Ice Hockey (frequently simply called
hockey in countries where it is the most popular form of hockey) is a team
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
played on
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
, in which skaters use sticks to direct a
puckA puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.-In ice hockey:Ice hockey requires a hard disk of vulcanized rubber...
into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover, such as
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the
northernThe Northern United States is a large geographic region of the United States of America. Most Americans refer to the region simply as "the North". It is currently divided by the United States Census as the Midwest and Northeast, both of which have their own sub-regions...
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the
Nordic countriesThe Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
(especially
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
),
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the Baltic States, the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
, and
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. With the advent of indoor artificial
ice rinkAn ice rink is a frozen body of water where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Some of its uses include playing ice hockey, figure skating exhibitions and contests, and ice shows.-Natural ice rink:...
s it has become a year-round pastime in these areas. Ice hockey is one of the four
major North American professional sportsMajor professional sports league, or simply major league, is a term used in Canada and the United States for the highest professional competitions in team sports...
. Worldwide the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
(NHL) is the highest level for men and the
Canadian Women's Hockey LeagueThe Canadian Women's Hockey League ice hockey league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams in Ontario and Québec....
(CWHL) and the
Western Women's Hockey LeagueThe Western Women's Hockey League is one of two women's hockey leagues in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada and one from the United States...
(WWHL) are the highest level for women. It is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. While only six of the thirty NHL franchises are based in Canada, Canadians make up a slight majority of the league's players.
While there are 66 total members of the
International Ice Hockey FederationThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
(IIHF), 162 of 177 medals at the IIHF World Championships have been taken by seven nations: Canada, the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
, Russia,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and the United States. Of the 63 medals awarded in men's competition at the Olympic level from 1920 on, only six did not go to the one of those countries. All nine Olympic and 27
IIHF World Women ChampionshipsThe IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship is the premier international tournament in Women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation ....
medals have gone to one of those seven countries.
History
- See also History of Bandy
From
oral historiesOral history can be defined as the recording, preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker....
, there is evidence of a tradition of an ancient hockey-like game played among the
Mi'kmaqThe Míkmaq are a First Nations people, indigenous to northeastern New England, Canada's Atlantic Provinces, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The nation has a population of about 40,000 of whom nearly 11,000 speak the Algonquian language Lnuísimk, more commonly known as "Micmac"...
First Nation in Eastern Canada. In
Legends of the Micmacs, (1894) Silas T. Rand, describes a Mi'kmaq ball game, which the people called
tooadijik. Rand also describes a game that was played (likely after
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an contact) with hurleys, called
wolchamaadijik. European immigrants brought various versions of hockey-like games to Canada, such as the
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
sport of
hurlingHurling is an outdoor team sport of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. The game, played primarily in Ireland, has prehistoric origins and is thought to be the world's fastest field team sport...
, the closely related
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
sport of
shintyShinty is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played almost exclusively in the Highlands of Scotland, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other...
, and versions of field hockey played in England. Where necessary, these seem to have been adapted for icy conditions. Early paintings show "shinney", an early form of hockey with no standard rules, being played in
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
, Canada.
Thomas Chandler HaliburtonThomas Chandler Haliburton was one of the first major Canadian authors.Haliburton was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, the son of William Hersey Otis Haliburton and Lucy Chandler Grant. He attended University of King's College in Windsor and became a lawyer, opening a practice in Annapolis Royal...
, in
The Attache: Second Series, published in 1844, reminisced about boys from King's College School in
Windsor, Nova ScotiaWindsor is a small town located in central Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,778 and was at one time the shire town of the county....
, playing "hurly on the long pond on the ice" when he was a student there, no later than 1810. To this day, shinny (or shinney) (derived from
ShintyShinty is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played almost exclusively in the Highlands of Scotland, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other...
) is a popular Canadian term for an informal type of hockey, either on ice or as street hockey. These early games may have also absorbed the physically aggressive aspects of what the
Mi'kmaqThe Míkmaq are a First Nations people, indigenous to northeastern New England, Canada's Atlantic Provinces, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. The nation has a population of about 40,000 of whom nearly 11,000 speak the Algonquian language Lnuísimk, more commonly known as "Micmac"...
in Nova Scotia, called
dehuntshigwa'es (
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
).
In 1825
Sir John FranklinSir John Franklin, FRGS was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer who mapped almost two thirds of the northern coastline of North America. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a...
wrote that "The game of hockey played on the ice was the morning sport" while on
Great Bear LakeGreat Bear Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada , the third largest in North America, and the seventh largest in the world...
during one of his
ArcticThe Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.The word Arctic comes from the Greek αρκτικός , "near...
expeditions. In 1843 a British Army officer in
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
in Canada, wrote "Began to skate this year, improved quickly and had great fun at hockey on the ice." An article in the
Boston Evening Gazette, in 1859, makes reference to an early game of hockey on ice occurring in Halifax in that year.
The first recorded hockey games were played by British soldiers stationed in Kingston and Halifax during the mid-1850s. In the 1870s, the first known set of ice hockey rules were drawn up by students at
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
's
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. These rules established the number of players per side to 9 and replaced the ball with a wood puck.
Based on Haliburton's writings, there have been claims that modern ice hockey originated in Windsor, Nova Scotia in Canada, and was named after an individual, as in 'Colonel Hockey's game'. Proponents of this theory claim that the surname
Hockey exists in the district surrounding Windsor. In 1943, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association declared Kingston the birthplace of hockey, based on a recorded 1886 game played between students of
Queen's UniversityQueen's University, generally referred to simply as Queen's, is a coeducational, non-sectarian, research intensive, public university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. In 2008, Queen's maintained its status as one of the top universities in Canada.The Church of Scotland established Queen's...
and the
Royal Military College of CanadaThe Royal Military College of Canada , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers. Located on Point Frederick, a 41-hectare peninsula in Kingston, Ontario, the college is a blend of...
