Hockey is a fast-paced sport that requires excellent skating, athletic ability, hand-eye coordination, strength and toughness. Players pass, carry and shoot a hard puck made of vulcanized rubber in an attempt to score goals. Teams compete for 60 minutes and victory is awarded to the team that scores the most goals.
Basics of the Game
Hockey is played by two teams of six skaters. Each team has a goalkeeper, two defensemen and three forwards. The game is played on a 200-by-85-foot sheet of ice. The object of the game is to put the puck in the net. The ice hockey net is 6 feet wide by 4 feet high and the goalkeeper uses his legs, arms and body along with a catching glove and a goal stick to keep the puck out. Players try to score by using slap shots, wrist shots, snap shots, backhanders and tip-ins. In some cases, the shots are hard and powerful and are designed to overwhelm the goalkeeper; players also may use several quick passes to set up an easy tap-in past the unsuspecting keeper.
Penalties
Hockey is a physical game, but there are penalties assessed to players who violate the rules. Player cannot trip, hold, spear or rough their opponent. These rule violations result in a two-minute penalty. When a two-minute penalty is called, that team skates with one fewer player. That gives the opponent a one-man advantage, called a power play. When a team scores a goal with a one-man advantage, the opponent gets its player back and the player does not have to serve the rest of his penalty. Fighting penalties are often called. Since the game is fast-paced and there is a great deal of legal hitting--called checking--players may lose their temper and fight from time to time. When two opponents fight on the ice, they are usually allowed to exchange blows for a period of 30 seconds to a minute. At that point the referees separate the combatants and send then to the penalty box for five minutes.
Violations
There are other rules to the game that do not result in penalties but are important to the flow of the game. When the puck enters the offensive zone--signified by a blue line on the ice--it must do so before the player comes into the zone. If the player comes into the zone before the puck, the referee blows his whistle and calls "offsides." The result is a stoppage in play and then a faceoff between two players outside the blue line. A player may not send the puck from his team's half of the ice past the opposing goal. This is called "icing" and results in a faceoff at the opposite end of the ice. Players cannot pass the puck with their hand. This results in a stoppage in play and a faceoff. Finally, players cannot intentionally kick or redirect the puck into the net with their foot. This is a judgment call made by the official. A shot that deflects into the net off a player's skate and that was not intentionally kicked is a good goal, but if a player makes a kicking motion, the result is a nullification of the goal.
Protective Equipment
All skaters must wear helmets and protective gloves on their hands. At the professional level, helmets with visors or cages are not required. However at all amateur levels--including college hockey--players must wear helmets with protective cages masks. Goal keepers wear masks, leg pads and chest protectors.
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