Hockey is a team sport played on an ice rink. Each team has six players on the ice at one time: one goaltender and five other players. The object of the game is to score a goal by hitting the puck in your opponent's net. Goals used in professional hockey games have specific dimensions.
The Goal
The National Hockey League is the governing organization for professional hockey games in the U.S. and Canada. The International Ice Hockey Federation overseas competitive hockey games played internationally, including in the Olympic Games. Both organizations specify that the top of the goal posts be 4 feet above the ice and set 6 feet apart as measured on the interior of the posts. A crossbar extends across the two goalposts.
Other Goal Specifications
The goalposts and crossbar are painted red. The IIHF dictates that the crossbar has an outer diameter of 5 cm, or 2 inches, while the NHL specifies that the crossbar has an outer diameter of 2.37 inches or 6 cm. The posts that support the net are painted white. The NHL specifies that the bottom of the net be 44 inches or 3.7 feet deep. The IIHF provides a range for the depth of the net, between 1.2 and 3.7 feet.
The Rink
An NHL ice rink is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. An international rink is a maximum of 200 feet long and 98 feet wide and a minimum of 184 feet long and 85 feet wide. For IIHF competitions, the rink is 200 feet long by 98 feet wide. The rink is surrounded by a wall, which is painted white, called the "boards." The boards are no more than 4 feet tall. The bottom of the boards is called the kick plate and is yellow in color.
The Goal Lines
The goalposts sit on a goal line, which is 11 feet from the end of the rink. The goal line extends across the width of the rink and vertically up the boards. It is 2 inches wide and painted red. In order for a team to score a goal, the puck must completely cross this red line between the goal posts. The puck is 1 inch thick, 3 inches in diameter and weighs between 5.5 and 6 oz.
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