AHA C3 Spiders AHA Post-Season Format

In the event of a tie in the regular season standings, the following criteria are used to determine post-season seeding:

Playoff format

The post-season entrance gate is as follows:

Depending on the number of teams in a level, either the top four or top six teams from each division advance to playoffs.
- Pool format for three pools:
  - Pool A: East #1, North #2, West #3, East #4
  - Pool B: North #1, West #2, East #3, North #4
  - Pool C: West #1, East #2, North #3, West #4
- Pool format for two pools:
  - Pool A: East #1, West #2, West #3, East #4
  - Bool B: West #1, East #2, East #3, West #4
- Single pool format:
  - #1 plays #6, #5, #4
  - #2 plays #6, #5, #3
  - #3 plays #6, #4, #2
  - #4 plays #1, #3, #5
  - #5 plays #1, #2, #4
  - #6 plays #1, #2, #3
The round robin round has consisting of three games each.
Semi-final:
- For three pools, the top four teams of the round robin (three pool winners plus next-best pool play record) advance to single-elimination pool final Saturday night.
- For two pools, top two records in each pool advance to single-elimination semi-final Saturday night.
- For single pool, there is no semi-final, top two pool records advance to final.
- All pool finalists receive tournament berth fee.
Tier Championship Sunday between the two semi-final winners.

There will be no overtime in round-robin pool play. Games will end in ties and will count in the standings.
If at any time the score differential is six or greater in the third period, the clock will convert to running time. If at any time the score differential goes below six goals, the clock will revert back to stop time.
In Pool Championship and Tier Championship games, if at the end of the three periods the score is tied, the teams shall play one overtime period of five minutes, running time. If at the end of the overtime period the score is still tied, a shootout will take place. Shootout rules are as follows:
- Three players from each team participate in the order the team captain selects. The home team will elect whether to shoot first or second.
- Each team takes three shots in alternating fashion. The team with the most goals after those six (or fewer) shots is the winner.
- If the score remains tied, the shootout will proceed to a “sudden-death” format. No skater may partipate more than once until all other skaters have participated.