How to Play Hockey

Here are the basics on how to play ice hockey. Below you will learn about:

• The team
• The game
• Playing zones (defensive, offensive, and neutral)
• Officials
• Playing hockey (basic techniques)

Also see these separate pages for hockey equipment, rules, and terms.

The Team

An ice hockey team has a maximum of six players on the ice at any one time. These players generally include:

• Goaltender (one): The primary responsibility of the goalie is to guard the team's goal and prevents the opposing team from scoring.

• Defensemen (two): The primary responsibility of defensemen is to prevent the opposing team from having a good shot at the goal and attempt to gain possession of the puck and pass to teammates to initiate an offensive scoring opportunity.

• Forwards (three -- right wing, center, and left wing): The primary responsibility of the forwards is to score. However, forwards also assist the defensemen by back-checking after their team has yielded control of the puck to the opposition.

The Game

Ice hockey is played on a rink, a sheet of ice which is approximately two-thirds the size of a football field, usually between 185 and 200 feet long and about 85 feet wide.

The game is played in three periods of equal length -- 20 minutes for each period at most levels, but often 12 or 15 minutes in youth classifications.

Playing Zones

The ice surface is divided by blue lines into three zones: defensive, offensive, and neutral. The defensive zone is the area in which a team protects its own goal and attempts to keep the opposition from scoring. This same zone is the opposing team's offensive zone, or the area in which they are attempting to score.

The Officials

At higher levels of ice hockey competition, three officials -- one referee (identified by an orange arm band) and two linesmen -- are utilized.

At the youth level, two officials -- both of whom are referees -- are common.

The referee is the ultimate authority during the game and is primarily responsible for calling penalties and determining if goals have been legally scored.

The primary responsibilities of the linesmen include determining violations of off-side and icing while assisting the referee in enforcing the rules of the game.

Playing Hockey

Playing hockey involves four basic skills: skating, passing, stickhandling, and shooting.

• Skating: This is the skill that makes hockey unique. Players at all levels of the sport continually strive to improve their skating. Without adequate skating ability, players are less able to perform the other essential skills of the sport.

• Passing: Passing makes hockey a true team sport and helps make the game fun. Passing gets everyone on the ice involved in the action and turns scoring into a team effort. Passing allows the thrill of scoring to be shared.

• Stickhandling: This is perhaps the most difficult of the basic skills to master. It allows a skilled player to maneuver around opponents and create better offensive opportunities.

• Shooting: Of course, shooting is the end result of an offensive team play. It is the action that produces a goal. Many players spend most of their time practicing shooting because they believe scoring is the most fun. Players should, however, place an equal emphasis on the other basic skills of hockey, given the fact most players generally take fewer than six shots in an entire game.

Hockey Links

NHL.com
The official NHL site. They've done a good job with it. There are separate pages for each team with hockey jerseys, collectibles, hats, t-shirts, etc.