Getting Into Professional Hockey?— Here Is What You Need To Know

Alton, Mo. – If you have been in a mood to start getting into professional hockey, whether you want to watch it or play it, here is what you need to know to begin.

What is Hockey

Hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a rubber puck into their opponent’s net to score goals. Hockey is a fast-paced and physical sport to get into.

Players and Positions

There is usually six players on each time on the ice at once. There is a goaltender and the five other players skate trying to get control of the puck and score. All the players where ice skates. The six players are usually divided into groups, three forwards, two defencemen, and a goaltender.

The forward positions include a centre and two wingers, a left and right wing. Forward usually play together in units or lines and the same three forwards play together most of the time.

A substitution of the entire unit is called a line change. When players are substituted during play, it is called changing on the fly.

NHL rules restrict the total number of players for a game to 18 plus two goaltenders.

Countries it’s Played In

The most popular countries hockey is played in is the following: Canada, central and eastern Europe, the Nordic countries, Russia, and the United States.

NHL

The National Hockey League (NHL) is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. ^[1]

History

The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada where the first indoor hockey game was held on March 3, 1875.

The Game

Hockey is played in a hockey rink. The NHL hockey rink is 200 feet long by 85 feet wide. The objective of hockey is to score a goal. Scoring a goal is to hit the puck into the opponent’s goal net which is placed at the end of the rink. Players use the hockey stick to shoot or pass the puck. Hockey is an off-side sport which means forward passes are allowed.

Players can pass the puck with parts of their bodies through certain restrictions. They cannot pass with their hands unless in the defensive zone, they cannot hold the puck with their hands, players cannot kick the puck with their feet, and they cannot intentionally bat the puck into the net.

The usually blue semi-circle which the goaltender is in is called a crease.

There are three major rules for stopping the puck: offside, icing, and the puck going out of play. Offside is when a player enters the opponent’s zone before the puck does. Icing is when a player shoots the puck across the centre line and the opponent’s goal line. The puck going out of play is when the puck goes past the perimeter of the rink and a stoppage of play is called by the referees using their whistles. ^[2]

The team changes ends after each period of play including overtime.

Periods and Overtime

In professional hockey, there are three periods that are twenty minutes long. The clock is only running when the puck is in play. For the NHL playoffs, if a game is tied after regulation an additional 20 minutes of 5 on 5 sudden death overtime will be added. In case of a tied game after the overtime, multiple 20-minute overtimes will be played until a team scores, which wins the match.

Officials

There are usually two to four officials on the ice at once. There are two linesmen who calls offsides and icing but also break up fights and conduct faceoffs. Then there are two referees who call goals and other penalties.

Penalties

If a player gets a penalty, the player is sent to the penalty box for an amount of time and the team has to deal with one less player. A minor penalty lasts for two minutes, a major penalty lasts for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration.