On-Ice Rulings
The following are rulings for on ice interactions that are considered questionable and may have impacted the outcome of the game.
Player Substitutions
Players may substitute in and out at any point during the game provided that their substitution does not directly impact the current play of the puck. Violations of this would include dropping on a breakaway, dropping in on a faceoff, etc. Punishments for these actions will be handled on a case by case basis by the NAL BoC.
Goalie Interference
“Goalie Interference” is as any physical contact, intentional or not, by an opponent which inhibits the Goalie from making an attempt to save while in or near the Goalie crease or clearly returning to the net. Goalie Interference is a judgment call, and shall be ruled by the sole discretion and judgment of the Board.
Penalty
In the event that a goal is scored due to Goalie Interference, the goal will not count. Repeated goalie interference violations can be punishable by suspension.
Clarifications
To clarify, the Goalie must be in the crease or en route to the crease and close enough that he would have been able to make a save if not for the interference.
A goalie who is charging from the net, clearly leaving the crease, is considered a skater, and is not protected by goalie interference. Any opposing skater who makes incidental contact against a defending goalie, and who is attempting to play the puck, does not commit the foul of goalie interference. The attacking skater has equal right of way as the defending goalie to make a play on the puck. However, once a goalie has returned to the crease, he may not be interfered with.
The NAL will now be using this ice texture as the officially recognized rink. This will be relevant as this goalie crease during rulings will be used.
Incidental contact by an opponent due to a goalie’s teammate pushing the opponent into a goalie, is not Goalie Interference.
Incidental contact by a teammate being shoved into his own goalie (by an opponent) preventing the goalie making a save, is Goalie Interference.
Stick in the face
Stick in the face is any intentional act by a player inhibiting or attempting to inhibit the vision of an opponent by placing his stick through or around his opponent’s head. Stick in the face of a Goalie is considered goalie interference and will be handled as such.
Penalty
Stick in the face penalty will be handled on a case by case basis at the sole discretion and judgment of the Board.  Stick in the face clearly preventing a goal will likely result in an awarded goal to the inhibited player.  Repeated stick in the face violations can be punishable by suspension.
Player / Player Interference
Physical contact between skaters is allowed at all times.
Goalie Screening
Goalie Screening is allowed at any point in time provided no contact with the goalie is made during the process.  Using the stick to inhibit the goalie’s vision is Goalie Interference.
Timeouts
Each team may call 1 timeout per game in the playoffs only. Timeouts are no longer allowed in the regular season. Each timeout lasts for 1 minute, and may only be called during the intermission between periods or during the stoppage time immediately following a goal. No extra timeouts will be granted for overtime. Once a timeout ends, a faceoff will occur at center ice.
Calling a timeout
Only the GM, AGM, and Captain may call a timeout in chat. They may do so by typing “timeout”. If none of the three are present for the game, the remaining team members may appoint an interim Captain who can call timeout during the game. This must be established with the server admin present prior to the game starting to be considered legitimate.
Allowed Goals
Anytime a puck goes into a net through the front and triggers the goal “horn”.
Glitch Goals
Anytime the puck goes into the net but fails to trigger a goal, the goal must be put back into the net to fix the in game score. The goal and assist will be awarded to the corresponding players after the game by the appropriate executives. The admins can then reset the clock to the appropriate time remaining and continue the game.
Disallowed Goals
Any goal that does not go through the front of the net will be reviewed and discredited. This includes goals where the puck went through the sides, under the back of, or through the top of the net. If a goal is retroactively disallowed in a game that went into overtime, all points scored in OT are voided, and the team that would have won if the disallowed goal was not scored will be awarded a win.
Automatic Goals
If an illegal substitution directly affects a breakaway, a goal will be credited to the player on the breakaway. Assists will be handled on a case by case basis.
Game Interference
In the event a non-rostered player joins during an official game, the game will be subject to a possible replay depending on whether or not the interfering player affected the play of the game. This will be handled on a case by case basis and will be reviewed post-game by the BoC.
No Spectator Rule
No spectators are allowed in a server while a stream is running. All violators will be kicked if they refuse to leave on their own when asked. Those who repeatedly cause issues will be kicked with no guarantee of a clear kick. The only exceptions to this rule are:
Players from the two teams involved in the current game
Server admins
League officials
Mercy Rule
A game is over if one team reaches a 6 goal lead. All further stats beyond that point are irrelevant and will not be counted.
Player Disconnect
In the event that a team playing 5v5 loses a player mid game due to disconnect, the game is paused at the next stoppage in play. The team who lost the player has 5 minutes in order to get 5 players back on the ice. If they fail to do so in that time, they must forfeit the game regardless of the score.
Server Connectivity
If there is definitive proof that connection issues are indeed server related, a replay or partial replay of a game will be awarded based on the judgement of the BoC.
Macros
Macros are strictly prohibited in the NAL. This includes chat spamming macros, jumping macros, spin macros, etc.
Every team must play as the color assigned to them on the schedule beforehand. Blue will be away, while Red will be the home team. If you are the home team on the schedule, you must play as Red. This is largely in place to support streamers enhancing their broadcast as much as possible.