.
The
Society for International Hockey ResearchThe Society for International Hockey Research , a network of writers, statisticians, collectors, broadcasters, academics and ice hockey buffs, was formed in 1991...
has had an "origins of hockey" committee studying this debate since 2001 and they defined hockey as: "a game played on an ice rink in which two opposing teams of skaters, using curved sticks, try to drive a small disc, ball or block into or through the opposite goals." The committee found evidence of stick and ball games played on ice on skates in Europe in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, and viewed these activities as being more indicative of a hockey-like game than Haliburton’s reference.
They found no evidence in the Windsor position of a connection from whatever form of hockey might have been played at Long Pond to the game played elsewhere and to modern hockey. The committee viewed as conjecture the assertion that King’s schoolboys introduced the game to Halifax. They noted that the assertion that hockey was not played outside Nova Scotia until 1865 overlooks diary evidence of shinny and hockey being played at Kingston in the 1840s. The committee concluded that Dr. Vaughan and the Windsor Hockey Heritage Society had not offered credible evidence that Windsor, Nova Scotia, is the birthplace of hockey.
The committee offered no opinion on the birth date or birthplace of hockey, but took note of
a gameOn March 3, 1875, the first recorded indoor ice hockey game took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada. Organized by James Creighton, who also captained one of the teams, the game was between two nine-member teams, using a wooden 'puck'...
at Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink on March 3, 1875. This is the earliest eyewitness account known to the committee of a specific game of hockey in a specific place at a specific time, and with a recorded score, between two identified teams.
According to the Society for International Hockey Research, the word puck is derived from the Scottish and Gaelic word "puc" or the Irish word "poc", meaning to poke, punch or deliver a blow. This definition is explained in a book published in 1910 entitled "English as we Speak it in Ireland" by P.W. Joyce. It defines the word puck as "... The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck".
Foundation of modern hockey
While the game's origins may lie elsewhere, Montreal is at the center of the development of the modern sport of ice hockey. On March 3, 1875 the
first organized indoor gameOn March 3, 1875, the first recorded indoor ice hockey game took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada. Organized by James Creighton, who also captained one of the teams, the game was between two nine-member teams, using a wooden 'puck'...
was played at Montreal's Victoria Skating Rink between two sides of nine-player teams including
James CreightonJames Creighton may refer to:* Jim Creighton , baseball player* James George Aylwin Creighton , Canadian ice hockey pioneer from Nova Scotia* James Edwin Creighton , American philosopher...
and several
McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
students. This game featured the use of a
puck to keep it within the rink; the goals were goal posts 6 feet apart, and the game was 60 minutes.
In 1877, several McGill students, including Creighton, Henry Joseph, Richard F. Smith, W.F. Robertson, and W.L. Murray codified seven ice hockey rules, based on the rules of field hockey. The first ice hockey club, McGill University Hockey Club, was founded in 1877 followed by the
Montreal VictoriasThe Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey team, organized in 1877 making it the second organized ice hockey club after McGill College. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. The club was winners of the Stanley Cup in...
, organized in 1881.
The game became so popular that the first "world championship" of ice hockey was featured in Montreal's annual Winter Carnival in 1883 and the McGill team captured the "Carnival Cup". The number of players per side was reduced to seven, and the games now organized into thirty-minute halves. The positions were now named with left and right wing, centre, rover, point and cover point, and goalkeeper. In 1885, the Montreal City Hockey League was established. In 1886, the teams which competed at the Winter Carnival would organize the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada(AHAC) league and play a regular season composed of 'challenges' to the existing champion.
In Europe, it is believed that in 1885 the
Oxford University Ice Hockey ClubOxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
was formed to play the first
Ice Hockey Varsity MatchThe Ice Hockey Varsity Match is a longstanding competition between the Cambridge and Oxford University Ice Hockey Clubs.Tradition places the origin of the match in 1885, when a game is said to have been played in St Moritz...
against traditional rival
CambridgeCambridge University Ice Hockey Club is one of the oldest ice hockey teams in the world.While the team claims a history dating back to 1885, the first strong evidence for their existence comes on 16 March 1900, when they played Oxford University Ice Hockey Club in the first Ice Hockey Varsity...
in St. Moritz, Switzerland, although this is undocumented. This match was won by the Oxford Dark Blues, 6-0. The first photographs and team lists date from 1895. This continues to be the oldest hockey rivalry in history.
In 1888, the new
Governor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the viceregal representative in the federal jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, but resides predominantly in her oldest realm,...
,
Lord Stanley of Preston Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, PC , known as Frederick Stanley until 1886 and as The Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and Governor General of...
, whose sons and daughter became hockey enthusiasts, attended the Montreal Winter Carnival tournament and was impressed with the hockey spectacle. In 1892, recognizing that there was no recognition for the best team in all of Canada (various leagues had championship trophies), he purchased a decorative bowl for use as a trophy. The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which later became more famously known as the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
, was first awarded in
1893The 1893 Amateur Hockey Association of Canada season lasted from January 7 until March 17. The Montreal Hockey Club was the league and Canadian champion for the sixth season in a row and was awarded the Stanley Cup. They were the first winners of the Cup and did not have to challenge for...
to the
Montreal HCThe Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
, champions of the AHAC. It continues to be awarded today to the National Hockey League's championship team. Stanley's son Arthur helped organize the
Ontario Hockey AssociationThe Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
and Stanley's daughter Isobel was one of the first women to play ice hockey.
