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HOCKEY FOR DUMMIES
By "Jon Radtke"
So you have never been to a hockey game before and the most you know about it is that people skate on ice and try to get a little puck into a net. Then during the breaks in the games a driver comes out on a truck and smoothes out the ice for the next period which makes you and your friend, after your 5th beer scream at each other, ZAMBONI like it's the most funny word in the whole fucking world. It's ok. There's more to hockey and here's the basics of the game so that the next time you are at the rink or watching it on tv, hell even listening to it on the radio, you'll be able to get more out of the game but first a little history.
Some Hockey History
There are some that say hockey actually dates back to Egyptian times but the general rules as we know them now were actually printed in The Montreal Gazette back in 1877. At that time there were several leagues but the most well known was the AHAC, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. In 1893, Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston and Governor-General of Canada, donates a trophy to be called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. Later it will be known as the Stanley Cup. Come 1904, American and Canadian teams begin to play one another in a different league referred to as, International Hockey League. It lasts three seasons. 1917, several leagues disband and the NHL is formed. By 1926 all other leagues in North America are gone and it leaves the NHL as the undisputed top hockey league. For our purposes here at MBP that is the league we will focus on with their rules, and the current 30 teams in the NHL and their players. Now that you know how the NHL came to be, let's start from the very beginning.
THE TEAM AND PLAYERS
Each team in the NHL has a 23 man roster of which 20 of them get dressed everynight. A player who is not going to be performing that evening and who is not injured is considered a healthy scratch. Once on the ice each team has 6 players. The center, right and left wings, right and left defenseman and the Goalie.
The Center
The center is the main playmaker for your team. Situated in the middle of the ice, the center goes up an down the rink, looking for scoring opportunities with his right and left wings. It's the center who takes all of the face offs and when on defense it's his job to help "down low" and break up the opposing teams scoring opportunity. The centers always go head to head with each other.
The Forwards
Forwards are also called right and left wings. Offensively on the ice their job is to work their corners of the ice and try to set up the center so that he may score. When playing defensively they play against the other teams point men and try to keep them from scoring.
The combination of these 3 men are usually refered to as the starting line.
The Defenseman
Defenseman are the last line of defense before reaching the goalie. Typically your right and left defensemen are the biggest guys on the ice. Even with large stature they must be very aglie, able to skate back and forwards to block the opposing team. Defense is only part of what they do. When on the offensive they fight their way into the attacking zone and then attempt to keep the puck inside the blue line.
Goalies
Goalies stay positioned around the net in a blue ice area that is outlined by red semi-circular lines and is refered to as "the crease". His only job is to make sure the puck does not go into the net but that is eaiser said then done when most shots coming at him exceed over 100mph. Goalies must be sharp, have fast reflexes, be flexible and agile, with great concenration and lots of courage. This is why one may never understand the full mentality of the goalie or can explain some of the shit they do.
Now that you know the players and what they do on the ice, lets take a look at the rink and their positions on it.
The Rink
Blue Lines
The blue lines are primarily used to enforce the off-side rule, but also divide the ice into the defensive zone, the neutral zone and the offensive zone.
Center Red Line
The red line is primarily used to enforce the icing rule, but also divides the ice into two equal halves.
Red Goal Line
The red goal line is used to enforce icing as well as to define a goal.
Neutral Zone
This is the central portion of the rink between the two blue lines.
Defensive Zone
This is the area in which a team's own goal is located. It is the area from the end boards to the defensive blue line.
Offensive Zone
This is the area in which the opponent's goal is located. It is the area from the offensive blue line to the end boards.
Face-Off Circles/Dots
This is the area where the puck is put into play with a face-off. There are five face-off circles and four face-off dots throughout the rink. The center ice circle is used at the start of each period and after each goal, while the other circles and dots are used more frequently and for various other reasons during the course of a game.
The Goal/Net
The goal/net extends vertically to a height of four feet above the surface of the ice and measures six feet wide. The vertical pipes are known as the goal posts and the horizontal pipe is known as the crossbar.
Goal Crease
The goal crease is the area immediately in front of the opening of the goal that is outlined by red semi-circular lines. It defines the playing area of the goaltender into which no offensive player may enter without the puck. Revised during the 99/00 season, the crease rule is now intended to implement a "no harm, no foul, no video review" standard. The rule is based on the premise that an attacking player's position, whether inside or outside the crease, should not, by itself, determine whether a goal should be allowed or disallowed.
Penalty Box
The penalty box is where a player will sit for a specified amount of time after having broken a rule. There is one box for each team and they are located on either side of the timekeeper's box immediately across the ice from the team benches.
Ok now that you've got those basics down it's time to start the game!
The Game
Before the game starts, players will take to the ice to warm up and go through a stretching session together. Here's a couple of pictures I took at the hockey game a few weeks ago in Tampa Bay.
A game is 60 minutes long and is broken down into 3, 20 minute periods with 15 minutes of intermission time during period breaks. The game begins when the main referee meets the two centers at the center face off circle. Sometimes there is a little jousting before the puck is dropped. Face offs will happen again in the game when plays are called down. At that point either the referee or one of the linesmen will drop the puck in one of the four face off circles depending on where the play was stopped.
There are two major rules and they are...
Off-Side
When any member of the attacking team completely crosses the opponent's blue line before the puck. The puck must cross the line first! When off-side occurs, play is stopped and the puck is returned for a face-off to the face-off dot in the neutral zone on the side of the ice in which the infraction occurred.
Icing
The act of shooting the puck untouched from the defensive side of the red line (center ice) past the opponent's goal line (other than in the net) and then being touched first by the opposing team. When this occurs, play is stopped and the puck is returned to the other end of the ice to a face-off dot on the side of the ice in which the infraction occurred.
Exceptions to the Icing Rule:
1. When a team is shorthanded because of a penalty.
2. When the referee decides that the opposing team could have played the puck.
3. When the puck goes through the goal crease.
4. When the opposing goalie touches the puck.
Penalties
During the game penalties are called and they are divided into two catagories, minor and major. A minor penalty will put the offender into the penalty box for 2 mintues while at major penalty will count for 5 mintues.
Minor
Tripping = Player uses stick, arm or leg to knock down an opponent.
High-Sticking = Striking an opponent with the stick above shoulder level.
Slashing = The act of swinging a player's stick at an opponent, whether contact is made or not.
Holding = Player holds an opponent by using his hands, arms or legs.
Charging = Player, as a result of distance traveled, violently checks an opponent in any manner.
Interference = Player interferes with or impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck.
Elbowing = Use of an extended elbow to foul opponent in a manner that may or may not cause injury.
Cross-Checking = A check rendered with both hands on the stick, and the extending of the arms, while the check is being delivered.
Hooking = Using the stick in a manner that enables a player to restrain an opponent.
Boarding = Checking an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently into the boards.
Delaying the Game = Player or goalie delays game by deliberately hitting the puck with his stick or hand outside the playing area or deliberately knocks the goal post from its normal position.
Kneeing = Hitting an opponent with a distinct movement of the knee.
Roughing = A minor altercation that does not warrant a major penalty (pushing and shoving rather than actual fisticuffs).
Major
Major penalties are assessed for many of the same infractions that apply to minor penalties except they involve a greater degree of deliberate violence that results in injury. The player who is serving the five-minute major must stay in the penalty box for the full time, regardless if a goal is scored on the "shorthanded" team. Any player who records three major penalties in a game is automatically ejected.
When penalites are called and the player goes into the box, that team must play shorthanded and the opposing team is on what is refered to as a power play. At the end of the 60 minutes if both teams are tied they then go into an overtime period that does not exceed 5 mintues. This period is called sudden death where the first team to score is awarded an additional point. If still no one scores then in the new NHL a shootout occurs and the first team to score is then the victor. This is true in all regular season games but not playoff games where overtime periods last for 20 mintues and not 5.
That's it! Now you know your hockey basics and before long you will be calling plays and chucking your half full dixie cup of beer at the glass when the linesman calls plays he can't even see through his helmet. Blind bastard. That is what video reviews are for.
Common Hockey Lingo
Breakaway
Occurs when a player with the puck has a clear path to the net, with no other opponent between him and the goaltender.
Deke
To fake an opponent out of position.
Down Low
The area around the net or behind it.
Dump and Chase
A style of hockey where a team shoots the puck into one of the corners of the offensive zone and then pursues it. This is opposed to carrying the puck into the zone.
Forecheck
To pressure an opponent in order to prevent an offensive rush.
Freezing the Puck
To hold the puck against the boards with either the stick or skate to get a stoppage in play.
Full Strength
A term used to describe when both teams are matched evenly with five skaters and one goalie.
Grinder
A type of player known for his checking ability and work ethic; often associated with a player who is strong defensively, but who doesn't score many points.
Hat Trick
The scoring of three or more goals by a player in one game. A natural hat trick is when the same player scores three consecutive goals.
One-Timer
The act of shooting the puck directly off a pass without stopping it first. The offensive player takes his backswing while the puck is on its way to him and tries to time his swing with the arrival of the puck.
Penalty Shot
One of the most exciting and rare plays in hockey occurs when an offensive player is tripped from behind and denied a breakaway scoring opportunity, when the goaltender deliberately displaces the goal post during the course of a breakaway or when a defensive player falls on and holds the puck in his own crease. The puck is placed at center ice and the offensive player is allowed to move in alone on the goaltender for a free shot.
Point
A position just inside the offensive blue line usually occupied by defensemen when their team is in control of the puck inside the offensive zone.
Roughing
A minor altercation that does not warrant a major penalty (pushing and shoving rather than actual fisticuffs).
Power Play
A crucial situation that occurs when a team has a one- or two-man advantage over the opposition due to penalties. This is the opposite of penalty killing.
Pulling the Goalie
The act of replacing the goalie with an extra skater. This occurs when a team is losing, usually by one goal in the last minute of the game. It is a high-risk attempt to tie the game.
Screened Shot
When a goaltender's view is blocked by players between himself and the shooter.
Shorthanded
A situation that occurs when the opposing team has a one- or two-man advantage due to penalties. When shorthanded, a team is also known to be penalty killing.
Slap Shot
Hitting the puck with the blade of the stick after taking a full backswing.
Slot
The area directly in front of the goal crease, between the face-off circles, where many scoring opportunities take place.
Top Shelf
Term used to describe when a player shoots high in an attempt to beat the goalie by putting the puck in the top part of the net.
Wraparound
When a player skates around behind the opposing goal and attempts to wrap the puck around the goal post and in.
Wrist Shot/Snap Shot
Hitting the puck with the blade of the stick using a quick snap of the wrist rather than a full back swing.
Zamboni
A popular brand of ice resurfacing machine that is often generically used to describe all ice resurfacing machines. The original Zamboni was invented by Frank Zamboni in California during the 1940s.
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