Hockey - Help out a newbie

[JoeBlank]

Ah, for a moment there I thought you were talking about Field Hockey. That I could've helped you with, but Ice Hockey, nope. Sorry!

Shows the depth of my ignorance, I did not even know there might be a need to specify "ice" hockey.

Ah, hockey.

::snipped but printed useful info::

Exactly what I needed, many thanks. For the record, my son has not expressed an interest in playing, at this point we are just going to a AA game. He does have a friend who plays indoor roller hockey, but I don't even know if there are actual ice hockey leagues in the area. My feeling is that 6 is a bit young for contact sports, and from what I know hockey is as much or more of a contact sport than football (american, that is). He will be sticking with baseball for a little while longer, which is fine with me.

Hockey is one of the most exciting sports to watch live. I'm not good at explaining it, though. There are two rules you need to know about to avoid confusion: icing and offsides. Can someone else explain it well?

barsoomcore sums it up pretty well. You'll have a great time. Watching hockey live is great! It is really a lot of fun, even if you aren't a regular hockey fan.

This is what I have heard, that you must see the sport live to appreciate it, and that television does not do it justice.

Also, if your seats are on one of the corners and you are sitting higher than the boards (the plexiglass around the edge of the rink), pay attention to the game, especially when the team shooting at the goal in your end is coming up the ice. Many times the player with the puck will cross the blue line and fire off a slapshot at the goal. If he gets under the puck a little too much it can sail over the boards - and those pucks can HURT!

Thanks for the warning. I recall a story from a few years ago where a young girl was hit by a puck and hurt badly. I don't believe we are in the corner, but I will use this opportunity to reinforce with my son my rule that if you are not there to watch to game then you should probably just go home. The same certianly applies to baseball, where foul balls can come suddenly. If the game does not hold his interest until the end, that is fine and we will just head home.

Which reminds me, how long should I expect the game to last? I told my wife about the 3 periods of 20 minutes each, and she asked "are those 'football' minutes?" barsoomcore mentioned that the clock does not frequently stop, so I am guessing a couple of hours total, does that sound about right? How long are the breaks between periods?

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Now dear old dad won't look like a total idiot. Well, maybe to the actual fans, but not to my son, and that is what matters.

 

[JoeBlank]

If a penalty is called by the referee, the offending player must sit out for the next couple of minutes and his team has to play short-handed.

I forgot to mention that this is one of the things I find interesting about the game. I recall hearing about "power plays" and the like, which I think has something to do with having the other team outnumbered.

Do any other sports actually remove a player from a game and make the team play short-handed? A terrific penalty that affects the offending player and his whole team.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

If I recall correctly, the breaks are usually 20 minutes in length as well. Most games run between 2 1/2 to 3 hours long depending upon how many times they have to blow the whistle and stop play.

Most of the AA level games I have been to have some fun activities for the kids to watch or try between periods. My favorite was: you bought a large sheet of paper with your name and phone # on it for a couple of bucks for a charity, then they drove a car around the rink with the sunroof open. You made the sheet into a paper airplane and tried to fly it into the sunroof. Everyone who got it into the car got a small prize and was entered into a chance to win the car at the end of the season.

Have fun!

 

[Felonious Ntent]

Exactly what I needed, many thanks. For the record, my son has not expressed an interest in playing, at this point we are just going to a AA game. He does have a friend who plays indoor roller hockey, but I don't even know if there are actual ice hockey leagues in the area. My feeling is that 6 is a bit young for contact sports, and from what I know hockey is as much or more of a contact sport than football (american, that is). He will be sticking with baseball for a little while longer, which is fine with me.

Well my son plays ice hockey. Up here in Winnipeg, manitoba, Canada at least hitting is not allowed until kids are 11 years old. The junior leagues are broken down by age catagory and the 11 year old league is when hitting is allowed.

 

[Jdvn1]

Oh, and Field Hockey is _nothing_ like Ice Hockey.

 

[ph34r]

Do any other sports actually remove a player from a game and make the team play short-handed? A terrific penalty that affects the offending player and his whole team.

In soccer if a player recieves a red card or two yellow cards (two yellows = one red) then he's ejected from the game and his team plays a man down. Small fouls aren't counted in soccer but if you commit a blatant foul you usually recieve a yellow card. An extremely blatant and/or reckless foul would give you a red card.

