Learn the game
First time on the ice? Learn all about hockey from the Ice Den's professionals.
This primer reviews the game's basics.
| Goaltender |
Left and right defensemen
|
 |
| Center |
Left and right wings
|
Right and left defensemen
These two players try to stop the incoming play from the other teams before any
chance of scoring is possible. They block shots, clear the puck from in front
of their own net and cover the other team's forwards. Offensively, they pass the
puck up the ice to the forwards, then follow the play into the attacking zone
and try to keep it there.
Goaltender
This player's job is to keep the puck out of his team's net. He can use any part
of his body or any piece of equipment to do so and is allowed to catch or smother
the puck.
Center
Usually leading his team's attack by carrying the puck up the ice, the center
primarily operates up and down the middle of the ice but also has more freedom
to roam than his linemates. He is the playmaker, passing between his two wings
to set up a goal. Defensively, he tries to keep the play in the attacking zone
by harassing the opposing team's puck carrier. As the play moves back toward his
own goal, it's his job to hustle back and try to break up the opposing team's
play.
Right and left wings
These players predominantly move up and down the sides of the rink with the direction
of play. Offensively, they skate alongside the center, passing back and forth
and positioning themselves for a shot on goal. In the defensive zone, they guard
the opponents’ pointmen, trying to keep them from shooting.
Player lines and "changing on the fly"
Because hockey doesn't demand a stop in play for substitutions, players can go
on and off the ice while play is in progress. Each line, which consists of groups
of three forwards and two defensemen, changes about every two minutes. Each team
usually carries four lines of forwards and three sets of defensemen.
Three main rules
1. Off sides
A team is off sides when any member of the attacking team precedes the puck over
the defending team's blue line. The position of a player's skates and not that
of this stick is the determining factor. If both skates are over the blue line
before the puck, the player is off side. If he has only one skate over the blue
line and one on it, he is on side.
2. Icing the puck
Icing the puck is not permitted when teams are at equal numerical strength. Icing
occurs when a player on his team's side of the red center line shoots the puck
all the way down the ice, it crosses the red goal line at any point other than
the goal itself and is first touched by a defending player. When this occurs,
play is stopped and the puck is returned to the other end of the ice for a face-off
in the offending team's zone.
Icing the puck is not called:
- If the
goalie plays the puck by leaving his net.
- If the
puck cuts across part of the goal crease.
- When
a defending opponent, in the judgment of the linesman, could have played the
puck before it crossed the red goal line.
- When
an attacking player who was on side (in the same zone) when the puck was shot
down the ice manages to touch it first.
- When
a team is playing short-handed because of a penalty or penalties.
3. Off side Pass
An off side pass occurs when a member of the attacking team passes the puck
from behind his own blue line to a teammate across the center red line. An attacking
player may pass the puck over the center red line and the blue line to a teammate,
as long as the teammate does not cross the blue line before the puck.
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