidental bumps and bruises are bound to happen, and the ball will leave bruises on unprotected flesh on hard shots or passes. An athletic cup is also not a bad idea.
Q: Where can I buy equipment locally?
A: HockeyTron is a local hockey equipment warehouse that happens to be owned by a member of our league, Chris Malki. Chris is always very good to players in the league, and they have everything and anything you could possibly want/need. If you order online, and contact them, they are typically able to bring your equipment out to the rink for you…what more could you want?