ICE HOCKEY

 

            The game of ice hockey as played today is about 100 years old, and many claim it is the fastest team game in the world.  The word “hockey” is derived from the word “hoquet”, a French term for a sheppard’s stick.  It’s actual origin is uncertain.  However, it is an adaptation of the principle of batting a ball with a stick, which has been ascribed to many peoples of many lands.

            Historians disagree as to whether the first game, in about 1855, was played by the British regiments in Ontario or those in Nova Scotia.  Regardless of the controversy, McGill University of Montreal, Canada, must be given credit for placing the game on a sound foundation by developing rules and regulations during the winter of 1880.  About 10 years later it was introduced in the United States at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

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RINK

            Divided into 3 zones by two blue lines

            ATTACKING ZONE NEUTRAL ZONE             DEFENDING ZONE

                        Each team considers the end zone they are defending to be their defending

                        zone.  They consider their opponents end zone to be their attacking zone.

            The rink is surrounded by a wooden fence called the BOARDS.

            The rink is divided in half by a 2-inch red CENTER LINE.

            A 2-inch red line crosses the mouth of each goal and is used to determine when a

                        goal is scored and to call “icing-the-puck” infractions.

            GOAL – A framed net 6 feet wide and 4 feet high.

            GOAL CREASE – An arc 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep, marked off in front of the

                        goal cage.  No attacking player, except the puck carrier, may enter the

                        crease.

The object of the game of hockey is to propel the puck with the stick into the opponents net.

RULES

            START OF THE GAME – CENTER FACE-OFF – The referee drops the puck

                        from knee height so it lands on the “spot” between the sticks of two

                        opposing players.  No other player may enter the restraining circle until

                        this occurs.

            PENALTIES -  Players are penalized for infractions of the rules by being

                        banished (removed) from the game for intervals from two minutes to the

                        balance of the game, depending upon the type of rule infraction.  In class

                        penalties were:  high sticking, checking, and any dangerous play.

            ENDING THE GAME – Three periods constitute a game.  The length of those

                        periods is determined by the caliber of play: e.g. Bantams, High School,

                        College, or Professional.  Rest periods of 10 minutes are allowed between

                        playing periods.

 

TERMINOLOGY

            Assist – A pass or preliminary play to a teammate that enables them to score a goal.

            Boards – The wooden fence that surrounds the entire ice hockey rink.

            Check – A defensive maneuver to stop the forward progress of an attacking player.  This is not allowed in class play.

            Clearing the puck – An offensive action that moves the puck out of the defending zone.

            Crease – A zone marked off in front of the goalkeeper’s cage.

            Face-off – The means of putting the puck in play:  The referee drops the puck between two players, who then attempt to gain control of it with their sticks.

            Icing-the-puck – Sending the puck through two or more zones without another player making contact with it.  E.g.: Sending the puck from behind the center line beyond the red goal line, without anyone touching it.          Play is stopped and the puck is faced-off at the end or corner face-off spot of the team gaining possession of it.

            Penalty box (Sin Bin) – A designated area where players are sent to serve out the timed penalties specified by the referee.

            Periods - A game is divided into three periods of play.

            Power Play – An offensive maneuver in which all five players move up the ice into the attacking zone, putting pressure on the opposing team.  This is used especially when the attacking team has an edge in manpower, like while an opponent is in the penalty box.

            Puck – A round, hard rubber disc, used to play the game of ice hockey.

            Rink – An enclosed sheet of ice which may be naturally or artificially prepared.

            Save – The act of a goalie stopping a shot.                              

 

 

Go to this site and click on the “demonstration” to get a flash presentation of Olympic Hockey, the rules, equipment, rink, etc.

http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/disciplines_uk.asp?DiscCode=IH