It was my understanding that mouthpieces were required this year. No, I haven't memorized the NC$$ rulebook like some people on this list :-) but one of the teams my son plays for plays under NC$$ rules. And aside from the 4-on-4 for what would have been matching penalties and 5-on-5's in the past, the mouthpiece requirement has been the most visible change. Yet when watching the Mass-Lowell - Concordia game last weekend, there were numerous players who were not wearing mouthpieces. Perhaps this was allowed because it was an exhibition with a Canadian team. Or are the officials just looking the other way? I find the latter hard to believe, but was wondering if any of the other games that have been played so far have shown the same discrepancy. DaveH