By 1893, there were almost a hundred teams in Montreal alone, and leagues throughout Canada. Winnipeg hockey players had incorporated
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
pads to better protect the
goaltender'sThis article is about the goaltender in ice hockey. For the similar position in other sports, see goalkeeper. For the basketball foul, see goaltending....
legs. They also introduced the "scoop" shot, later known as the wrist shot. Goal nets became a standard feature of the
Canadian Amateur Hockey LeagueThe Canadian Amateur Hockey League was an early men's amateur hockey league founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for seven seasons, folding in 1905 and was itself replaced by the Eastern...
(CAHL) in 1900. Left and right defence began to replace the point and cover point positions in 1906 in the OHA.
A similar sport had been popular in the United States (US) during this time called
ice polo, but by 1893 the first ice hockey matches were being played at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
and
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
. Ice polo, played in the New England area, would die out as Americans adopted ice hockey. In 1896, the first ice hockey league in the US was formed. The U.S. Amateur Hockey League was founded in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
shortly after the opening of the
St. Nicholas RinkThe St. Nicholas Rink or St. Nicholas Arena was an indoor ice rink, and later a boxing arena in New York, New York, from 1896 until 1962. The rink was the second ice rink utilizing mechanically frozen ice for its surface in North America, , enabling a longer season for skating sports...
and its artificial ice rink.
Lord Stanley's five sons were instrumental in bringing ice hockey to Europe, beating a court team (which included both the future
Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
and
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
) at
Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
in 1895. By 1903 a five-team league had been founded. The Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace was founded in 1908 to govern international competitions, and the first European championships were won by Great Britain in 1910. In the mid-20th century, the Ligue became the
International Ice Hockey FederationThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
.
Professional era
Professional ice hockey has existed from the early 1900s. By 1902, the
Western Pennsylvania Hockey LeagueThe Western Pennsylvania Hockey League , was a semi-professional ice hockey league from the early 1900s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league was the pre-eminent ice hockey league at the time in the United States...
was the first to openly employ professionals. The league joined with teams in Michigan and Ontario to form the first fully professional
International Professional Hockey LeagueThe International Professional Hockey League was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack 'Doc' Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Houghton, Michigan. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included...
(IPHL) in 1904. The IPHL hired numerous players from Canada and Canadian leagues in response started to openly pay players, who played alongside amateurs. The IPHL, cut off from its biggest source of players, disbanded in 1907. By then, several professional hockey leagues were operating in Canada, with leagues in the Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec provinces of Canada.
In 1910, the
National Hockey AssociationThe National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
(NHA) was formed in Montreal. The NHA would further refine the rules, dropping the
rover position, splitting the game into three 20-minute periods and introducing the system of minor and major penalties. After re-organizing as the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
(NHL) in 1917, the league expanded into the United States in 1924.
Professional ice hockey leagues developed later in Europe. The game of bandy was still popular and amateur leagues leading to national championships were in place. One of the first was the Swiss National League A, founded in 1916. Today, professional leagues have been introduced in most countries of Europe. The top leagues in Europe include the
Kontinental Hockey LeagueThe Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008 and ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
, the
Czech ExtraligaThe Czech Extraliga is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. The name of the league is leased a general sponsor and changes frequently...
, the Finnish
SM-liigaThe SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland, and generally regarded as one of the top leagues in Europe. It was constituted in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga has an agreement of cooperation with the Finnish ice hockey...
and the Swedish
ElitserienElitserien, or the Swedish Elite League , as it is often unofficially called in English, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...
.
Equipment
Since ice hockey is a full contact sport and bodychecks are allowed, injuries can be a common occurrence. Protective equipment is highly recommended and is enforced in all competitive situations. This usually includes a helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts (also known as hockey pants), athletic cup/jock strap, shin pads,and a neck protector. In addition, goaltenders will usually add a neck guard, chest protector, blocker, catch glove, and leg pads.
Injury
Ice hockey is a full contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Not only are the players moving at around 20 miles an hour, quite a bit of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, hips, and hockey pucks all contribute. The number of injuries is quite high and include lacerations, concussions, contusions, ligament tears, broken bones, and muscle strains.
Head injuries
According to the Hughston Health Alert, “Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey].” (Schmidt 6) Even a shallow cut to the head results in a loss of a large amount of blood. Most concussions occur during player to player contact rather than when a player is checked into the boards. Not only are lacerations common, “it is estimated that direct trauma accounts for 80% of all [hockey] injuries. Most of these injuries are caused by player contact, falls and contact with a puck, high stick and occasionally, a skate blade.” (Schmidt 3)
Fractures
A humerus fracture increases with the risk of contact sports like football and hockey. The healing time for a humerus fracture is 6–8 weeks to when the bone is in complete union. (Griffith 70) The athlete then needs to undergo physical therapy to strengthen the arm again.
Game
While the general characteristics of the game are the same wherever it is played, the exact rules depend on the particular
code of playThe majority of ice hockey around the world is played under the umbrella of three organizations, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and the International Ice Hockey Federation, each with their own set of rules...
being used. The two most important codes are those of the
International Ice Hockey FederationThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
(IIHF) and of the Canadian founded and North American expanded
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
(NHL).
Ice hockey is played on a
hockey rinkAn ice hockey rink is an ice rink specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
. During normal play, there are six players, including one
goaltenderThis article is about the goaltender in ice hockey. For the similar position in other sports, see goalkeeper. For the basketball foul, see goaltending....
