Well know hockey isn't a very complicated game, it may seem that way because of the fast tempo and high excitement level. Let's start off with the objectives of the game, like most sports the goal is to score on the opposing team by shooting the puck past the goalie into the other teams net. There are 6 players on each team playing at once. A goalie, 2 defencemen, 3 forwards (a left wing, right wing, and a centerman). However if a team gets a penalty (roughing, interference, slashing, tripping, hooking, boarding etc.), the loses a player for 2 minutes (for a minor penalty), penalties can range from 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and game ejection. The team is now playing "short handed", and the opposing team having a man advantage has a "powerplay" If a team receives another penalty they will lose another man for the required time of the penalty, however even if a third penalty occurs your team is still aloud to have 3 players on the ice even though you can have an unlimited amount of players in the penalty box (the area where players serve their penalties).

Other useful terms to know are icing, which you dump the puck in from your side of the ice when no one touches the puck and the other team doesn't have a clear shot at touching to the puck. This results in a face off (a drop of the puck, where the centerman face off against each other to be able to be the first one to hit the puck away so your team can gain control of the puck), the face off that was a result of an icing will be placed by one of the circles in your zone. Offside is another big term to know, it is where the puck has to be in the attacking zone (the zone furthest away from your goaltender, which is reconized by a blue line) if one of your players is in the zone before your teammate skates in with the puck, that is an offside and the whistle will be blown right away to call the play dead. However, if you dump in the puck while your teammate is still in the zone, your teammate is given the chance to clear the zone and tag up at the blue line and no one can enter and touch the puck before he clears the zone, your teammate cannot touch the puck before he tags up either.

There are 3 periods in a game, the time of a period is dependant on the level of the game for example, a minor hockey game may have 12 minute periods whereas a pro game will have 20 minute periods. The team with the most goals at the end of regulation wins the game. Depending on league rules a game can end in a tie, but say if it was an nhl game it would go into overtime (an extra period), then a shoot out, if it was during the playoffs the game would end as soon as the first team scored.

The easiest way to understand a game, is by watching it first then try it out, and like most sports there will always be people willing to help you out, to understand the knowledge of the game. Hockey is a game where you may be able to learn from paper, but to fully understand the game you have to experience it.

Learn more about this author, James Sager.
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