 

[barsoomcore]

In soccer if a player recieves a red card or two yellow cards (two yellows = one red) then he's ejected from the game and his team plays a man down.

Exactly, although with eleven on a side the loss of one player is less drastic a penalty. Five on four (or even, sometimes, five on three) is a BIG difference and game play shifts dramatically during those minutes of a penalty as the advantaged team pours on the pressure trying to get a goal while they have the man advantage.

The qualities that make hockey completely different from soccer are the number of players (fewer), the speed at which they can move (greater), the size of the playing surface (smaller), the control over the puck/ball (greater) and the presence of the boards (which predicate all sorts of tactical differences -- you can drive players into them, bounce the puck off them and use them to stop yourself when you really need that last burst of speed into the corner).

Hockey doesn't really have anything like the corner kick or the free kick in soccer. And scores tend to be higher because the action spends more time right around the goal area.

A typical hockey game will have 20-30 shots on net for each team, so there's a lot more goalie activity than in a typical soccer game.

Don't get me wrong -- I love watching soccer, too. But I grew up on hockey. And apart from the basic objective (put thing in opponent's goal), they don't have much in common.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I believe that on a power play, the short handed team is allowed to ice without penalty, as well... Barsoomcore can no doubt confirm or deny.

I saw a Blackhawks game live a couple of years ago - it is much better live than on TV. And the Blackhawks were horrible. It was at least as much fun as the Bulls game I saw in the same arena, and that was with Jordan still with the Bulls.

 

[barsoomcore]

KC is correct. When you are playing a man down, you are allowed to blast the puck down the length of the ice with impunity.

If you're watching with experienced hockey spectators, you'll notice that the supporters of the team that's a man down tend to cheer anytime that happens. That's because it will take on average 10-15 seconds or so for the opposing team to rush back to their end, grab the puck and scoot forward to attack again -- and in a two-minute-long penalty, ten seconds can mean a big deal. It also gives the defending team a chance to switch their skaters and get some fresh legs on the ice.

Another note on icing: if the first person to touch the puck after it reaches the far end of the ice is a member of the team that shot it down the ice in the first place, there is no icing. Also if, in the opinion of the referee, a player was in position to stop the puck on its way by, icing may also be "waved off".

I'm probably getting WAY too technical here, aren't I?



Some things to watch for:

The "Wraparound" -- an offensive play where the puck carrier goes to one side of the opponent's net, crosses behind it and attempts to score by stuffing the puck in as they come around in front on the opposite side.

The "Smack" -- watch players (especially those behind the play, where the referee isn't watching) smack each other with their sticks. It's always good for a laugh, and many fights get started when two players push each other a little too far.

The "Cycle" -- When the action gets heavy in a corner, watch the attacking players. They'll often set up a cycle whereby one of their number is in the corner scrapping for the puck while two others drift nearby. When the puck comes loose, one of those two will pounce on it, at which point the defenders will turn on him, while the first guy goes out to drift with the other. The three attackers will take turns going after the puck, keeping it tied up in the boards and waiting for a chance to pop it out to one of their waiting fellows. A good team can do this very well, always having somebody there to pick up the loose puck. A good defense team can interfere with this sort of thing and prevent the attackers from setting up a pattern.

The "Siddown!" -- Hee. Always keep an eye on the front of the net. Usually the big boys will face off right in front of the goalie -- the attacker trying to stay in between the goalie and the action so that the goalie can't react, and the defender trying to keep him out of "the slot". Lots of shenanigans result here, my favourite being when a frustrated defender straight-arms the attacker down on his backside. "Siddown!"

Have fun!

 

[Storminator]

I'd recommend learning the referee signs, as it often isn't clear (especially to newbies) what happened on a play.

http://www.icehockeyrules.8m.com/offsigs/

Has some pictures, and if you click thru some links it has descriptions of what each sign means. You can probably find a better version if you try.

Also, you might ask the folks around you if they can explain things. Some folks are annoyed if you ask a lot of fool questions during a game, but some like to explain things. And you aren't going to grok a lot of strategy, so they might help you there.

One way to tell who's winning while the score is tied, is to ask "which end of the ice gets played in the most?" If the puck is always near your goalie, you aren't doing well.

PS