Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Ice Hockey

Definition: Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey

Noun

1. A game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of 6 skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with hockey sticks.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

 

Specialty Definition: Ice hockey

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Ice hockey, known simply as "hockey" in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice.

Game

The objective of the game is to score by playing a hard rubber disc, the puck, into one of the nets placed at opposite ends of the rink (the playfield). The players may control the puck using a long stick with a curved blade at one end. Players may also redirect the puck with a skate (but not kick at it) or with the hand (without closing the hand). A player scoring three goals in a single game is said to have scored a hat trick.

A team consists of at most 22 players of whom two have to be goaltenders. At most six players from each team may be on the ice at the same time. Usually one of the six is a goaltender (or goalie), who wears special protective clothing and is positioned in front of the net. The goaltender is allowed to immobilize the puck with his hands or body.

The other five players are divided into three forwards and two defensemen. The forward positions are named left wing, center and right wing. Typically the three forwards play together as a line. The defensemen usually stay together as a pair but may change less frequently than the forwards. Ice hockey is a fast paced game and player changes may happen every few minutes and often without an interruption in play.

The remaining characteristics of hockey often depend on the particular code of play being used. The two most important codes are those of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and of the North American National Hockey League (NHL). North American hockey codes tend to bear much mre resemblance to the NHL code.

The area of play is called a rink, which is 61 m (200 ft) in length and 26 to 30 m wide (85 to 100 ft) wide, with the corners rounded with a radius of 8 m (28 ft).

The rink is enclosed by boards that are between 1 m and 1.2 m high. North American rinks are narrower than rinks elsewhere, typically about 85 feet wide compared to about 100 feet on other continents. Shatterproof glass extends above the boards, except in front of the players' benches. In the National Hockey League nets are suspended at each end of the rink to keep pucks from entering the crowd.

The surface of the ice is broken up into different sections by lines painted beneath the ice surface. The red goal lines are located at various distances from the end of the rink, depending on the code of play, and extend across the rink. In international hockey they are 3.5 m (10 ft) from each end of the rink. The opening of the goals is located at the centre of the goal line, which means that there is an area behind the goal, which is rare for a team sport (box lacrosse, for one, also has an area behind the goal). In international play the goal 1.83 m wide and 1.22 m high, which is virtually identical to the North American specification of a goal 6 feet wide and 4 feet high. The goalposts are joined by a crossbar.

Attachments to the tops of the goal posts extend backwards towards the bpoards and permit the hanging of a net to catch pucks which cross the goal line between the goalposts.

The area just in front of the goal, which is restricted to the goalkeeper, is marked by another red line, and is called the goal crease. The dimensions of the crease in the National Hockey League and in international hockey differ. In international play the crease is a semi-circle with a radius of 180 cm. In the NHL the crease is 8 feet wide with sides 4 feet long, and the front edge is a section of a semicircle 6 feet in diameter. The surface of the concrete under the crease is painted light blue.

Two blue lines are drawn across the rink, dividing the rink into three parts. In the National Hockey League the blue lines are 60 feet from each goal line, while in international play they divide the rink into three equal parts.

The central part is known variously as centre ice or the neutral zone, while the other two zones are known either as the end zones or as the attacking and defending zones. The end zones are equal in size. One function of the blue line is to determine if the team with the puck is offside. A red and white checkered line (the red line) extends across the width of the rink and up the boards at centre ice, dividing the rink in half. This line is also used to determine if play is offside, as well as if the puck has been iced.

A player is offside if:

Icing consists of driving the puck from one's own side of the red line across the farther goal line without scoring and without the defending team having a chance to intercept it (in North America a defending player must also touch the puck behind the goal line before an attacking player does). Once icing occurs play is stopped and a face-off (see below) is held in the end zone of the team that iced the puck.

Play begins with a face-off at centre ice. The puck is dropped between the centres of the opposing teams, who then attempt to play it. When play is stopped it is resumed with a face-off unless a penalty shot has been called. Face-offs are conducted in five face-off circles – one at centre ice and the other four on opposite sides of each end zone – at four dots, one at each end of each blue line in the neutral zone, or at other points as required by the rules.

The face-off circles have a radius of 15 feet in North America and 4.5 m in international play. There is a dot at the centre of each circle on which the puck is dropped. Only the centres may enter the face-off circles before the puck is dropped. Face-off tactics and strategy are extremely important parts of the game.

Penalties

In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or has just passed it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called body-checking. Expressly forbidden are:

Other serious infractions include delay of game (shooting the puck out of bounds, for example, or deliberately dislodging the goalposts) and holding the puck if one is not the goaltender. The penalty for these infractions is the removal of the offending player from the ice for a set period during which his team may not replace him. That is, they must play shorthanded unrtil he returns. A minor penalty is removal for two minutes or until a goal is scored by the unpenalized team.

In the NHL, a double minor penalty is assessed for head-butting.

A major penalty of five minutes is assigned for more serious infractions, including checking from behind and causing injury while committing a penalty which would otherwise be punished with a minor penalty; the player must serve the full five minutes regardless of the number of goals scored against his or her team. A misconduct penalty is given chiefly for disrespect to the officials; it lasts ten minutes, but the player's team does not have to play shorthanded. Game misconduct and match penalties (for attempting to injure an opponent, kicking, etc.) result in the expulsion of the player from the game.

A penalty shot is awarded in the National Hockey League for offences such as fouling a player with the puck who is advancing towards the goaltender with no defenders in his way. All players but the goaltender and the fouled player leave the ice, the puck is placed at centre ice, and the fouled player is allowed to advance with the puck and take one shot (rebounds do not count). If his shot is successful he is awarded a goal.

When an infraction is committed, play stops if the offending team is in possession of the puck. If it is not in possession of the puck, play continues until the offending team is in possession of the puck or play stops for other reasons. If a goal is scored against the offending team, any minor penalty is waived. The goaltender of the non-offending team usually leaves the ice to be replaced by a forward when a penalty call is delayed.

A team playing with more players than a penalized team is said to be on the power play. Icing is not called against the shorthanded team on a power play. Special tactics are used when playing with an advantage in numbers.

Tactics

An important defensive tactic is checking, or attempting to take the puck from an opponent. Forechecking is checking in the other team's zone, backchecking is checking while the other team is advancing down the ice toward one's own goal. Stickchecking, sweepchecking, and pokechecking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck.

Headmanning the puck is the tactic of always passing to the player farthest down the ice. A deke (short for decoy) is a feint. When a player directs the puck towards the opponents' goal he or she is said to shoot the puck. A wrist shot is a shot made by twisting the wrist on the shaft of the stick; a wrist shot which raises the puck higher than the player's head is a flip shot. A slapshot is a shot made by raising the stick and then bringing it down sharply behind the puck and following through, lifting the stick from the ice after striking the puck.

Periods and overtime

A game consists of three periods of twenty minutes each, the clock running only when the puck is in play. In international play the teams change ends for the second period, again for the third period, and again after ten minutes of the third period, In North American play the last change is omitted,

Various procedures are used if a game is tied. In tournament play North Americans favour sudden death overtime, in which the teams continue to play until a goal is scored. International play uses an overtime period followed by a shoot-out if the score remains tied after the extra period; the shootout consists of five players from each team taking penalty shots against the other team's goaltender until one team has the preponderance of successful shots.

History

The game originated in Canada around 1855, when the game on ice was first played with a puck rather than a ball, distinguishing it from field hockey, as played by British soldiers in Canada. A sport similar to ice hockey, bandy, also uses a ball.

The game quickly gained popularity in Canada, and in the North Central and North Eastern United States. In 1893, the Stanley Cup was established as the trophy emblematic of the Canadian senior championship; it became the award of the winner of the playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926. In 1908, after the competition for the Stanley Cup had become professional, the Allan Cup became the trophy awarded to the national amateur champion. In 1919 the Memorial Cup was established as the trophy for the national junior (under 21) men's champion.

The sport also became known in Europe, and in 1908, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) was founded.

At the 1920 Summer Olympics, ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics, and it has been part of the Winter Olympics ever since. Canada dominated Olympic play in the early years, being undefeated until 1936. After the Second World War, teams from Eastern Europe became stronger, notably the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, although this was also due to the fact that only amateur players were allowed to play in the Olympics. Communist countries frequently entered teams consisting largely of servicemen whose military duties consisted of playing hockey. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Red Army team was for many years one of the premier teams in the world.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, an agreement was made to stop the NHL for a few weeks to allow the professional players to compete in the Olympics. Despite hopes from Canada and the US, the Czech Republic won the Olympic title on that occasion, although Canada would come out on top 4 years later in Salt Lake City. In 1998, women's ice hockey also made its appearance at the Olympics, with the United States beating Canada for the gold medal in that year, and Canada beating the United States in 2002.

Before the Olympics were opened up for professional athletes, the World Cup of Hockey and its predecessor the Canada Cup displayed the highest level of hockey, since only these tournaments were open to all the world's best players. Featuring the very best players from the six competing countries (Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, the USSR, Sweden and the USA) the Canada Cup was played for in 1976, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. The 1987 event is referred to as one of the most spectacular in hockey history. In 1996, the Canada Cup was replaced by the World Cup of Hockey, which featured all six nations above and Germany (though Czechoslovakia had by then split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia). The World Cup of Hockey will be played for again in 2004. Except for 1981, when the USSR won, all Canada Cups were won by Canada. The 1996 World Cup of Hockey event was won by the USA.

The annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships are formally open to the best players in the world, but many cannot attend because they are playing in the Stanley Cup tournament, which is held at the same time. The IIHF championships pit national men's and women's teams against each other in multiple divisions.

At present the game is most popular in Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland. The premier league is the National Hockey League (NHL), with teams in the United States and Canada. Other leagues providing a high calibre of play are the Finnish SM-Liiga, the Swedish Elitserien, and the Czech and Russian national competitions.

Hockey is also played by colleges in the United States as a part of the NCAA culminated in the Frozen Four. The American Hockey League (AHL) is the leading American minor league; it has teams in both Canada and the United States. The Canadian Hockey League or CHL is a major Canadian junior (under 21) league, and is the parent group of the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. It is the chief preparation league for the NHL, and also awards the Memorial Cup to the Canadian junior hockey champion.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Ice hockey."

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Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

2002 Winter Olympic Games Ice hockey

Men

Fourteen countries played in the tournament. Six countries, hockey powers Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States of America were admitted to the final eight. The other eight countries, Austria, Belarus, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Ukraine played in a preliminary round in two pools. The winners of those pools, Belarus and Germany, advanced to the final round with the other six.

The biggest surprise of the tournament was Belarus, 0-3-0 in Group D play, knocking off 3-0-0 Sweden in quarterfinal play. Canada won the gold medal, defeating the USA in a game that was very close until a couple of late goals gave Canada its final three-goal margin. Canadian Joe Sakic was named tournament MVP.

Preliminary Round

Group A: Germany3-0-0
Latvia1-1-1
Austria1-2-0
Slovakia0-2-1
Group B: Belarus2-1-0 (finished ahead of Ukraine by defeating them head-to-head)
Ukraine2-1-0
Switzerland1-1-1
France0-2-1

Final Round

Group C: Sweden3-0-0
Czech Republic1-1-1 (finished ahead of Canada on goal differential)
Canada1-1-1
Germany0-3-0
Group D: USA2-0-1
Finland2-1-0
Russia1-1-1
Belarus0-3-0

Quarter-finals (February 20)

Semi-finals (February 22) Bronze medal game (February 23) Gold medal game (February 24) Women

Eight countries competed. The top two teams in each pool advanced to the semi-finals.

Canada did not allow a goal in the preliminary round, while USA allowed only one goal. Canada trailed 3-2 to Finland going into the third period, but score 5 unanswered goals to advance to the final. USA had a fairly uneventful semi-final, shutting out Sweden. In the final, Canada outplayed USA despite being called for 13 penalties by the American referee (the Americans received four penalties). The turning point of the game probably came when Canada's Jayna Hefford scored with one second left in the second period to give the Canadians a 3-1 lead going into the third period. USA scored late in the third period on the power play to cut the lead to 3-2, but Canada hung on to win. It was the first women's hockey gold for Canada. Coming into the game, the Americans were 35-0 on their season, and had beaten the Canadians in their eight previous meetings. Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser was named tournament MVP.

Preliminary Round

Group A

Group B Semi-finals Bronze medal game (February 21) Gold medal game (February 22)

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Synonyms: Ice Hockey

Synonyms: hockey (n), hockey game (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Ice Hockey

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Amusement

Athletic sports, gymnastics; archery, rifle shooting; tournament, pugilism; (contention); sports; horse racing, the turf; aquatics; skating, sliding; cricket, tennis, lawn tennis; hockey, football, baseball, soccer, ice hockey, basketball; rackets, fives, trap bat and ball, la grace; pall-mall, tipcat, croquet, golf, curling, pallone, polo, water polo; tent pegging; tilting at the ring, quintain; greasy pole; quoits, horseshoes, discus; rounders, lacrosse; tobogganing, water polo; knurr and spell.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Ice Hockey

English words defined with "ice hockey": assistboardscage, checkgoalie, goalkeeper, goaltenderhat trick, hockey puck, hockey teamice, ice hockey rink, ice rink, ice-hockey rink, ice-skating rink, icing, icing the pucknetkeeper, New York pointpenalty box, Puckred line. (references)

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Modern Usage: Ice Hockey

DomainUsage

Movie/TV Titles

Ice Hockey (1988)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Ice Hockey

DomainTitle

Books

  • The Illustrated Rules of Ice Hockey (reference)

  • Winning Women in Ice Hockey (Sport Success) (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

  

High Tech

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Ice Hockey

Photos:
Ice Hockey

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Ice Hockey

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Ice Hockey

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Ice Hockey

ThumbnailDescription & Credit

Ice hockey game between Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers for Stanley Cup, showing Rangers Jackie Gordon, Harry Lumley and Leo Reise. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Ice Hockey

SubjectTopicQuote

Economic History

Switzerland

Cross-country skis and ice hockey equipment again decreased slightly. (references)

Canada

Domestic manufacturing has established niche segments and is strong in the following sectors: ice hockey equipment, curling equipment, sport whistles, swim goggles and selective outdoor products. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Expressions: Ice Hockey

Expressions using "ice hockey": ice hockey helmet ice hockey player ice hockey rink ice hockey skate ice hockey stick. Additional references.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Ice Hockey

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

ice hockey

1,240

off ice hockey training

11

ice hockey equipment

524

graf ice hockey skate

11

ice hockey skate

177

ice hockey rink

10

ice hockey goalie equipment

115

college ice hockey

10

youth ice hockey

59

ice hockey pants

10

ice hockey camp

50

ncaa ice hockey

10

ice hockey rule

44

play ice hockey

9

history of ice hockey

39

ice hockey training

9

ice hockey stick

31

ice hockey coaching

9

womens ice hockey

28

nhl ice hockey

9

ice hockey gear

28

ice hockey league

8

ice hockey tournament

24

ice hockey helmet

8

ice hockey drill

21

ice hockey rinks

8

ice hockey betting

18

ice hockey shop

8

ice hockey summer camp

16

ice hockey store

8

ice hockey picture

16

youth ice hockey tournament

8

ice hockey jersey

15

ice hockey gloves

7

goalie ice hockey

12

ice hockey goalie camp

7

ice hockey team

12

mission ice hockey skate

7

ice hockey goalie pad

11

nike ice hockey skate

7

bauer ice hockey skate

7
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Ice Hockey

Language Translations for "ice hockey"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

hokej mbi akull (shinny). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏لعب الهوكي على الجليد. (various references)

   

Asturian

  

xoquei en xelu. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

хокей на лед. (various references)

   

Cebuano

  

dula sa yelo. (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

冰球 (puck). (various references)

   

Czech

  

lední hokej. (various references)

   

Danish

  

ishockeybane (ice hockey rink), puck (puck for ice hockey). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

ijshockeybaan (ice hockey rink), Nederlandse Ijshockey Bond (Dutch Ice Hockey Federation), hockeypuck (puck for ice hockey). (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

íshokki. (various references)

   

Finnish

  

jääkiekkokenttä (ice hockey rink). (various references)

   

French

  

hockey sur glace. (various references)

   

Frisian

  

iishockey. (various references)

   

German

  

eishockey (hockey, hockey ice). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

χόκεϊ επί το πάγο. (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

jégkorong (hockey, ice-hockey), jéghoki (hockey). (various references)

   

Inuktitut

  

sikukkut hockeytuq. (various references)

   

Italian

  

hockey su ghiaccio. (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

アーリア人 (art deco, art nouveau, Aryan, climbing irons, crampons, eye, eye shadow, eyeshade, frozen treat similar to a Popsicle, IACA, ice, ice candy, ice cream, ice cream soda, ice cube, ice dancing, ice pail, ice pick, ice rink, ice show, ice skating place, ice smack, ice tongs, icebox, icecream sundae, iced coffee, iced tea, icefall, Iceland, ice-skating, icetea, icing, icing the puck, icon, iconify, ILO, IMF, intelligence quotient, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Labor Organization, International Monetary Fund, ion, IQ, iron, iron club, measure of area, metal pins of climbing shoes, popsicle, Rh, Rhesus factor, skating rink, to take the radius). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

アイスホッケー . (various references)

   

Macedonian

  

hokej na mraz. (various references)

   

Manx

  

crammag rio. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

iceay ockeyhay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

hquei sobre o gelo, hquei de gelo. (various references)

   

Provencal

  

hockey sus glaç. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

хоккей с шайбой, хоккей на льду (ice-hockey). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

hokej na ledu. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

hockey sobre hielo (hockey). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

ishockey, hockey (field hockey, hockey). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

buz hokeyi. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Anagrams: Ice Hockey

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "c-c-e-e-h-i-k-o-y"

-2 letters: chickee, cockeye.

-3 letters: cheeky, choice, chokey, echoey, echoic, hickey, hockey.

-4 letters: check, cheek, chick, chico, chock, choke, choky, cocky, hoick, hokey, yecch.

-5 letters: chic, coke, eche, echo, heck, hick, hike, hock, hoke, icky, okeh, yech, yock, yoke.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Quotations: Non-fiction
9. Expressions
10. Expressions: Internet
11. Translations: Modern
12. Anagrams
13. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.