, per side on the ice at any time, each of whom is on
ice skateIce skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel oneself across a sheet of ice. They are often worn as footwear in ice hockey. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps...
s. The objective of the game is to score
goalsA goal in ice hockey provides a team with one point. Unlike in American football, where a touchdown is scored if any part of the football crosses any part of the goal line, in ice hockey the entire puck must completely cross the goal line for a goal to be awarded.-Method of scoring:The object of...
by shooting a hard
vulcanizedVulcanization or vulcanisation refers to a specific curing process of rubber involving high heat and the addition of sulfur or other equivalent curatives. It is a chemical process in which polymer molecules are linked to other polymer molecules by atomic bridges composed of sulfur atoms or carbon...
rubberNatural rubber is an elastomer that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex, found in the sap of some plants. The purified form of natural rubber is the chemical polyisoprene, which can also be produced synthetically...
disc, the
puckA puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.-In ice hockey:Ice hockey requires a hard disk of vulcanized rubber...
, into the opponent's goal net, which is placed at the opposite end of the rink. The players may control the puck using a long
stickA hockey stick is a piece of equipment used in field hockey, ice hockey, or roller hockey to move the ball or puck.- Field hockey :Field hockey sticks have an end which varies in shape, often depending on the players position...
with a blade that is commonly curved at one end.
Players may also redirect the puck with any part of their bodies, subject to certain restrictions. Players may not hold the puck in their hand and are prohibited from using their hands to pass the puck to their teammates, unless they are in the defensive zone. Players are also prohibited from kicking the puck into the opponent's goal, though unintentional redirections off the skate are permitted. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands.
Hockey is an "offside" game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before the 1930s hockey was an onside game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. Those rules favored individual stick-handling as a key means of driving the puck forwards . With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a truly team sport, where individual heroics diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players.
The five players other than the goaltender are typically divided into three forwards and two defencemen. The
forwardA Forward is a hockey player position on the ice whose responsibility is primarily to score goals. Generally, the offensemen try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...
positions consist of a
centre and two
wingersWinger, in hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
: a
left wing and a
right wing. Forwards often play together as units or
lines, with the same three forwards always playing together. The
defencemenDefence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
usually stay together as a pair generally divided between left and right. Left and right side wingers or defencemen are generally positioned as such based on the side on which they carry their stick. A substitution of an entire unit at once is called a
line change. Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when
shorthandedShort handed is a term used in ice hockey and refers to having fewer skaters on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the penalty box for a set amount of time proportional to the severity of the infraction...
or on a
power playPower play is a sporting term used in various games.*In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice...
. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the course of the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it is called changing
on the fly. A new NHL rule added in the 2005-2006 season prevents a team from changing their line after they
iceright|frame|For a puck shot towards the top of the diagram, example "A" is not icing. Example "B" is icing.Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. When icing occurs, a...
the puck.
The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play and they can also be used as tools to play the puck. Players are permitted to "bodycheck" opponents into the boards as a means of stopping progress. The referees, linesmen and the outsides of the goal are "in play" and do not cause a stoppage of the game when the puck or players are influenced (by either bouncing or colliding) into them. Play can be stopped if the goal is knocked out of position. Play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. When play is stopped, it is restarted with a
faceoffA faceoff is the method used to begin play in ice hockey and some other sports. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing centres attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official. One of the Referees shall face-off the puck to...
. Two players "face" each other and an official drops the puck to the ice, where the two players attempt to gain control of the puck. Markings on the ice indicate the locations for the "
faceoffA faceoff is the method used to begin play in ice hockey and some other sports. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing centres attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official. One of the Referees shall face-off the puck to...
" and guide the positioning of players.
There are three major rules of play in ice hockey that limit the movement of the puck:
offsideIn ice hockey, play is said to be offside if a player on the attacking team enters the attacking zone before the puck itself enters the zone, whether it is being carried by a teammate or sent into the attacking zone by an attacking player...
,
icingright|frame|For a puck shot towards the top of the diagram, example "A" is not icing. Example "B" is icing.Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. When icing occurs, a...
, and the puck going out of play. The puck goes "out of play" whenever it goes past the perimeter of the ice rink (onto the player benches, over the "glass", or onto the protective netting above the glass) and a stoppage of play is called by the officials using whistles. It also does not matter if the puck comes back onto to the ice surface from those areas as the puck is considered dead once it leaves the perimeter of the rink.
Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18 (traditionally twelve forwards and six defensemen) plus two goaltenders.
Penalties
For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the "
penalty boxThe penalty box is the area in ice hockey, rugby league and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offense not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest...
" and his team has to play without him and with one less skater for a short amount of time. Most
minor penalties last for two minutes, unless a
major penalty of five minutes duration, or a
double minor penalty of two
consecutive penalties of two minutes duration, has been assessed. The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing
shorthandedShort handed is a term used in ice hockey and refers to having fewer skaters on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the penalty box for a set amount of time proportional to the severity of the infraction...
while the other team is on the "power play".
A two-minute
minor penalty is often called for lesser infractions such as tripping, elbowing, roughing, high-sticking, delay of the game, too many players on the ice, illegal equipment, charging (leaping into an opponent or body-checking him after taking more than two strides), holding, interference, hooking, or cross-checking. As of the 2005-06 season, a minor is also assessed for diving, where a player embellishes a hook or trip. More egregious fouls of this type may be penalized by a four-minute
double-minor penalty, particularly those which cause injury to the victimized player. These penalties end either when the time runs out or the other team scores on the power play. In the case of a goal scored during the first two minutes of a double-minor, the penalty clock is set down to two minutes upon a score effectively expiring the first minor penalty. Five-minute
major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, or when a "minor" penalty results in visible injury (such as bleeding), as well as for fighting. Major penalties are always served in full; they do not terminate on a goal scored by the other team. The foul of 'boarding', defined as "check
[ing] an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards" by the
NHL Rulebook is penalized either by a minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referee, based on the violence of the hit. A minor or major penalty for "Boarding" is also often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards.
Some varieties of penalties do not always require the offending team to play a man short. Concurrent five-minute major penalties in the NHL usually result from fighting. In the case of two players being assessed five-minute fighting majors, they both serve five minutes without their team incurring a loss of player (both teams still have a full complement of players on the ice). This differs with two players from opposing sides getting minor penalties, at the same time or at any intersecting moment, resulting from more common infractions. In that case, both teams will have only four skating players (not counting the goaltender) until one or both penalties expire (if one expires before the other, the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder); this applies regardless of current pending penalties, though in the NHL, a team always has at least three skaters on the ice. Ten-minute
misconduct penalties are served in full by the penalized player, but his team may immediately substitute another player on the ice
unless a minor or major penalty is assessed in conjunction with the misconduct (a
two-and-ten or
five-and-ten). In that case, the team designates another player to serve the minor or major; both players go to the penalty box, but only the designee may not be replaced, and he is released upon the expiration of the two or five minutes, at which point the ten-minute misconduct begins. In addition,
game misconducts are assessed for deliberate intent to inflict severe injury on an opponent (at the officials' discretion), or for a major penalty for a stick infraction or repeated major penalties. The offending player is ejected from the game and must immediately leave the playing surface (he does not sit in the penalty box); meanwhile, if a minor or major is assessed in addition, a designated player must serve out that segment of the penalty in the box (similar to the above-mentioned "two-and-ten").
A player who is tripped, or illegally obstructed in some way, by an opponent on a
breakawayA breakaway is a situation in ice hockey in which a player with the puck has no defending players, except for the goaltender, between himself and the opposing goal, leaving him free to skate in and shoot at will . A breakaway is considered a serious defensive lapse on the part of the defending team...
– when there are no defenders except the goaltender between him and the opponent's goal – is awarded a
penalty shotIn ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...
, an attempt to score without opposition from any defenders except the goaltender. A penalty shot is also awarded for a defender other than the goaltender covering the puck in the goal crease, a goaltender intentionally displacing his own goal posts during a breakaway in order to avoid a goal, a defender intentionally displacing his own goal posts when there is less than two minutes to play in regulation time or at any point during overtime, or a player or coach intentionally throwing a stick or other object at the puck or the puck carrier and the throwing action disrupts a shot or pass play.
Officials also stop play for puck movement violations, such as using one's hands to pass the puck in the offensive end, but no players are penalized for these offences. The sole exceptions are deliberately falling on or gathering the puck to the body, carrying the puck in the hand, and shooting the puck out of play in one's defensive zone (all penalized two minutes for delay of game).
A new penalty in the NHL applies to the goalies. The goalies now are unable to play the puck in the "corners" of the rink near their own net. This will result in a two-minute penalty against the goalie's team. The area immediately behind the net is the only area behind the net in which the goalie can play the puck.
An additional rule that is not a penalty in the new NHL is the two line offside passes. There are no more two-line offside pass whistles blown. Now players are able to pass to teammates who are more than the blue and centre ice red line away.
The NHL has taken steps to speed the game of hockey up and create a game of finesse, by retreating from the past where illegal hits, fights, and "clutching and grabbing" among players was commonplace. Rules are now much more strictly enforced resulting in more infractions being penalized which in turn provides more protection to the players and allows for more goals to be scored.
There are many infractions for which a player may be assessed a
penaltyA penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes during which the player can not participate in play...
. The governing body for United States amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce the number stick-on-body occurrences, as well as other detrimental and illegal facets of the game ("Zero Tolerance").
In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or is the last to have touched it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called
body checkingChecking in ice hockey is the act of physically keeping an opposing player in check. It is usually not a penalty.- Types :There are multiple types of checking:...
. Not all physical contact is legal — in particular, hits from behind and most types of forceful stick-on-body contact are illegal.
Officials
A typical game of ice hockey has two to four
officialIn ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during game play, and off-ice officials, who have an...
s on the ice, charged with enforcing the rules of the game. There are typically two
linesmen who are responsible only for calling offside and
icingright|frame|For a puck shot towards the top of the diagram, example "A" is not icing. Example "B" is icing.Icing in ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. When icing occurs, a...
violations, and one or two
referees, who call goals and all other penalties.
Linesmen can, however, report to the
referee(s) that a penalty more severe than a two-minute minor penalty should be assessed against an offending player, or when a
too many men on the ice infraction occurs. On-ice officials are assisted by off-ice officials who act as goal judges, time keepers, and official scorers.
The most widespread system in use today is the 3-man system, that features one referee and two linesmen. With the first being the National Hockey League, a number of leagues have started to implement the 4-official system, where an additional referee is added to aid in the calling of penalties normally difficult to assess by one single referee. The system has proven quite successful in the NHL and the IIHF have adopted it for the World Championships, slightly discussed during the 2008 World Championships in Quebec City and Halifax, Canada. Many other leagues are adopting the system for the next season, which only downside at the moment is the increased cost for the leagues.
Officials are selected by the league for which they work. Amateur hockey leagues use guidelines established by national organizing bodies as a basis for choosing their officiating staffs. In North America, the national organizing bodies
Hockey CanadaHockey Canada, formally known as the Canadian Hockey Association, is the national governing body of ice hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a vast majority of ice hockey in Canada, with a few exceptions...
and
USA HockeyUSA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...
approve officials according to their experience level as well as their ability to pass rules knowledge and skating ability tests. Hockey Canada has officiating levels I through VI. USA Hockey has officiating levels 1 through 4.
Tactics
An important defensive tactic is
checking – attempting to take the puck from an opponent or to remove the opponent from play.
