Welcome to the 2nd annual DeForest Yards Mites Winter Showdown on Friday, January 1 - Sunday, January 3, 2027. Join us for a celebration of hockey with food, drinks, prizes and a festive atmosphere with the indoor-outdoor event.

The event weekend has changed this year as DeForest Yards will be the new home of the Madison Capitols USHL team. The Capitols play on Friday, January 1st at 7:00pm and all tournament participants will receive a complimentary ticket to the game!

We look forward to a great tournament and building off the first year!

Game Play

• Games will be played in two (2) 15:00 minute halves.
• Games will have three (3) minute warm-ups.
• Teams will switch bench positions at halftime to make the “longer change” fair.
• Half-time rest period will be two (2) minutes.
• Half-ice 4x4, with a goalie in full pads
• No offsides
• No icing
• Penalties (see below)

When A Goal is Scored

• The team which gives up the goal must take the puck around (behind) their own net before they can attack. Referee will pause play for a few second to allow for scoring team to “tag-up”.
• The team that scored must "tag-up" by touching their own net before going back on defense. Each player (4) must touch their own net.

When the Puck is Covered by Goalie

• The team that was on offense must retreat to center ice (half-way line between nets) before forechecking to retrieve the puck.

Player Changes

• Horn will blow after 90 (ninety) seconds throughout the half, resulting in 10 total shifts per half.
• All skaters must skate behind their own net or around the face-off dot closest to their goalie before playing the puck.
• All skaters must change, no double shifts, unless a team does not have 2 full lines of skaters. See below.
• The clock will not stop while players change shifts.
• In a situation with only 6-7 skaters on your team through injury or if you are just short skaters, players can double shift with the following rules in place:
• The player(s) staying on the ice after the horn still must go around their own net.
• Any players double shifting can NOT be the first player to play the puck on a new shift.

Tie Game

• Round Robin – games will end in a tie.
• Championship & Consolation games: Three minute "sudden death" overtime, followed by a 3-player shootout (*), continued until there is a winner. (*All players must shoot before any player can shoot twice).

Round Robin Point System

• WIN = 3 pts
• TIE = 1 pts
• LOSS = 0 pts

Round Robin Tiebreaker

• 1^st Tiebreaker: Head-to-Head
• 2^nd Tiebreaker: Goals allowed
• 3^rd Tiebreaker: Coin Flip
• Goals scored (or goal differential) will in no way count towards tiebreaker rules. Coaches, please use maximum discretion with your skaters should an uneven match-up occur; this is MITE HOCKEY and scoring more goals will in no way help your position within your pool.

Championship Games

• The top two teams in each Division will play in the Championship Game on Sunday.
• The other teams will play in consolation games on Sunday, based on their standings after Round Robin play in their respective division.

EXAMPLE (6 team division):

• Championship Game = Red 1^st Place VS Red 2^nd Place
• Consolation = Red 3^rd Place vs Red 4th place
• Consolation = Red 5th place vs Red 6th place

Medals & Awards

• Each tournament player will receive a welcome gift bag upon check-in at the beginning of the tournament
• Championship Game Winners will receive individual trophies and one large commemorative trophy to the team. one large trophy to team/head coach.
• Championship Game Second Place medals will be awarded to each player

Penalties

• Most Mites are trying hard in tournament settings, and if misconduct occurs, it is often unintentional due to a variety of issues such as balance, coordination and experience on the ice during competition. The referee will politely remind players of the offense by stating "no checking", "no tripping", "don't hit the goalie when he's covering the puck", etc.
• If a player/team continues to have issues that are not being corrected, the referee will remove the player(s) from the ice to discuss with their coach. If the problem persists, the other team will be awarded a penalty shot.

Email either Andrew Joudrey or Jordan Johnson with questions on the tournament.