A NEW ARENA.
THE SAME RIVALRY.

Locker Room challenges: accept an invitation or open your tournament pairing to enter the same arena. The challenge panel replaces the usual 3 steps and shows your opponent’s name. Wait for Player connected; game loading alone does not mean the other player is connected.

1. Host: choose two teams. The inviter hosts. Choose the matchup, review Match rules, then choose Send matchup.
2. Guest: choose your team and side. Pick one of the two teams, select HOME or AWAY, then choose Confirm my team. The host gets the remaining team and opposite side.
3. Both players: choose I’m ready. Review the names, teams and sides, and use Check my controller if needed. Once the game is loaded and both players confirm, the match starts automatically.

A setup window opens when it’s your turn. A gentle pulse highlights your next action; reduced-motion settings turn the animation off. Choose Return to arena & chat to close the window without leaving the match. Reopen it from Choose matchup, Choose my team or Review & get ready in the challenge panel. If the connection fails, choose Reconnect to player. Challenge setup cannot start a single-player game.

Casual room codes and local play

1. Choose how to play. Choose Single player for the CPU, Host a room to invite a friend online, Join a room to enter their code, or Two players to share this computer. Hosting opens by default. Send the displayed code with Copy code, or use Copy invite link. Only your selected mode’s controls appear. To switch while connected, use Leave room & change mode.
2. Choose the game and matchup. Pick NHL ’94 or ’95, the console, and your teams. Review the team summary and your Home/Away side. Open Match rules for mercy and tournament options.
3. Get ready. Wait for the approved game and connection checks. The host chooses Start match and the guest chooses Ready to play. Local players choose Start. Both online players must confirm the same setup.

NHL ’94 opens its original lineup menu: choose your lines, then press Start. In NHL ’95, use Sega C on Edit Lines, then Start when ready. In single player, the CPU chooses its own lineup.

For a local single-player match, choose Home or Away to decide which team you control. For local two-player matches, connect two controllers or use the two keyboard layouts below.

Available games: NHL ’94 on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, and NHL ’95 on Sega Genesis. The selected game loads automatically with its own title card. Sega CD is currently unavailable.

NHL ’94 challenges: the host chooses a tournament pairing, or uses Pick any two teams for a practice or exhibition matchup. The guest chooses their team and home or away. Event rules remain locked. In a casual room joined by code, the host chooses the pairing, home team and their own player side using the usual setup controls.

SNES differences: SNES has its own team tiers. X selects the manual goalie; Y checks/holds and can get a knocked-down skater back up. The Y recovery trick and pass shots are allowed. The original SNES gameplay differences remain.

NHL ’95: in a Locker Room challenge, the host calls two different teams and the guest chooses their team and side. In a casual room joined by code, each online player still chooses their own team independently. In local play, choose both teams. Pick different regular teams; ’95 does not use the ’94 tournament pairings.

Locked conditions: five-minute periods, penalties on, offsides off, manual goalies, and line changes off. All-Star teams are excluded. Choose Match rules: Regular match defaults mercy off; Tournament rules defaults it on. Change Six-goal mercy before starting to stop play at a confirmed six-goal lead. The host controls this online; both players confirm the same setting. No ties and no turbo remain part of the tournament format. Tournament rules do not enroll you in a tournament. Follow the selected console’s pairing information; SNES gameplay and controls differ from Genesis.

See the official rules, team tiers, and SNES differences. This online arena remains an experimental adaptation. Goalie pull, team-use tracking across a tournament, and official result submission still require development or organizer oversight.

1. Connect your controller and press a button so the browser can detect it.
2. Choose Set up controller beside the game, Check my controller in the challenge ready check, or Controller below the game or in full screen. If prompted, choose the controller to map.
3. Release the D-pad and buttons, choose Begin mapping, then press each requested direction and button, including Start. Release between prompts. Use Back to correct a step. When finished, test your buttons and choose Done. With several controllers, choose Use for my player on the one you want to play with.

You can remap in the lineup menu or mid-match without restarting. Layouts are saved in this browser for the controller and console. Start over remaps; Use standard layout removes your saved mapping. Private windows or blocked storage may keep a layout only for that visit. If an M30 or another controller still fails, open Controller not working? and use Copy controller report to share its detected inputs with the organizer.

Online: agree on an in-game pause before opening Controller. Your inputs are held neutral while mapping; the online game keeps running. Local games pause while the panel is open.