Stick checking,
sweep checking, and
poke checking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck. The
neutral zone trapThe neutral zone trap is a defensive strategy used in ice hockey to prevent an opposing team from proceeding through the neutral zone to force turnovers...
is designed to isolate the puck carrier in the neutral zone preventing him from entering the offensive zone.
Body checking is using one's shoulder or hip to strike an opponent who has the puck or who is the last to have touched it (the last person to have touched the puck is still legally "in possession" of it, although a penalty is generally called if he is checked more than two seconds after his last touch). Often the term checking is used to refer to body checking, with its true definition generally only propagated among fans of the game.
Offensive tactics include improving a team's position on the ice by advancing the puck out of one's zone towards the opponent's zone, progressively by gaining lines, first your own blue line, then the red line and finally the opponent's blue line. NHL rules instated for the 2006 season redefined
offsideIn ice hockey, play is said to be offside if a player on the attacking team enters the attacking zone before the puck itself enters the zone, whether it is being carried by a teammate or sent into the attacking zone by an attacking player...
to make the two-line pass legal; a player may pass the puck from behind his own blue line, past both that blue line and the centre red line, to a player on the near side of the opponents' blue line. Offensive tactics are designed ultimately to score a goal by taking a shot. When a player purposely directs the puck towards the opponent's goal, he or she is said to shoot the puck.
A
deflection is a shot which redirects a shot or a pass towards the goal from another player, by allowing the puck to strike the stick and carom towards the goal. A
one-timer is a shot which is struck directly off a pass, without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions. A
deke (short for
decoy) is a feint with the body and/or stick to fool a defender or the goalie.
Headmanning the puck, also known as
cherry-picking or
breaking out, is the tactic of rapidly passing to the player farthest down the ice.
A team that is losing by one or two goals in the last few minutes of play will often elect to
pull the goalie; that is, remove the goaltender and replace him or her with an
extra attackerAn extra attacker in ice hockey is a forward or, less commonly, a defenceman who has been substituted in place of the goaltender. The purpose of this substitution is to gain an offensive advantage to score a goal...
on the ice in the hope of gaining enough advantage to score a goal. However, it is an act of desperation, as it sometimes leads to the opposing team extending their lead by scoring a goal in the empty net.
A
delayed penalty call occurs when a penalty offense is committed by the team that does not have possession of the puck. In this circumstance the team with possession of the puck is allowed to complete the play; that is, play continues until a goal is scored, a player on the opposing team gains control of the puck, or the team in possession commits an infraction or penalty of their own. Because the team on which the penalty was called cannot control the puck without stopping play, it is impossible for them to score a goal, however, it is possible for the controlling team to mishandle the puck into their own net. In these cases the team in possession of the puck can pull the goalie for an extra attacker without fear of being scored on. If a delayed penalty is signaled and the team in possession scores, the penalty is still assessed to the offending player, but not served.
Fights
Although fighting is officially prohibited in the rules, it is both a source of criticism and a considerable draw for the sport. At the professional level in North America fights are unofficially condoned. Enforcers and other players fight to demoralize the opposing players while exciting their own, as well as settling personal scores. The amateur game penalizes fisticuffs more harshly, as a player who receives a fighting major is also assessed at least a 10 minute misconduct penalty (NCAA and some Junior league) or a game misconduct penalty and
suspensionSuspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.- Workplace :Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of company policy...
(high school and younger, as well as some casual adult leagues).
Periods and overtime
A professional game consists of three
periods of twenty minutes each, the clock running only when the puck is in play. The teams change ends for the second period, again for the third period, and again at the start of each overtime played. Recreational leagues and children's leagues often play shorter games, generally with three shorter periods of play.
Various procedures are used if a game is tied. In tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour
sudden death overtimeOvertime, in ice hockey, is a method of determining the winner and loser of ice hockey matches should a game be tied after regulation. Two main methods include the overtime period , and the shootout.-Overtime periods:...
, in which the teams continue to play twenty minute periods until a goal is scored. Up until the 1999-2000 season regular season NHL games were settled with a single five minute sudden death period with five players (plus a goalie) per side, with the winner awarded two points in the standings and the loser no points. In the event of a tie (if the overtime was scoreless), each team was awarded one point. From 1999-2000 until 2003-04 the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
decided ties by playing a single five minute sudden death overtime period with each team having four players (plus a goalie) per side to "open-up" the game. In the event of a tie, each team would still receive one point in the standings but in the event of a victory the winning team would be awarded two points in the standings and the losing team one point. The only exception to this rule is if a team opts to pull their goalie in exchange for an extra skater during overtime and is subsequently scored upon (an 'Empty Net' goal), in which case the losing team receives no points for the overtime loss. International play and several North American professional leagues, including the NHL (in the regular season), now use an overtime period followed by a penalty shootout. If the score remains tied after an extra overtime period, the subsequent shootout consists of three players from each team taking
penalty shotIn ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...
s. After these six total shots, the team with the most goals is awarded the victory. If the score is still tied, the shootout then proceeds to a
sudden death format. Regardless of the number of goals scored during the shootout by either team, the final score recorded will award the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time. In the NHL if a game is decided by a shootout the winning team is awarded two points in the standings and the losing team is awarded one point. Ties no longer occur in the NHL.
Women's ice hockey
History of women's ice hockey
Lord Stanley of Preston's daughter, Lady
Isobel StanleyIsobel Stanley was the daughter of former Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston. While living in Canada, Stanley helped to popularize ice hockey and is considered one of the first women to play the game....
, was a pioneer in the women's game and is one of the first females to be photographed using puck and stick (around 1890) on the natural ice rink at
Rideau HallRideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada, as well as that in Ottawa of the Canadian monarch.
