>        Here's a "rules question" that's sort of ridiculous, but the
>person who asked it during the RPI-Cornell game the other night is just
>the type to ask such a question, and I couldn't find anything in the
>rulebook that addresses it.  Suppose that because of injuries and/or
>penalties a team gets reduced to less than five currently eligible skaters.
>What happens?
 
You're right, the situation is not addressed in the rule book. Since the
book implies (rule 2, section 5e) that a team can start play with fewer
players than it is entitled to, I would conclude that the team can choose
to continue the game with as little as one player, although that could lead
to other undefined circumstances (e.g., what if a team is playing with just
a goaltender, and the goalie commits a penalty; who serves it?). I don't
think it's too likely we'll ever have to deal with this hole in the rules,
though.
 
>
>        Also, does anybody know offhand what the "official score" of a
>forfeit is?  1-0, or perhaps 3-0?
>
 
There is only one reference to forfeiture in the official playing rules,
and that is the situation in which a team refuses to obey a decision of the
referee within three minutes, a situation which we came dangerously close
to a few years ago in a game against Toronto. The score in that case would
be 1-0. Administrative forfeitures (e.g., Maine-Providence) are a different
story.
 
 
>
>                                                Dave Delchamps
>                                                Cornell University
>                                                Let's Go Red !!