Keyboard · Genesis ’94 and ’95

Genesis keyboard controls

Action	Player 1 / online	Player 2 · local
Move	Arrow keys	I K J L
Sega A / B / C	A S D	Z X C
Start	Enter	Right Shift

Keyboard · SNES ’94

SNES keyboard controls

Action	Player 1 / online	Player 2 · local
Move	Arrow keys	I K J L
SNES A / B	A S	Z X
Y / X (goalie)	Q W	U O
L / R	E R	N M
Start	Enter	Right Shift

Click the game picture to return keyboard focus. Online players each use the Player 1 keyboard layout on their own device, even when playing Away.

Scanlines: choose Scanlines: off below the game or in full screen to turn on a subtle retro CRT effect. Choose it again to turn it off. It starts off on your first visit, remembers your choice on this browser, works with all three games, and only changes your own picture.

Continuous overtime: new games on NHL ’94 Genesis, NHL ’94 SNES and NHL ’95 use repeating five-minute sudden-death periods until someone scores. The Arena shows OT, 2OT, 3OT and so on, with a 1–2–3 countdown before each overtime starts. An automatic notice appears for 2OT only. Continue through the original intermission menu as usual. Scores, player stats and penalties remain in the same game; the original game’s stat screen groups all overtime into its OT column. Arena saves also retain the overtime number. This is an online adaptation. Games already running keep their original rules.

Live scoreboard: the compact retro board keeps team logos, scores, period, clock and active penalties visible. Team scores, period and clock come from confirmed game memory. Penalty timers use each game’s own memory layout; no estimated countdowns. During online waits the board holds the latest confirmed reading. Pregame shows dashes.

Sound: choose Enable sound. Browsers need a click before they can play audio. If you see Retry sound, try again; the game can continue without audio.

Full screen: choose Full screen, press F with the game focused, or double-click the game. Press Esc to exit. Help, Controller, and stats buttons remain available in full screen. Browsers without native full screen use a page-filling view.

Pause: the local Pause button freezes the local game. Online, the button sends Start to the original game; agree with your opponent before pausing. Your controller’s Start also works in menus, during play, and between periods.

Happy Jay 🤖: choose Play beside him in the Locker Room or arena lobby preview. Happy Jay is an AI practice bot for NHL ’94 Genesis only. With another game selected, a popup asks you to switch to Genesis. Choose two teams; he picks a team and home/away side at random. One game can run at a time. Practice results are public. The human browser confirms the final whistle; confirmed results count only in practice stats, separate from competitive wins and tournaments. Leaving, being inactive for two minutes, or hiding the game for more than 30 seconds closes practice; a disconnected reservation expires within 90 seconds. Practice also has a 30-minute maximum so stuck controllers cannot hold the bot indefinitely. The bot becomes available at the final whistle while you can still view three stars and stats. New games load the latest published Happy Jay release; running games keep their original version. No Mac AI process is needed.

Share a result: after End game or a mercy finish, a King of 94 card appears below the picture. Choose Share result to use your device’s sharing menu, or Download image for a PNG you can post yourself. Sharing support varies by browser; Download image remains available. Cards stay on your device and use the score at the moment you ended play, labelled “Match ended” or “Six-goal mercy”; they are not official league submissions. At the final summary, choose End game to create your card.

End game: stops the current match. Online, the host ends both games together; a guest can request the end. Save your final stats first. After a challenge, choose Back to Lobby and send a new invitation for the next recorded game, or return to your next tournament pairing. Casual code rooms can use Back to Arena to return to team selection. Disconnect leaves the online room, including before play begins. In a challenge it closes the accepted invitation and returns you to the Locker Room. Saved recordings and completed results stay intact. Tournament pairings remain available on the bracket; disconnecting is not a forfeit.

Available for both NHL ’94 games and NHL ’95. Choose Save stats during play to download a ZIP containing a save state, game memory, and match details. Keep that file for recovery. You can also load the site’s direct .state exports.

1. Reconnect, or return to the unlocked match setup.
2. Select the original game, console, home/away teams, and player mode. An online save uses two-player mode. The ready check explains any save mismatch that is blocking Start.
3. Choose Load state and select your .state or stats ZIP. Wait for “Saved game ready.”
4. For online play, share one file with your opponent. Both players must load that exact file before either chooses Ready. Different states cannot start together.
5. Choose I’m ready in a challenge, or Start / Ready in a casual room. The game resumes with the saved score, clock, player stats, and in-game pause. Press Start if the saved game was paused.

Use last captured state can recover the latest state retained in this tab. After a disconnect, the two players’ captures may differ, so share one downloaded file. Clear loaded state returns to a fresh game; both players must clear it for a fresh online match.

Files stay on your devices and are not uploaded to this site. Download before closing or reloading the tab. Use saves from this site’s current game/core build; other emulator formats may fail. Maximum file size is 5 MB. Recovery begins a new recorded segment while continuing the saved game.

For a complete game: save at Three Stars or the final game summary, before leaving that screen. Mid-game and mercy saves may contain incomplete stats.

