About

A guide for the bleachers.

Plenty of people sit through a whole hockey season without anyone explaining offside: parents and grandparents of players, friends, classmates, new fans. The Bleacher Guide is for them. It teaches the game, one idea at a time, with a drawn rink and plain words.

Where the rules come from

Ohio high-school hockey is played under the NFHS Ice Hockey Rules. Every rules fact here is our own plain-words summary of that book (the 2024-25 edition, plus the 2025-26 and 2026-27 changes we could confirm from NFHS releases), with the rule number beside it so you can look it up. We do not reproduce the rule book. Youth games under USA Hockey rules, college and pro hockey differ in places, and state associations adopt their own options (overtime is the big one). When in doubt, the officials on the ice and your state association decide, not this site.

Unofficial and independent

The Bleacher Guide lives at ghbulldoghockey.com, but it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or speaking for Garfield Heights City Schools, Garfield Heights High School, any team named the Bulldogs, the City of Garfield Heights or its youth hockey program, any boosters, the OHSAA or the NFHS. It uses none of their logos, mascots or colours, and it publishes nothing about teams or players: no rosters, schedules, results, names or photos.

Who runs it

WeldonPC, a computer and web services company in Northeast Ohio. Questions go through weldonpc.com.