7 Common Hockey League Scheduling Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

After 15 years as a league commissioner—and building scheduling tools for hundreds of other leagues—I've seen every scheduling mistake imaginable. Some are annoying. Some torpedo entire seasons.

This guide covers the 7 most common errors and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Starting Too Late

**The Problem**: You wait until 2-3 weeks before the season to build the schedule. Ice slots get grabbed by other groups. Teams can't plan. Chaos ensues.

**The Impact**:

Suboptimal ice times

Teams without childcare coverage

Referee shortages

Commissioner burnout

**The Fix**: Start scheduling 6 weeks before the season:

| Week | Action |

|------|--------|

| 6 | Confirm ice slots with rink |

| 5 | Finalize team registrations |

| 4 | Generate base schedule |

| 3 | Review for conflicts and fairness |

| 2 | Assign referees |

| 1 | Publish and communicate |

**Pro tip**: Block your calendar for scheduling during these weeks. It's not a background task.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Time Slot Fairness

**The Problem**: Same teams always get stuck with undesirable times. Maybe it's the 10:30 PM slot every week. Maybe it's early Sunday morning. Players notice, and they resent it.

**The Impact**:

Team complaints and grievances

Lower attendance at bad slots

Teams leaving for other leagues

Perception of favoritism

**The Fix**: Track time slot distribution and rotate fairly.

**Create a Time Slot Matrix**:

| Team | 6pm | 7:30pm | 9pm | 10:30pm |

|------|-----|--------|-----|---------|

| Sharks | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

| Eagles | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |

| Storm | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |

Every team should have similar distribution. If someone has to play 10:30 PM more than average, compensate with more 6 PM games.

Mistake #3: Creating Back-to-Back Games

**The Problem**: Teams scheduled to play on consecutive days—or worse, twice in one day at different rinks.

**The Impact**:

Player fatigue and injury risk

Low attendance for second game

Goalkeeper burnout

Competitive fairness issues

**The Fix**: Build hard constraints into your scheduling:

No team plays twice in one day

48 hours minimum between games

If back-to-back is unavoidable, home game second

**Scheduling software** should flag these automatically. If using spreadsheets, add conditional formatting.

Mistake #4: Not Collecting Blackout Dates

**The Problem**: You build a beautiful schedule, then teams request changes because of conflicts you didn't know about.

**The Impact**:

Cascading rescheduling

Weeks of email back-and-forth

Games at bad times due to limited makeup options

Commissioner frustration

**The Fix**: Collect blackouts before building the schedule.

**Blackout Collection Process**:

Send request 8 weeks before season

Deadline 6 weeks before season

Clear policy: no changes after deadline except emergencies

**What to Collect**:

Dates teams cannot play

Dates key players unavailable (important for small teams)

Holiday blackouts (league-wide)

Mistake #5: Unbalanced Home/Away Distribution

**The Problem**: Some teams have significantly more home or away games, creating real or perceived disadvantage.

**The Impact**:

Complaints from "away-heavy" teams

More travel for some teams

Facility advantage debates

Perception of unfairness

**The Fix**: Track and balance home/away carefully.

For leagues with home-ice preference:

Aim for ±1 game of perfect balance

For odd-number game seasons, alternate who gets the extra home game each season

**Example** (16-game season):

Target: 8 home, 8 away

Acceptable: 7-9 or 9-7

Unacceptable: 6-10 or 10-6

**For single-rink leagues**: Home/away is often irrelevant, but locker room assignment matters. Alternate "home" locker room.

Mistake #6: Scheduling Without Referee Availability

**The Problem**: You build the perfect schedule, then discover refs aren't available for 20% of the games.

**The Impact**:

Scrambling for last-minute officials

Lower-quality officiating from emergency refs

Games with 1 ref instead of 2

Higher referee costs (premium for last-minute coverage)

**The Fix**: Coordinate with referees before finalizing schedule.

**Best Practice**:

Get referee availability before scheduling (not after)

Build schedule around ref capacity, not just ice

Have backup refs for every slot

Pay premium for reliability, not just for showing up

**If refs are scarce**:

Reduce game count to match ref availability

Consider 1-ref games for recreational play

Develop in-house ref training program

Mistake #7: No Buffer for Weather and Emergencies

**The Problem**: Perfect schedule with no room for makeup games when weather, facility issues, or emergencies cancel games.

**The Impact**:

Games never made up

Uneven games played per team

End-of-season cramming

Playoff complications

**The Fix**: Build makeup capacity into your schedule.

**Strategies**:

Option A: Open Weeks

Schedule 2 "open weeks" in the season with no games. Use for makeups.

Option B: Buffer End Date

End regular season 2 weeks before playoffs. Makeup window before playoffs begin.

Option C: Makeup Bank

Reserve 1-2 ice slots per week specifically for makeups. Cancel if unused (or use for open hockey).

**Rule**: Cancel early if weather is threatening. A planned cancellation is easier to reschedule than a last-minute chaos cancellation.

Bonus Mistake: Over-Complicating the Schedule

**The Problem**: Trying to satisfy every constraint simultaneously. Custom time preferences per team. Complex division crossovers. Elaborate tiebreakers. The schedule becomes impossible to build and impossible to explain.

**The Impact**:

Weeks spent on scheduling

Schedule still has complaints

No one understands the format

Changes become nightmarish

**The Fix**: Simplicity wins.

**Keep It Simple Principles**:

Same ice times each week (predictability)

Round-robin format when possible

Clear, published rules

"No" is an acceptable answer to special requests

**Communication Example**:

"We schedule games for Tuesdays at 7, 8:30, and 10pm. All teams will play each time slot roughly equally. Individual preferences cannot be accommodated."

Scheduling Mistake Prevention Checklist

Before publishing any schedule, verify:

[ ] All teams have equal games

[ ] Home/away within ±1 of balance

[ ] Time slots distributed fairly

[ ] No back-to-back games

[ ] All blackout dates avoided

[ ] Referees confirmed for all games

[ ] Makeup capacity exists

[ ] Published 2+ weeks before season

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do I do if teams complain about a published schedule?

A: Listen, explain your process, but don't make changes unless there's a genuine error. One change leads to requests for more.

Q: How do I handle a team that misses the blackout deadline then complains?

A: Policy is policy. Make exceptions and you'll get exceptions requested every week.

Q: Should I accommodate individual player conflicts?

A: Generally no. You schedule for teams, not individuals. Exceptions for goalies or captains only.

Q: What scheduling software do you recommend?

A: RocketHockey handles most of these automatically. Otherwise, Google Sheets with careful validation.

Conclusion

Most scheduling problems are preventable with process. Start early, collect information, enforce constraints, and communicate clearly. Your schedule will never be perfect for everyone—but it can be fair, functional, and defensible.

For more scheduling guidance, check out our [complete scheduling guide](/guides/hockey-scheduling) or [league management resources](/hockey-league-management-software).