Save stats downloads the full ZIP for community stat tools for Genesis ’94, SNES ’94, and Genesis ’95. In the lobby, Save last stats downloads the retained capture for the selected game.

Export for NHL94Online is available for Genesis and SNES ’94. It downloads a .state directly and opens NHL94Online in a new tab. It does not automatically submit a league result.

1. Agree with your opponent who will upload.
2. On your NHL94Online coach page, choose Log a Game for the matching scheduled league game.
3. Select the downloaded .state and enter your password on NHL94Online.
4. Choose Upload once and wait for the result.

Under Upload stats to NHL94Online below the arena, save your optional coach-page link. Genesis and SNES links are remembered separately on this device. Update it when your league changes. Leave it blank and save to clear it. If a new tab is blocked, use Open coach page there.

Confirm save-format acceptance with the league organizer. SNES uses Snes9x2010 and still needs uploader compatibility checking. NHL ’95 exports also need acceptance by the receiving stat tool. See NHL94Online’s upload rules.

• Can’t join? For a challenge, both players must open the same invitation or event pairing. Wait for Player connected, or choose Reconnect to player if the connection fails. Game loading is separate from the player connection. For a casual room, recheck the three-character code or use the host’s invite link. If that room has closed, have the host create a new room.
• Game won’t load? Wait for the approved build to finish. Check your network and any browser notice. Download available saves before refreshing. A desktop browser is recommended; if Safari or Edge fails, try an up-to-date Chrome browser and report the original error.
• Lag or repeated disconnects? Keep the game tab visible, use a wired connection where possible, close heavy downloads, and try without a VPN. Brief tab interruptions allow up to 30 seconds to return. Distance and network quality still affect play.
• Black flashes or flicker? Note the game, browser, device, period, and what was on screen. Copy the connection report and share it with the site team. Try the same game in local mode to see whether it also happens without an opponent.
• Disconnected mid-game? Follow Save & recover above. Loading a state requires returning to setup and both players agreeing on the same save.

What the connection numbers mean

Round trip is the time to the opponent and back. Jitter is how much that timing varies. Rollback shows predicted frames; the game can correct earlier predictions as inputs arrive. Input delay is a small frame buffer selected from the connection test. Transport describes the connection path.

If the community service reports a request limit, your sign-in is unchanged. Wait and use Reconnect to player in the challenge panel. Repeated refreshes will not clear a database quota limit. Chat retries automatically and keeps the game screen separate.

Choose Copy connection report beneath the game when available. Send it to the site team with your browser/device details and the problem you saw. Online play remains experimental; the diagnostics cannot promise a lag-free match.

Open the Locker Room Lobby help guide →

Casual games: play without signing in. For community features, open My account and choose Google or email/password. Verify your email, choose your public NHL94 name, and agree to the community rules. Your email stays private. Use Forgot password? for an email reset link; no PIN is required.

Player country: choose your picture and country when joining, or open My account or your player profile. Add country appears if none is selected. Your first choice is free; three changes are allowed, then it locks. Country is public profile data saved for future country stats and events.

Locker Room Lobby: #new-players is open to community members. #veterans unlocks after 10 replay-verified games by default, or by organizer approval. Tournament entrants also get a private event room. Use Open to play badges to toggle GENS, SNES and 95. Choose any combination; preferences are saved to your account, restored after reopening, and shown on online player cards and profiles. Badges do not change your game or your availability. Toggle Away to stay online without showing as available for invites. You can still click an available player’s logo or Play button to send an invite; chat stays open. Your choice is remembered in this browser. Country flags appear after names and before verified badges in the lobby and leaderboards. The online list below gameplay includes signed-in players across the arena and all rooms. It refreshes about every 15 seconds and marks available, in-game and away players. Choose Refresh players to retry the list without reloading or interrupting your game. Connection errors are shown separately from an empty roster. Organizers can mute, ban, or suspend community accounts. Admins can choose Rename player on a profile; stats stay attached and old profile links still work.

Play together: choose the game in the lobby preview, then Play beside a player. The opponent chooses Accept & play; both enter the same arena while the inviter stays on the page. The inviter hosts. Invitations expire after five minutes. Accepted invitations fix the chosen game. Use Join game if you return later. Refreshing preserves an invite sent from that tab. If someone accepts but does not start, choose Disconnect beside their Play/Chat controls, on the Game ready invitation, or in the challenge setup menu. Either player can close the accepted challenge for both players and send a new invitation; refreshing will not reopen it. Disconnect also works while waiting for a connection. In the arena, the challenge panel shows Player connected when both players are together. The setup window guides the host through calling two teams, the guest through choosing their team and home or away, and both players through I’m ready. Keep the arena open while your opponent connects; use Reconnect to player if needed after a refresh or connection error. For tournaments, use Play match on your bracket pairing. The event fixes the game and six-goal mercy. After a challenge, choose Back to Lobby and create a new challenge or open the next bracket pairing for each community result. Casual room-code rematches do not create another community result.

