Hockey is a sport that rewards players who have speed and skill. Hockey is also a physical sport, and chippy players are frequently on the ice. Chippy players are overly physical; they thrive on contact and are not afraid to take penalties. Dealing with chippy players takes a combination of smarts, skill, strategy and toughness.
Whether your child is brand new to hockey or has been playing for years, buying the right equipment each season or when something needs to be replaced is vital for performance, safety and enjoyment of the game. There are genera...
Making the high school ice hockey team is an important goal for young hockey players. Playing at the high school level provides an opportunity to improve skills and set the ground work for those wanting to pursue a professional...
Whatever the origin of their guidelines, high school leagues strive to adopt regulations that are both comprehensive and enforceable.
You can call Rick Tocchet "Mr. Hockey," and it wouldn't be hyperbole. Tocchet has done it all on and off the ice. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for six teams -- the Flyers, Penguins, Kings, Bruins, Capitals...
Icing occurs when a player on a hockey team shoots, bats or deflects the puck beyond the goal line of the opposing team from his or her own half of the ice. A red line separates the playing ice into two halves. When the puck is...
The goalie is the last line of defense against the opposing team, with some goal shots taken at almost pointblank range. A goalie needs the balance provided by a pair of properly laced skates to quickly move in front of the puc...
Goalies in lacrosse, soccer and ice hockey constantly are under pressure from offensive players who can shoot with speed and velocity. Goalies in lacrosse and hockey where several levels of protective equipment, but their thumb...
Protective gear for goalies has come a long way in half a century. Although helmets have been around longer in hockey, the use of a mask in professional hockey can be traced to 1959, when Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plant...
If you are not familiar with the sports of ice hockey and roller hockey, also referred to as in-line hockey, you might think that the only differences are the surfaces used for game play and the type of skates worn by the playe...
The wrist shot may not be as powerful as a slap shot or have the quick release of a snap shot, but it may be the most accurate and effective shot in hockey. Because it requires no windup, a well-executed wrist shot can catch a ...
Building a strong penalty-killing team is essential for any team that wants to win consistently. Performing well in this area is often dependent on the drills and exercises that coaches use in practice. Drills need to build qui...
Players skate with speed, attack the net with aggression and shoot the puck with force. The game is often played at a dizzying pace that takes the breath away from the fans who are watching the game. At least that's the case if...
The puck flies down the ice and the race is on. The linesman's harsh tweet of the whistle ends the race with an icing call. In the NHL, such a call can change the momentum and texture of a hockey game. The team that ices the pu...
When training a goalie, remember that they have different needs from the rest of the team. The drills that you develop for your goalie must focus on the skills that he will utilize during a game. These drills, however, should g...
Effective practices are essential to successful hockey teams. Basic drills may seem easy, but they help players perfect important aspects of the game such as shooting, skating and passing. As your team masters these drills, you...
The goalie in ice hockey and the catcher in baseball have two of the most difficult and demanding jobs in sports. Both players are in harm's way throughout their games and have the potential to be hurt. Hockey goalies have to s...
Women's ice hockey is a sport played around the world, but its early history can be traced to Canada in the 1890s. And even after the sport was largely dormant for decades, its revival in the 1970s was also centered in Canada. ...
The British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit ranks ice hockey as third when it comes to sports-related emergency room visits for youths, after basketball and soccer. That ranking may be surprising to anyone who's ev...
A "front-line defenseman" is a term that is regularly used to describe superior defensemen in the sport of ice hockey. There is no specific definition of a front-line defenseman. Determining who is a front-line defenseman in ho...
An excellent goaltender on your team can play a vital role in earning your team a victory. A great goaltender can keep his team in the game even when it is being outplayed by an opponent. A goaltender must be prepared emotional...
Since hockey contains so much contact, you want to protect yourself with the proper equipment before participating. Players must gain awareness of the necessary pieces of equipment and maintain this equipment throughout the sea...
In hockey, "icing" occurs when a team simply shoots the puck all the way down the ice rather than advancing the puck by passing it from player to player. Icing is against the rules because it's frequently a delaying tactic -- a...
Practicing different ice hockey drills is the best way to develop basic skills as a new player. Each drill should educate and improve the skills of a young player new to the sport. As with any sport, practice is the key to beco...
There is little difference between the equipment used in ice and roller hockey, aside from the skates and puck. The pads themselves are virtually interchangeable and most leagues don't have any restrictions on using pads design...
In most cases, roller hockey equipment and ice hockey equipment are interchangeable. Pieces like the shoulder pads, gloves, sticks and jerseys sold as ice hockey gear can double as roller hockey equipment as there is little dif...
Not wearing a cup to play ice hockey is about as smart as not wearing a parachute to jump out of an airplane. The ice itself can make for a hard and harmful fall, and you also have the threat of swinging sticks, intentionally n...
Learning how to handle the puck and carry it up ice is vital in ice hockey. It's one thing to accept a pass and shift from forehand to backhand at full speed with no encumbrances, but it's quite another to maneuver the puck whe...
The ability to score on the power play and to keep the opponent from scoring while short-handed is often the difference in winning a game or coming away with a win in a playoff series. Coaches may spend as much as 40 to 50 perc...
There is often a flurry of activity around the goal crease in ice hockey. The bodies and sticks of several players are usually present when a loose puck is available in this area. This heavy traffic sometimes leads to the goalt...
