QUESTION: I have heard that if you play a player who is not listed on the score sheet it counts as a forfeit. Is this true? If so, are there are other penalties? Last night High School “A” played High School “B” and High School “A” played the “Doe” brothers. The older brother was listed on the score sheet, but the younger brother was not (he played the earlier JV game and was on that score sheet).
ANSWER: Ultimately the roster is the absolute jurisdiction. The score sheet should reflect each player on the ice for a given game. The referee is supposed to check that (by player count usually). Mistakes can be made and I think that is what happened here.
The older brother is on the Varsity roster. The younger brother is on the varsity roster (as a double rostered JV player); the younger brother is on the JV roster as well.
I think what happened here is the team brought up the younger “Doe” brother for a game and forgot to put his name on the score sheet. This absolutely needs to be corrected as it might count as one of his games playing up on the 7up/down rule. But there is no hard and fast rule about forfeiting if he is not on the score sheet. If there is an illegal player in a game – if he was not on the actual roster – then there could be consequences. But my little investigation – which is what would happen with a formal complaint – revealed he was on the actual roster, properly. Only in state tourney play is it stated as an absolute – that an illegal roster/player will constitute a forfeiture – no question. That may be where the confusion comes into play.
Categories: AHAI