A GOALKEEPER and FIVE PLAYERS for each team are usually on the field together.
FREE SUBSTITUTION - Players change while the flow of the game continues. Any number of substitutions may be made during the game.
MAN ADVANTAGES (Power Play) - A team will play one (or two) men short if the referee cites a player for a serious foul or if a player is guilty of delay of game or unsportsmanlike conduct when a penalty kick is awarded.
ACTIVE ROSTER will include a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 competitive players, all of whom may "dress" for a game.
TWO REFEREES will be on the field and have total jurisdiction over the match. An Assistant Referee will be stationed at the timer's bench to supervise the clock, penalty box, team benches, keep a record of the game, and assist the referees in control of the game.
Point System
GOALS are scored when the entire ball crosses the goal line. Any "natural goal" and all penalty kicks will be worth two (2) points. Power play goals and shoot-out goals will be worth one (1) point. All goals scored from the area located between the center line and the 45-foot arc will be worth three (3) points even in up or short-handed situations.
Other Rules
A SHOOT-OUT is awarded for all Penal Time Penalties. The offended team shall designate a player to attempt to score a goal within five seconds in a one on one situation with the opposing goalkeeper. The shoot-out begins at the center of the defensive yellow line. After a shoot-out attempt, the team taking the shoot-out shall regain possession with a free kick from the center of the yellow line nearest the offending team's goal.
Fouls are penalized with a direct free kick to the offended team, and in some cases, depending on how severe the foul, time in the penalty box. A goal can be scored direct for all free kicks. A PENALTY KICK is awarded to a team when a Penal Time Penalty is committed by the opponent in its own penalty area (25 feet directly in from of the goal). All players except the designated kicker and goalkeeper must stay outside the penalty area and restraining arc.
Penalties are called the time served in the penalty box for Penal offenses, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, and Major Misconduct violations. All time penalties are worth two (2) minutes in lenght except for Misconducts and Major Misconducts, which are five (5) minutes in length. The penalty call will not b emade (delayed time penalty) and play stopped until the guilty team gains possession of the ball or play is otherwise over. The offending team has the option of accepting or declining a power play situation at any time during the game. (However, the offending player must serve the penalty in all instances.)
ALL PENAL TIME PENALTIES result in a shoot-out and a two minute power play to the offended team.
ALL UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT PENALTIES result in a two minute power play to the offended team, but no shott-out.
ALL MISCONDUCT TIME PENALTIES are five minutes in length, but no power play or shoot-out is awarded. The guilty player must serve this penalty.
ALL MAJOR MISCONDUCT TIME PENALTIES are five minutes in length, but no power play or shoot-out is awarded. The guilty player must serve this penalty. The player is ejected.
EJECTIONS occur when a player or non-player is guilty of any of the following:
Violent conduct or Serious Foul Play; Foul and/or Abusive Language or Action; an accumulation of any four time penalties; or an accumulation of tow Major Misconduct Penalties.
The OVER AND BACK penalty stipulates a player had to deliberately pass or dribble the ball toward his team's goal from beyond his team's defensive zone. This allows for the ball to be unintentionally deflected backward off a player.
CORNER KICKS are taken if the ball leaves the playing area between the two flags on the goal line, having been last touched by the defending team.
GOALKEEPER DELAY IN THE NEUTRAL ZONE requires goalies to put the ball in play within five seconds after dribbling a ball into the defensive neutral zone, the area between the midfield line and a team's defensive yellow line, or receive a pass in this area.