It stands in the Canadian capital on a 0.36 km
2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170...
in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. By the early 1900s, women's teams were common throughout most of the Canadian provinces, the long skirts they were still required to wear giving them a goal-tending advantage. On March 8, 1899, the first account appeared in the
Ottawa Evening JournalThe Ottawa Journal was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario from 1885 to 1980.It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the Ottawa Evening Journal. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1886, it was bought by Philip Dansken Ross.The...
newspaper of a game played between two women's teams of four per side at the
Rideau Skating RinkThe Rideau Skating Rink was an indoor skating and curling rink located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first indoor skating rinks in Canada, opened in January 1889...
in Ottawa. On February 11, 1891, one of the earliest newspaper accounts of a seven-a-side game between women appeared in the
Ottawa CitizenThe Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by CanWest Global in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper has a circulation of 141,540.-History:...
. McGill UniversityMcGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
's women's hockey team debuted in 1894.. In 1920, Lady Isobel Brenda (Allan) Meredith of Montreal donated the 'Lady Meredith Cup', the first ice hockey trophy in Canada to be competed for between women in ankle-length skirts. Lady Meredith (the wife of Sir
Vincent MeredithSir Vincent Meredith, 1st Baronet of Montreal , was a Canadian banker and President of the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Trust Company.-Family:...
) was the first cousin of Sir
H. Montagu AllanSir Hugh Andrew Montague Allan CVO was a Canadian banker, ship owner, and a sportsman who donated the Allan Cup, the trophy symbolic of men's amateur ice hockey supremacy in Canada.-Early Life:...
who had donated the
Allan CupThe Allan Cup is the trophy awarded to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. The trophy was donated in 1909 by Sir H...
for men's amateur ice hockey in 1908.
Women's ice hockey today
Ice hockey is one of the fastest growing women's sports in the world, with the number of participants increasing 350 percent in the last 10 years. While there are not as many organized leagues for women as there are for men, there exist leagues of all levels, including the
National Women's Hockey LeagueThe National Women's Hockey League was a women's ice hockey league, established in 1999. After the 2006-07 season, the league ceased operations, and its teams moved to the Canadian Women's Hockey League and Western Women's Hockey League.- Structure :...
,
Western Women's Hockey LeagueThe Western Women's Hockey League is one of two women's hockey leagues in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada and one from the United States...
, and various European leagues; as well as university teams, national and
OlympicThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
teams, and
recreationRecreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or sleep, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner...
al teams. There have been nine
IIHF World Women ChampionshipsThe IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship is the premier international tournament in Women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation ....
.
The
USHLThe United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 14 member teams located in Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
welcomed the first female professional hockey player in 1969-70, when the Marquette Iron Rangers signed
Karen KochKaren Koch [pronounced "Cook"] was an American ice hockey goaltender for the Marquette Iron Rangers during the 1969-70 season. She signed a contract for $40 per game which made her the first professional female hockey player in North America. As of 2000, as far as her coach, Leonard "Oakie"...
.
Women's ice hockey was added as a medal sport at the
1998 Winter OlympicsThe 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. These Games marked the return of the Winter Olympics to Japan since the 1972 Winter Olympics, when the games were held in Sapporo...
in Nagano, Japan. The United States won gold, Canada won silver and Finland won bronze.
The chief difference between women's and men's ice hockey is that body checking is not allowed in women's ice hockey. After the 1990 Women's World Championship, body checking was eliminated because female players in many countries do not have the size and mass seen in North American players. In current IIHF women's competition, body checking is either a minor or major
penaltyA penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes during which the player can not participate in play...
, decided at the referee's discretion.
In addition, players in women's competition are required to wear protective full-face masks.
One woman,
Manon RhéaumeManon Rhéaume is a Canadian goaltender and Olympic silver medalist who was the first and only woman to play in an NHL exhibition game.Manon Rhéaume was born in Lac Beauport, Quebec, Canada, to Nicole and "Lucky" Pierre Rhéaume...
, appeared as a goaltender for the
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
's
Tampa Bay LightningThe Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2004. The team is commonly referred to as the Bolts,...
in preseason games against the
St. Louis BluesThe St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues," and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...
and the
Boston BruinsThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, entering the league as the first United States-based expansion franchise...
, and in 2003
Hayley WickenheiserHayley Wickenheiser is a women's ice hockey player for Canada. She was also the first woman to play full time professional hockey at a position other than goalie. Wickenheiser has represented Canada at the Winter Olympics three times, capturing two gold and one silver medals...
played with the
KirkkonummiKirkkonummi is a municipality of inhabitants in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church moor"....
SalamatHC Salamat is a Finnish ice hockey team from Kirkkonummi . Salamat plays in the Mestis league. It was partly owned by Teemu Selänne.- History :...
in the
FinnishFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
men's
Suomi-sarjaThe Suomi-sarja is Finland's third-highest ice hockey league. Teams playing in the Suomi-sarja can be relegated to the 2. Divisioona or promoted to Mestis.- Teams 2007-08 :Group 1*Ahmat Haukipudas*Et-Po 72*Kiekko-Laser*Raahe-Kiekko...
league. Several women have competed in North American minor leagues, including goaltenders
Charline LabontéCharline "Charlie" Labonté is a women's ice hockey player.She was one of two goaltenders playing for the Canadian women's hockey team in the 2006 Turin olympics. She currently plays for the McGill Martlets in the CIS...
,
Kelly DyerKelly Dyer is a member of the Northeastern University athletics Hall of Fame and a women's hockey goaltender playing for the United States national team.-Youth:...