Leaderboards: players with completed verified games rank above players with none, even if they have only losses. Wins, goal difference and goals scored rank players within those groups.

Navigation: the Locker Room has a large Back to Arena button. The Tournaments tab currently shows Coming soon.

Game chat: The phone-style panel uses blue message bubbles for verified players and green for players without a badge; a checkmark also identifies verified players. the arena keeps chat outside the playing screen. It starts visible; Hide chat and Show chat remember your choice on this device. Accepted matches select your opponent’s private conversation. Choose Locker Room for #new-players room chat. On smaller screens, chat sits below gameplay. Full screen shows the game only.

Private chat: choose Chat beside a player or Private messages to reopen conversations. Messages allow 500 characters and display the latest 50. Block player stops new messages and invites in both directions. Chat does not pause online gameplay.

Leaderboards: Verified players have the blue-puck badge; Unverified players do not. Both groups count replay-verified results, ranked by wins, goal difference and goals scored. Players with no checked games show no rank. Both browsers replay the recordings, check the final score and submit matching confirmations. Records then update automatically; leaderboards refresh within about a minute. Keep the arena or Locker Room open until the result is confirmed. The Mac is not needed for checking games or updating stats.

Tournaments: open an event, choose Enter tournament or Request a place, and wait for approval. Choose Refresh event to see new entries and results. Brackets support single elimination (up to 32 players) or round robin (up to 16). These are community online formats. Brackets advance from verified replays or a clearly labelled organizer ruling. The Mac still processes entries, bracket advancement, veteran access and organizer actions; browser game checking and player stats work independently.

At the final whistle: the recording is queued and final stats are captured automatically. Challenge results appear in public profile history after upload, marked pending until browser checks finish. Keep the tab open; verification can finish while you view postgame stats or switch tabs. The game continues through three stars and its original postgame menu. View the in-game stats for as long as you want. If your opponent disconnects after the final whistle, your postgame menus remain available locally. Only choosing Exit Game in that menu returns both players to the site and closes the room.

Records and blue pucks: player wins, losses and goals count completed, authenticated matches checked in both opponents’ browsers. This is peer confirmation; it cannot prevent two players colluding to submit a fabricated result. A manual End game action, disconnect, or restored save does not automatically certify a result. Both players’ submissions and browser checks are needed. Older recordings can still qualify when both include the actual finish, even if a later native menu reset the score. Normal endings capture the recording automatically at the confirmed final whistle; save your league stats separately. Upload retries also repair a missing public score report when its recording is already saved. The blue puck is a separate badge awarded only by an organizer. View your history and link Google to your existing account under My account.

Reserved access: use the exact verified email approved by the owner and finish your player profile. The blue puck and organizer access appear after the Mac processes the reservation, usually within about a minute. Refresh the community page if needed.

Admin player controls: signed-in admins can open any player profile and choose Verify player or Remove verification for the blue puck, Ban account or Restore account with a recorded reason, or More admin tools for lobby bans, mutes and veteran access. Bans block signed-in community features; public casual play remains open. Admin accounts are protected from bans. Pending requests show on the profile; use Refresh status rather than submitting twice.

Organizer desk · Admin: approved admins can manage players, tournament entries and brackets, resolve results, moderate chat, post one sitewide announcement, inspect history and export stats CSV. Changes queue if the Mac is offline. Every organizer action is audited. Admins also get Create tournament and Manage tournaments on the tournament board, plus Manage tournament inside each event.

Visit NHL94.com, NHL94Online, the forum or Discord. The community links below include Facebook, X and Reddit. Live event opens the King of 94 event website.

Tournament lab previews a separate sample schedule. Network lab runs synthetic synchronization checks; it does not measure real two-player playability.

What is recorded: for every game against Happy Jay, the inputs from both controllers and the result: score, teams, home or away, game settings and the Happy Jay version. If you are signed in, the game is saved with your player name. ROMs, email addresses and private chats are not part of it.

Why: the recordings let the organizers replay each game to check the result and study how people play, so Happy Jay can keep getting better.

People against people: games between players are covered by the recording consent you gave when you signed up: match inputs and results are recorded. Recorded games may also be used to help train Happy Jay.

Your choice: the first time you pick Happy Jay, a short notice asks you to confirm. It is shown again only if the notice changes. To opt out, choose Not now and play people instead; nothing else changes. Your answer is remembered in this browser.