ECHL Overtime Rules
The ECHL settles regular-season ties with 3-on-3 overtime and a shootout. The playoffs throw both of those out and play sudden death until somebody scores.
Regular-season overtime, step by step
- Regulation ends tied. After 60 minutes the teams go straight to overtime. Nothing is decided yet, but both teams have already banked at least 1 point.
- Seven minutes of 3-on-3. Overtime is sudden death, so the first goal ends the game. Dropping to three skaters a side opens up large amounts of ice, which is why many overtimes end quickly.
- Penalties make it 4-on-3. The short-handed team keeps three skaters and the other team adds one, rather than the penalized team dropping to two.
- Still tied, so a shootout. Three shooters each. If that does not separate them, the shootout continues one round at a time until it does.
Playoff overtime is a different game
- Full 20-minute periods. Not seven minutes, and not 3-on-3. Playoff overtime is played at full strength, 5-on-5.
- Sudden death, repeated. Periods keep coming, with a normal intermission in between, until a goal decides it.
- No shootout and no tie. Every Kelly Cup playoff game produces a winner on the ice.
What overtime does to the standings
- The winner takes 2 points whether the goal came in regulation, in overtime, or in the shootout.
- Overtime and shootout losers take 1 point. A regulation loss is worth nothing.
- Not every win is equal for tiebreakers. Regulation wins (RW) and regulation-plus-overtime wins (ROW) both ignore shootout victories, so they separate teams who finish level on points.
Frequently asked questions
How does overtime work in the ECHL?
If a regular-season game is tied after 60 minutes of regulation, the teams play a sudden-death overtime period of not more than seven minutes at 3-on-3. The first goal wins the game immediately. If neither team scores in those seven minutes, the game goes to a shootout. Note that this is longer than the five-minute overtime used in the NHL and AHL.
Does the ECHL have shootouts?
Yes, but only in the regular season. A game still tied after the seven-minute overtime is decided by a three-round shootout, with each team sending out three different shooters. If the score is still level after three rounds each, the shootout continues in sudden-death rounds until one team scores and the other does not. There are no shootouts in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
How does ECHL playoff overtime work?
Playoff overtime is played differently from the regular season. Tied playoff games go to full 20-minute sudden-death periods at 5-on-5 rather than 3-on-3, with a normal intermission between each period. Those periods repeat as many times as it takes, so a playoff game ends only when someone scores. There is no shootout and no tie.
How many points does a team get for losing in overtime?
A team that loses in overtime or in the shootout still earns 1 point in the standings. The winner earns 2 points. A team that loses in regulation earns nothing. This is why a game decided in 60 minutes is worth two total points to the league while a game that goes past regulation is worth three.
What is the difference between OTL and SOL?
OTL is an overtime loss and SOL is a shootout loss. Both are worth 1 point, so they are identical in the standings total. The ECHL tracks them separately, and the standings table on this site combines them into a single OTL column because they carry the same point value.
Does a shootout win count the same as any other win?
It is worth the same 2 points, but not for tiebreaking purposes. A shootout win does not count toward regulation wins (RW) or regulation-plus-overtime wins (ROW), both of which are used to break ties in the standings. Two teams level on points can therefore be separated by how many of their wins came before the shootout.
What happens if there is a penalty during 3-on-3 overtime?
The penalized team does not drop to two skaters. Instead the team on the power play adds a skater, so overtime is played 4-on-3. Once the penalty expires or is scored on, the teams return to 3-on-3 at the next stoppage.
How long can an ECHL playoff game go?
There is no limit. Because playoff overtime is sudden death and repeats in 20-minute periods, a game continues until a goal is scored no matter how many extra periods that takes.