Liga Tapatía de Hockey

The Liga Tapatía de Hockey (LTH; English: Tapatían Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey league in the Republic of Guadalajara, currently comprising 8 teams. The Gold Crown is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.

Early years
The Tapatían Hockey League began play with 8 teams in the Centro and Altos regions.

Teams
The LTH consists of 8 teams divided in two divisions: Norte and Sur.

Game
Each Liga Tapatía de Hockey regulation game is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods with an intermission between periods. At the end of regulation time, the team with the most goals win the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, three-on-three sudden-death period, in which whoever scores a goal first wins the game.

If the game is still tied at the end of overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players for each team in turn take a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game.

Teams
The most prestigious team award is the Gold Crown, which is awarded to the league champion at the end of the playoffs. The names of the winning teams are engraved on the inside of the crown.

Players
There are numerous trophies that are awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season; they include, among others, the Golden Skates for the league scoring champion (goals and assists), the Golden Stick for the goal-scoring leader, and the Golden Glove for the goaltender with the fewest goals against.

Origin of players
Because hockey is the least popular team sport in the Republic, only the players who choose to try out for the league are drafted every year. These players show up to Draft Camp to showcase their skills in preparation for the Entry Draft. The strongest regions for the sport are the mountain regions of the Altos.

Media coverage
Like all sports in the Nation, ice hockey is covered by the Guadalajara National Sports Broadcast. However, the league has its own channel: LTH TV.