GYF uses Buffalo Scoring to determine rankings. In Buffalo Scoring, a team’s ranking is based on its total number of points accumulated throughout each game. There are 5 points available in each game: 1 point per period is awarded to whichever team scores the most goals in that period, and then 2 points are awarded to whichever team wins the game (1 point is awarded to each team in the event of a tie).
Example:
As you can see in the above game, Blue won the game 8-6.
Taking you through each period, Blue scores 4 goals in the first; they win the period and receive 1 point.
Second period, Green gets on the board with 3 goals; they win that period and are awarded 1 point.
Period three shows that both teams score: Green 3 and Blue 4. The period win goes to Blue; they receive 1 point.
In the far column are the Total Goals For and accumulated Points for each team: Green 6 goals, 1 point; Blue 8 goals, 4 points. Under this scoring system, even with Green’s loss, the team still walks away with 1 point.
With Buffalo Scoring, even when you’re not winning games, a team can still do well overall. Remember, a team’s seed is based on its total number of points accumulated (period points + game points) throughout each game. This allows some teams to stay in contention longer than they would in a tournament using Traditional Scoring.