The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, a USA Hockey-sanctioned hockey league aligned with schools and based in the Pittsburgh area, published its 4×4 Playing Rules Modifications to allow their regular season sub-varsity schedule to begin play this week.
These rules are an attempt to conform scholastic ice hockey to the current Pennsylvania government mandates as well as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines. Pennsylvania Governor Wolf previously ordered that hockey arenas limit participation in a game or practice to 25 participants. So the PIHL is
- increasing the number of periods in a game from three to four,
- dividing rosters roughly in half, and
- reducing the number of players on ice to four-per-team plus a goaltender.
The intent is to maximize the number of players who can participate in games and keep the game as close to a regulation hockey game as possible.
What About PIHL Varsity Hockey?
Sources in Pittsburgh say that the PIHL varsity hockey season is in flux. Many coaches, players, and officials do not want to play 4-on-4, and have considered pushing back the regular season as far as January 2021. There is some talk now that the season may start as early as November, but it’s difficult to see how that could occur without adopting similar rules modifications.
Reasons for These Rule Modifications and All This Uncertainty Around Play
All of these changes and uncertainty is the result of the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Wolf’s Executive Orders limiting indoor sports activities, and the recent court case known as County of Butler et al vs Wolf et al.
In Butler vs Wolf, the plaintiffs argue that the restrictions on number of people at indoor events and the designation of some businesses as essential or non-essential are unconstitutional. Most recently The 3rd Circuit stayed a ruling in the case that some of Wolf’s executive orders were unconstitutional, resulting in the reimposition of the 25-participant limit.
Other Leagues in Pennsylvania Have Developed Similar Rule Modifications
The Delaware Valley Hockey League, a youth hockey league in the Philadelphia area, has also developed rule modifications that are believed to be similar to those being implemented by the PIHL.