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WHAT TIER WILL MY TEAM BE IN?

02/10/2015, 1:45pm MST
By HPHL

Find out how team tiers are determined.

In order to try and have the most competitive games possible for all teams, HPHL will place teams into tiers.  There are typically 2-3 varsity tiers and 1-2 jv tiers.  In order to determine the tier for each team, HPHL looks at the level at which each of the registered players are currently playing at (fall and winter teams).  Our prior scheduler, Scott Sheehan, has devised quite a system.  It involves assigning a point value to different levels of play, while also taking into account the age of the player.  For instance a Midget Major AA player counts for more points than a house player.  Likewise a 12th grader in the house league is given more points than a 9th grade house player.  Our system compares the top 15 skaters for each team.  HPHL also looks at the top two goalies for each team.  This number can make a difference for a team on the bubble between two tiers. 

 

JV teams tend to have fairly similar point values, so they are often grouped into 1 tier which is further split into a north and south conference.  The winners of each meet in the playoff tournament’s championship game.

 

Varsity teams can have a significant range from top to bottom.  The scheduler looks for natural breaks in the numbers to find where to split off each tier.  The wider the spread, the more likely it is that there will be 3 varsity tiers.  If a single tier ends up with a large number of teams, then they might also be divided into a north and south group for the regular season to minimize travel.

 

In order to achieve the best results from the tiering process it is important for players to sign up with HPHL in a timely fashion.   Late registrations can sometimes bump a team from one tier to the next.  It is for this reason that late registrations are not always approved once tiers have been set and schedules made.

 

Be sure to register now, if you have not already done so!  Go to our registration page for more information and the link to sign up.

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