Exploring Ice Hockey: A Comprehensive Overview
Hockey is a sport in which two teams play against each other by trying to1maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent’s goal using a hockey stick. There are many types of hockey such as bandy, field hockey, and ice hockey.
The first ice hockey game played was in Montreal, Canada on March 3, 1875. Even nowadays we play similar to how they played, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck are all the same. Since that first game, it has only expanded to mass amounts of popularity. It is Canada’s most popular game with approximately 1 million registered players regularly playing in leagues. Field hockey is derived from a game played in Ireland called “hurling”. In hurling, players would hit a wooden block with a large curved stick into the other team’s goal. Back then, there were no rules and violence and even death was regularly reported. Even in the first professional games, female spectators would flee from the rink after discovering how much gore came with the game. Even with the backlash received from the community, ice hockey steadily became more and more inducted into Canadian society. In the early years of the 20th century sticks were being made by companies, shin pads were worn, and the goalie would be required to wear a chest protector.
Canada finally accepted professional hockey in 1908 when the Ontario Professional Hockey League was formed. It was now legal for a person to be a professional hockey player and to make a livable wage. The National Hockey League (NHL) was formed on November 26, 1917. With this huge move, the association sought to make professional rules to be more fan-friendly and player-friendly. It was now played with 6 men to a side on the rink at once. The move checking (body contact to take an opponent out of play) was now permitted anywhere on the ice.
Most teams play with a certain formation. There are usually 3 forwards, (center, right wing, left wing) 2 defenders, (left and right) and a goalie. The stick that is used must not be larger than shoulder level, and everyone (except the goalie) must not touch the puck with their hands or your team will be called for a foul. After this foul is called, the puck will be given to the other team at the half rink line. The game is divided into three periods of 20 minutes playing time each, with a 15-minute break between periods. Hockey games can result in a tie, but usually there are rules for that specific type of match to break the tie. In the case of a tie in college hockey, there is a 10-minute “sudden death” round to break a regular season tie. But, in the case of the NHL, teams play a five-minute sudden death round. If the tie still isn’t broken in this period, a shoot-out between the teams commences. Playoff overtimes are a completely different situation. College hockey has 10-minute overtime periods until there is a winner, while the NHL has the same system with 20-minute periods. There is almost always no overtime period in international hockey. In the Olympics, a 10-minute period of sudden death is used, and if so needed: a shootout is put into place.
Ice hockey is the only Olympic sport where substitutions are allowed to enter the game while it’s going on. The game is so fast paced that forwards generally only skate only 90 seconds at a time. Players defending are almost always on the ice much longer than forwards. Play is stopped for an offside and for the infraction called icing, which occurs when a team shoots the puck out of its zone past the other team’s goal line. For a minor infraction the offending player müst remain in the penalty box at the side of the rink for two minutes while his team plays shorthanded. This man-advantage situation is called a power play. If the opponents score at any time during the penalty period, the penalized player may return to the ice
There are three common types of shots in hockey: the slap shot, the wrist shot, and the backhander. The slap shot has been recorded to reach over 100 miles/hour. Slap shots are rarely used unless in an overtime shoot-out. Wrist shots are more commonly used during play of the game.
Possibly the most famous hockey game was a match between the Soviet Union and team USA in the 1980 winter Olympics. USA beat all odds and defeated the Soviets who had won almost every world championship in hockey since 1954. This signaled the near ending of the cold war and was very tear-jerking to the fans in the stand, and the onlookers watching the game on TV.
The best thing about hockey is the pure sporting ability you must have to be good. It’s truly the sport of Canada and is an example of how truly capable professional athletes are.