Strength is an important physical component for ice hockey players. Offensive and defensive plays are short but very intense and strength can mean the difference between keeping the puck and hitting the deck. A number of traini...
Vision is an important part of ice hockey because many of the skills used in the sport require excellent vision. A player's shooting, passing and skating all benefit from good vision; any vision impairments can significantly hi...
Each year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association crowns its Division I men's basketball champion through a 68-team competition commonly referred to as the NCAA tournament. Teams are separated into four regions and are se...
According to Exploratorium, professional hockey players have been clocked at speeds over 20 mph. The combination of speed and agility required for hockey makes skate selection very important. Weight, time spent on the ice and p...
When players still played on natural ice in the early days of the National Hockey League, a uniform was primarily to keep a player warm, not necessarily safe from injury, according to NHL.com. Little by little, protection for t...
Coaching hockey requires a well-organized and disciplined approach to leading your team. You must work on drills that improve skating, stickhandling, shooting and defense. You must ask your players to follow the strategy and ph...
The slap shot is one of the most devastating scoring weapons in hockey. When a professional player takes a slap shot, it can reach speeds that exceed 100 mph. Hall of Famer Bobby Hull was one of the most explosive scorers in th...
Icing is called in a hockey game when a player has the puck and fires it from his half of the ice, past the opposing goal line and a member of the opposing team touches the puck before a member of his team. When a team gets cal...
Ice hockey requires a multitude of physical skills. An effective ice hockey training program should combine elements of strength, power, speed and endurance, according to the Sports Fitness Advisor website. Ice hockey is prima...
Another factor to look for is a high waist with a thick belt to help protect your lower abdomen. Hockey pants are designed to protect the kidneys, tailbone, hips and thighs, so they should be stuffed with high-quality padding. ...
Synthetic ice rinks offer warm, dry skating for hockey players during practices and games. Rather than rely on refrigeration equipment to keep the ice frozen, these rinks utilize high-density plastic panels that allow skaters t...
Ice hockey players cannot just go out on the ice and start playing. Instead, they must put on all the equipment associated with the game every time they take the ice. The equipment that hockey players use is both functional and...
Hockey players all over the world use the slap shot to score goals, because it combines power with a quick release. Since the puck moves faster than with other types of shots, goalies and defending players must react extremely ...
New Jersey is one of the major sporting hotspots on the east coast of the United States. Ice hockey, in particular, is a sport that is taken very seriously there. Apart from being home to the New Jersey Devils, one of the leadi...
Ice hockey rinks offer a variety of programs for those looking to get a skate in, even in the warm weather months. Rinks such as the Flyer's Skate Zones in Voorhees or Pensauken and the Igloo in Mount Laurel offer visitors ever...
Because hockey can become rough, young players should wear as much equipment as possible whenever they take the ice. Purchasing the exact safety equipment that your child needs will ensure that you have done everything in your ...
An ice hockey goaltender's pads are more important than any other player's pads on the ice. These pads can help a goalie stop shots, but more importantly, it protects a goaltender when a shot reaching up to 100 mph hits him. It...
Goalie equipment for ice hockey has come a long way from the beginning of the sport. From the first use of pads to protect the legs, goalie equipment has evolved into sophisticated gear that protects a goalie under the most dem...
Goaltender pads protect the goalie from pucks flying at him at high speeds. Goalies often fall onto the ice in order to stop the puck. A goalie must make sure that his pads are tied correctly.
Hockey goaltender pads protect the goalie from pucks flying at him at speeds of upwards of 90 miles per hour. Goalies fall onto the ice in order to stop the puck and need to have enough faith in their equipment to not think twi...
Hockey is a high-speed, hard-hitting game that require passion, athleticism and talent. Players are moving quickly, and the puck can travel at speeds approaching and at times exceeding 100 miles per hour. As a result, players m...
Hockey players need a lot of equipment to play the game. The equipment is proprietary and protective of the body. The game is played on a sheet of ice, so it wouldn't be possible to move on the ice without skates. Since the ide...
They skate at great speeds and can shoot a hard puck made out of vulcanized rubber at speeds approaching 100 mph. The tools of the trade are hockey skates and a hockey stick, but players need to be outfitted with safety equipme...
Men and women play ice hockey on a rectangular ice rink. Each team has five players on the ice and a goalkeeper. Each player wears a prescribed uniform, including required safety equipment, which varies somewhat for goalies. Ea...
It is important when purchasing equipment to make sure it fits your body and is properly sized. Equipment that is too large or too small may lead to injury and decreased performance. When choosing equipment, seek out a local...
Hockey is a hard-hitting and fast-paced game that can be dangerous to the participant without the proper equipment. The puck is made out of a hard material called vulcanized rubber, and can travel at speeds approaching 100 mph....
Ice hockey is played at high speed. Players can shoot the puck at speeds approaching 100 mph and players body check each other in an attempt to take possession of the puck. The chance of injury is significant and players must w...
Scoring a goal in hockey is one of the most thrilling moments in sports. Beating a goaltender with a shot to the 6-by-4-foot net is a difficult task. It can be done with a series of fakes, often referred to as "dekes" in hockey...
Icing occurs when a hockey player dumps the puck from the defensive side of the blue line and into the opponent's zone. The puck must pass at least two red lines on the ice to qualify as icing with the opposition's goal line b...