Ice Hockey

Stick, puck, skates. Strength, stamina, power.

Two goals, one referee and two linesmen, an ice rink from which the hockey puck never exits.

The fast rhythm, the physical contact playing an integral part of the game and a super passionate stadium urging the players on.

Then, an emotional release, the oldest shout in the world: goal!

Welcome to the hockey world!

Ice hockey is one of the most exciting team sports, and surely the fastest.

Very popular in Europe, USA and Canada, it is a frenetic game that requires technique, balance and lots of physical strength.

The team

The teams are made up of a maximum of 20 players and three goal keepers in men's ice hockey competitions and of a maximum of 18 players and two goal keepers in women's hockey competitions.
A team must not have more than six players on the ice at any one time while play is in progress:

• a goal keeper
• two defenders
• three attackers.

The game

The players use a stick with a flat blade at the end to control and strike a hard rubber disc called a puck. The strategy of each team is to outscore the opponent by shooting the puck into the opposing team’s goal and preventing the opposing team from scoring.

The team with the highest score wins. Hockey is a fast-paced game with continuous action as players skate from end to end, passing the puck so quickly that it’s often a blur to spectators. It is a combination of elegance, complicated team work and aggressive play.

The best players can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h, essential for pursuing a puck that can travel up to 150 km/h.

An ice hockey match is played over three periods of 20' each, with frequent substitutions between players (unlike football, there are no limits) and with a 15' interval between each period.

The main penalties

Ice hockey is an aggressive game: players often use their bodies and sticks to physically block an opponent from the puck. The physical contact in ice hockey is governed by the rules of the game: when a player breaks the rules he is penalised by the referee and sent off the rink for 2.5 or 10 minutes, or until a goal is scored by the team with the most players on the rink. The following are some examples of common infractions:

• High Sticking
• Tripping
• Excessive roughness
• Holding an opponent
• Slashing

Olympic competitions

The Olympic tournament is structured in two phases. In the first, the teams are divided into two groups of six teams for the Men’s tournament and two groups of four teams for the Women’s tournament. Each team plays the other teams in their group once and at the end of the round robin each team is ranked based on their results.

The four best teams of each group go on to the second instant knockout phase: the team who wins all their matches wins the Gold medal.

Rink

The standard international dimensions of an ice hockey rink are 60 metres long and 30 m wide. The ice is surrounded by a wooden or plastic wall, known as "the boards", which are approximately 1.22 m high.

A red centreline divides the rink in half; two blue lines divide the rink into three equal zones: defending, neutral and attacking. In addition to the centre circle, there are four face-off circles-two in front of each goal. Regulation goals are made of a metal framework with a net; they measure 1.83 m wide by 1.22 m high and 1.12 m deep. Goals are centred on the goal line and set four metres away from the backboards so players can skate behind them.

Source: www.torino2006.org

Event schedule