Ice Hockey: A fast-paced physical sport
Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which the players on skates use sticks to shoot the puck; a hard vulcanized rubber disc, into the opponent’s goal. It is a fast-paced physical sport most admired in areas that are adequately cold with a natural ice cover. A majority of northern United States, Canada, the Nordic countries (particularly Finland and Sweden), Latvia, Russia, the Switzerland, Slovakia and Czech Republic play the sport with all seriousness.
Ice hockey is one of the four major North American professional sports. While in Canada, it is the official national winter sport. The arrival of indoor artificial ice rinks has made it a year-round sport in these areas.
Some common characteristics of ice hockey are the same but the exact rules vary depending upon the specific code of play being used. The Canadians were the founders of ice-hockey while the North American’s expanded the sport into the National Hockey League (NHL). The other mode of play devised by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is implemented in international games across the globe.
Under IIHF rules, each team can come up with two goaltenders and a maximum of 20 players on their roster. Meanwhile, the NHL rules limit the total number of players to 18 (twelve forwards and six defensemen) along with two goaltenders.
Hockey rink is the court where ice hockey is played under normal circumstances. Both the teams come up with six players, including a goaltender; all of whom are riding on ice skates.
The five players are divided into three forwards and two defensemen. The forward positions are further divided into a centre and two wingers, which usually take up the left and right wings on the field. Forwards collectively play as units. The defensemen stay together as a pair usually divided between the left and right hand side.
Substitutions are allowed at any time during the game, although during a stoppage of play, the home team is permitted to make a final change. Substitution of players during the game is called changing on the fly. Straight away substitution of an entire unit is called a line change.
Players score a goal by shooting the puck into the back of the goal net. Players control the puck with a long stick that has a curved blade at one end. Players are also allowed to redirect the puck with their body parts but cannot hold the puck in their hands and are prohibited to pass it to their teammates using their hands outside the defensive zone. On the international level, batting the puck into the net with the hands is prohibited as well.
Being an “offside” game, forward passes are allowed in ice hockey. Prior to the 1930’s, it was an onside game which only permitted backward passes amongst the players. With the offside rule obsolete, the game of ice-hockey has become a truly team sport.
On the sidelines, the referees and linesmen are "in play" and do not cause a stoppage if the players or puck hit (by either colliding or bouncing) them. Play often goes on for minutes without any pause. An out of position goal can usually stop the play. If stopped, the game is restarted with a faceoff i.e. two players, one from each side, "face" each other and an official throws the puck to the ice, where both the players try to get control of the puck. Markings on the ice indicate the locations for the "faceoff" and direct the positioning of the players.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is the most famous league in ice-hockey around the world.
The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) are the highest levels for women in the sport.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has a total 68 members. The United States, Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden and Slovakia are the most successful seven nations in ice hockey.
So far, a total of 177 IIHF World Championships have been played. Out of total of 177 medals, 162 have been taken by one of these nations. While only six out of the total Olympic titles did not go to any of these countries.
All 36 IIHF World Women Championships and twelve Olympic medals have been won by either the United States or Canada – proving to be the world’s toughest teams in ice-hockey till today.
Tags: