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Roll
With the Punches
AHL announces several rule changes
for 2004-05 and welcomes Des Moines as the league's 29th team in 2005-06.
07.15.04 - The recent Annual Board of Governors Meeting at Hilton Head Island,
SC, has assured that the American Hockey League will have a new look as the
2004-05 season gets underway.
The league revealed several significant rule changes aimed at increasing the flow of the game and generating additional offensive opportunities.
The AHL also announced that a new team in Des Moines, IA is slated to join the league, as well as a couple of ownership changes that will be effective this season.
On July 5, 2004, the league's Board of Governors made the following announcements:
•
The AHL has implemented a shootout to decide regular-season games
that are tied after a five-minute overtime period. In the AHL standings, teams
will receive two points for a win, one point for a loss in overtime or in
a shootout and zero points for a loss in regulation time.
• The AHL has reduced the number of qualifying teams
for the Calder Cup 2005 Playoffs to 16 (from 20). The format will still feature
a divisional playoff, leading to conference finals and ultimately the Calder
Cup Final. The top four teams from each division will qualify for the postseason,
and all rounds will feature best-of-seven series.
• The Board approved the relocation of the inactive franchise owned by Howard Baldwin from Louisville, Ky., to Des Moines, Iowa, to begin play in 2005-06.
• The Board approved the transfer of ownership of the Norfolk Admirals from Mark Garcea and Page Johnson to a group led by the Norfolk Tides Baseball Club and its president, Ken Young.
• The Board approved the transfer of controlling interest in the Hamilton Bulldogs to Hamilton businessman Michael Andlauer, who had been a minority owner.
RULE CHANGES:
The American Hockey League's Board of Governors has approved the implementation of the following rule changes, effective beginning with the 2004-05 season:
• In a delayed offside situation, the offending player(s) will be permitted to negate the offside by "tagging up" with the blue line. This rule was in effect from 1986-96 and is expected to enable more flow in the forechecking aspect of the game while reducing the number of stoppages.
• "Automatic icing" has been implemented, with icing infractions to be called and the play whistled dead when the puck crosses the goal line.
• Goal lines will be moved from 13 feet to 11 feet out from the end boards, and blue lines will be moved back accordingly to maintain a 60-foot attacking zone. This will increase the size of the neutral zone and reduce play behind the goals.
• The width of the blue lines and the center red line will be increased from 12 inches to 24 inches each, and passes will be permitted from the defensive edge of one blue line to the offensive edge of the other blue line, adding additional space to the neutral zone.
• The maximum width of goaltenders' leg pads will be reduced from 12 inches to 10 inches, creating additional scoring area for shooters.
• The AHL will also implement, for the first seven weeks of the 2004-05 regular season, a limited test of a rule restricting the areas where goaltenders may play the puck. This is a step designed to increase offensive opportunities without wholly eliminating a goaltender's ability to assist his defensemen.
Following the completion of the test period, the AHL will evaluate the results and determine whether the rule's application will continue.
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