Ice hockey

Ice hockey is a sport played on ice and involves two teams competing to shoot a puck into the opposing team's net.

History

see also Canadian sports

Organization

The sport is governed at an international level by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which has 64 members. The most competitive professional league exists in North America as the National Hockey League (NHL). Consisting of 30 teams, the NHL competes annually for the oldest trophy in professional sport, the Stanley Cup. The first team to win the Cup was the Montreal AAA team in 1892-93. The first US-based team to play for the Stanely Cup were the Portland Rosebuds (1916), and the first US-based team to win it were the Seattle Metropolitans (1917).

Game play

Each team may have five skaters plus a goalie on the ice at one time. The skaters usually consist of two defence and three forwards called the right winger, left winger and centre. If a player is penalized, they must leave the game and remain in the penalty box while their team plays with only four skaters. Penalties usually last for either 2 minutes (minor) or 5 minutes (major). However, if the opposing team scores during a minor penalty, the penalized player may return. Minor penalties are called for tripping, roughing, high-sticking, holding, interference, hooking, cross-checking, elbowing, charging, diving, having too many players on the ice, illegal equipment or delay of game. A four-minute double-minor penalty may be called when unintentional injury results. Major penalties are called for extremely violent infractions and for fighting. During the 1992/93 season, the NHL adopted an instigator rule to curtail fighting. Whereas fighting in hockey usually resulted in both combatants receiving off-setting five minute majors, the new instigator rule applied an additional minor to the person who was initiated the fight. In the years following the adoption instigator rule, there was an increase players attempting to obstruct the path of other players. This strategy of "clutching and grabbing" was aimed at slowing an opposing team's most talented players. Starting in the 2005/06 season, an effort was made to penalize all forms of obstruction and the speed of the game returned.

NHL and IIHF-sanctioned games are typically played over three 20 minute periods with 15 minute intermissions. Teams switch ends between periods i.e., Team A's defensive end in Period 1 becomes its offensive end for Period 2. The timekeeper starts the clock at the opening face-off and stops it every time an official blows the whistle. The clock is restarted at every subsequent face-off. Therefore, a 20 minute period represents 20 minutes of actual playing time (also called "stop-time"), rather than twenty continuous minutes of real time (also called "running-time" or "run-time"). Each period begins with a face-off at centre ice. Both teams line up at the centre face-off dot, the centres in the middle, the left and right wingers at the edge of the face-off circle and the defence loosely between them at the bottom of the circle (the end towards their own goal). Face-offs occur at one of the nine face-off dots whenever there is a stoppage in play, for any reason. At the four neutral-zone face-off dots without circles, players usually line-up in the same formation, though a little closer together. Players must stay on the defending side of the face-off dot until the puck is dropped. Centres must ensure the players on their team are lined up correctly before placing their sticks on the ice. If a centre fails to do so, the referee may call another player to take the face-off for that team. Repeated failure to line up correctly or deliberate delay of a face-off can result, at the discretion of the referee, in a minor penalty.

If a game is tied after regulation time expires, a 5 minute sudden-death overtime period is played after only a one minute rest. Teams do not switch ends for overtime periods. In the NHL, this overtime period is played "four-on-four": each team plays with only four skaters and a goalie. If no goal is scored during overtime, a shootout is played with a minimum three shooters per team. The team with the most goals after the first three attempts wins. If the teams are still tied, a sudden death shootout begins. In the NHL, only players who have not already attempted may participate in the sudden-death shootout. However, once one team has exhausted its eligible players, both teams may select players who have already attempted. The shootout continues until one team scores.

In NHL playoff games, there is no shootout. If a game is tied after regulation, 20 minute sudden-death overtime periods are played separated by 15 minute intermissions, for which teams do switch ends. In theory, a game could continue forever if neither team ever scored. In reality, the longest game ever played consisted of 6 overtime periods for total game time of 176 minutes and 30 seconds, played in Montreal in 1936 between Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons. (The Red Wings won the game 1-0 and went on the win the Stanley Cup.)

Equipment

Hockey in its simplest form is played on skates with a stick and puck. Hockey sticks are traditionally made of wood, but today are made of composite materials such as Kevlar or carbon fiber. Stick blades may have no more than a 3/4" curve. If a player is caught with a curve, they receive a minor penalty. Marty McSorely was famously penalized for such an infraction in the 1993 Stanley cup finals.

The puck is a black vulcanized rubber disc and is 1" thick and 3" in diameter. Given its small size, many casual fans have found it difficult to follow the puck during games. This problem was especially problematic for viewers watching games on television. In 1996, Fox incorporated the use of a puck equipped with 20 infrared emitting diodes to track its position on screen. The system called "FoxTrax" created a blue glow around the puck to help trace its path and a red streak appeared whenever the puck was moved faster than 70 mph.

References

Cited references/footnotes