Ice Hockey

I

Introduction

Ice Hockey, fast-moving, extremely rough, action-packed game, considered one of the fastest of all sports. Ice hockey is played on an ice rink in which two opposing teams of six skaters attempt to score goals. It is related to field hockey and is probably a descendant of bandy. It is the national sport of Canada. In North America the sport is referred to as hockey rather than ice hockey.

II

Equipment and Clothing

Ice hockey is played on natural or artificial ice, on an oval rink with a standard size of 61 m (200 ft) by 25.5 m (85 ft). The rink is enclosed by a board wall about 1.22 m (4 ft) high and protective glass or netting. Two goals, each 1.22 m (4 ft) high and 1.83 (6 ft) wide, are situated not more than 4.57 m (15 ft) from each end of the rink. The playing area is divided into three equal-sized zones by two blue lines. A red centreline also divides the rink. The zone nearest a team's goal is called the defence zone, the central zone is called the neutral zone, and the zone nearest the opponent's goal is the attacking zone. The rink has five face-off circles, each with a radius of 4.6 m (15 ft), one located at the centre of the ice and two in each team's defence zone. There are four other face-off spots in the neutral zone.

Each team skates, or uses, no more than 6 players at a time from a squad of 20 (18 in the women’s game), usually 1 centre, 2 forwards, 2 defensive players, and 1 goaltender, or goalie. Each player carries a metal or wooden stick (generally of ash or elm) with a shaft no longer than 163 cm (64 in) and with a blade no wider than 7.6 cm (3 in) and no longer than 32 cm (12½ in). Players wear protective pads under their clothing on most parts of their body, including their throat, chest, knees, shins, shoulders, and elbows, thick gloves on their hands, and helmets with visors. Goaltenders are allowed heavier and wider sticks (with a blade of 39 cm/15 in) and wear additional protective equipment, including full face mask and leg guards. They also wear a catching glove and a blocking glove. Each side wears shirts and trousers in team colours with number and name on the back of the shirt. Ice hockey skates differ from those used for other forms of ice skating. The blade is thinner and shorter, with a plain, pointed end, and the boot is lower and thicker. Safety heel guards are worn.

A goal is scored when the puck, a black vulcanized rubber disc 2.5 cm (1 in) thick and 7.6 cm (3 in) in diameter and weighing between 156 and 170 g (5½ to 6 oz), is driven into the opponent's goal. The puck can travel at speeds of 150 km/hr (95 mph).

III

Rules of the Sport

Play begins with a face-off, when the referee drops the puck between the opposing centres. Teams attempt to score through a combination of passing and shooting the puck with their sticks. If a player precedes the puck into the attacking zone, the play is ruled offside, and a face-off is held near the spot where the foul occurred. When the puck is shot from behind the centre line to a point beyond the opponent's goal line, it is called “icing”, and the puck is returned for a face-off near the offender's goal. The principal means of defence is “checking” or “bodychecking”: an attacking player is bumped or knocked by a defensive player so that control of the puck is lost. Substitutions of players are frequent during play.

The game is divided into three 20-minute periods, with a change of ends at the conclusion of each period. The clock stops whenever play is halted. Under international rules, if the score is equal after three periods, ten minutes of extra time are played, during which the game ends immediately after a goal is scored (known as golden goal extra time).

Penalties are assessed for holding, tripping, slashing with the stick, high-sticking, unnecessary roughness, and fighting. The offending player is sent to a penalty box for two minutes for a minor infraction and up to five minutes for a major one. Teams may not substitute for their penalized players during the penalty, except during a misconduct penalty, which is usually ten minutes for arguing or bad sportsmanship. No team can be at more than a two-player disadvantage at a time. A team with a one- or two-player advantage is said to have the “power play”.

The governing body for the sport is the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), founded in 1908, and based in Zurich, Switzerland. The National Hockey League (NHL), responsible for the sport in North America, has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada.

IV

History

Bandy, a sport that developed in England in the late 18th century but is now played only in the Baltic countries, Sweden, and Russia and the other successor states of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), is believed to be the precursor of the sport. Modern ice hockey was devised in either 1853 or 1860 by British soldiers stationed in Canada. The rules were set by students W. F. Robertson and R. F. Smith at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, in 1879, and several amateur clubs and leagues were established in Canada by the late 1880s. It was originally a 9-a-side sport. The game is believed to have been first played in the United States in 1893. By the beginning of the 20th century ice hockey had spread to Great Britain and other parts of Europe. Today, it is played in some 30 countries, principally in North America, Scandinavia, Russia, and Eastern Europe. The first European Championships was played in 1910 at Les Avants in the Swiss Alps, and was won by Great Britain.

V

Competition