The Garden Valley Collegiate hockey team will have new guidelines for behavior this year, stemming from a number of incidents last year.

Last season, the GVC hockey team was involved in two line brawls, a bench brawl and numerous suspensions. Over the course of the last season, it became the most penalized team.

"The guidelines aren't necessarily new, but we are enforcing them and letting the athletes know about them," said GVC Vice-Principal Dan Giesbrecht in a recent interview.

There is now a contract outlining the rules; the athlete must sign it and new coaches will enforce discipline both on and off the ice. Also, if an athlete decides to quit the team, that player must pay a fine, in addition to the user fee GVC athletes usually pay.

"The athletes shouldn't be affected on the ice, because they will still play the game in the same way," said Giesbrecht, himself a former hockey coach, but he does expect improved behaviour from team members off the ice.