, Erin Whitten,
Manon RhéaumeManon Rhéaume is a Canadian goaltender and Olympic silver medalist who was the first and only woman to play in an NHL exhibition game.Manon Rhéaume was born in Lac Beauport, Quebec, Canada, to Nicole and "Lucky" Pierre Rhéaume...
, and defenceman
Angela RuggieroAngela Marie Ruggiero is an American ice hockey defenseman. She is also the author of a memoir about her hockey experiences and a former contestant on the NBC reality show The Apprentice....
.
Sledge hockey
Sledge hockeySledge hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center...
is a form of ice hockey designed for players with physical
disabilitiesDisability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities."...
affecting their lower bodies. Players sit on double-bladed
sledA sled, sledge, or sleigh is a vehicle that moves by sliding. Usually runners or a smooth underside enable a sled to slide. Sleds are used for transport on surfaces with low friction, usually snow or ice...
ges and use two sticks; each stick has a blade at one end and small picks at the other. Players use the sticks to pass, stickhandle and shoot the puck, and to propel their sledges. The rules are very similar to
IIHFThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
ice hockey rules.
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is a recognized international leader in the development of the sport, and of equipment for players. Much of the equipment for the I lOVE THIS SPORTT!!!
sport was first developed in Canada, such as sledge
hockey stickA hockey stick is a piece of equipment used in field hockey, ice hockey, or roller hockey to move the ball or puck.- Field hockey :Field hockey sticks have an end which varies in shape, often depending on the players position...
s laminated with
fiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
, as well as aluminum shafts with hand carved insert blades and special aluminum sledges with regulation skate blades.
Pond hockey
Pond hockeyPond hockey is a form of ice hockey very similar in its object and appearance to traditional ice hockey, but far simpler and designed to be played on part of a natural frozen body of water...
is a form of ice hockey played generally as pick-up hockey on lakes and ponds. Pond hockey rules differ from traditional hockey, placing a greater emphasis on skating abilities. Since 2002, the World Pond Hockey Championship has been played in Plaster Rock,
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province in the confederation. The provincial capital is Fredericton...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
National teams
The annual men's
Ice Hockey World ChampionshipsThe Ice Hockey World Championship is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
are more highly regarded by Europeans than North Americans because they coincide with the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
playoffs. Consequently, Canada, the United States, and other countries with large numbers of NHL players have not always been able to field their best possible teams because many of their top players are playing for the Stanley Cup. Furthermore, for many years professionals were barred from play. Now that many Europeans play in the NHL, the world championships no longer represent all of the world's top players.
HockeyIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
has been played at the
Winter OlympicsThe Winter Olympic Games is a winter multi-sport event held every four years. They feature winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsledding and ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and...
since 1924 (and at the
summer games in 1920Ice hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The matches were played between April 23 and April 29, 1920. All matches took place in the Palais de Glace d'Anvers . The rink measured 56 to 18 meters . All games were played with seven players on each side,...
). Canada won six of the first seven gold medals, except in
1936At the 1936 Winter Olympics, Great Britain won the men's ice hockey competition. Eleven of the thirteen British players had trained and played previously in Canada sometime during their career. It is a common misconception that the British team was made up of Canadians...
when Great Britain won. The United States won their first gold medal in
1960At the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, United States, one ice hockey event was held: men's Ice Hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship...
. The
USSRThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
won all but two
Olympic ice hockeyIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
gold medals from 1956 to 1988 and won a final time as the
Unified TeamThe Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe Unifiée...
at the
1992 Albertville OlympicsThe 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was staged in 1992 in Albertville, France...
. U.S. amateur college players defeated the heavily favored Soviet squad on the way to winning the
gold medalA gold medal is typically the highest medal awarded for achievement in a non-military field. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times.Since the eighteenth century,...
at the
1980 Lake Placid OlympicsThe 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 13 through February 24, 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the upstate New York village hosted the Games,...
- an event known as the "
Miracle on iceThe "Miracle on Ice" is the nickname given to a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, which occurred on February 22. The United States team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet Union team,...
" in the United States. Since the
1998 gamesThe 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. These Games marked the return of the Winter Olympics to Japan since the 1972 Winter Olympics, when the games were held in Sapporo...
in Nagano all top players from the NHL have been able to take part and nowadays Winter Olympics games are the most highly regarded international tournament by ice hockey fans.
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
has won two men's bronze medals at the Olympics and finished third several times at the World Championships. Switzerland also maintains one of the oldest and top-rated ice hockey leagues (the Swiss National League A) outside of the NHL.
The
1972 Summit SeriesThe Summit Series was the first competition between full-strength Soviet and Canadian national ice hockey teams, an eight-game series held in September 1972...
and
1974 Summit SeriesThe 1974 Summit Series was the second of two competitions between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players. Canada was represented by World Hockey Association players instead of National Hockey League players, as it had been in the 1972 Summit Series. The Soviet team won the series 4-1-3...
, established
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USSR as a major international ice hockey rivalry. It was followed by five
Canada CupThe Canada Cup was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions, between 1976 and 1991. Canada won the tournament four times, while the Soviet Union captured the championship once...
tournaments, where the best players from every hockey nation could play, and two exhibition series, the 1979
Challenge Cup1979 Challenge Cup was an ice hockey exhibition series between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of all-stars from the National Hockey League, held in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season....
and
Rendez-vous '87Rendez-vous '87 was an ice hockey exhibition series between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League, held in Quebec City. It replaced the NHL's All-Star festivities for the 1986–87 NHL season...
where the best players from the NHL played the USSR. The Canada Cup tournament later became the
World Cup of HockeyThe World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the previous Canada Cup, which ran from 1976 to 1991. The tournament has occurred twice, with the United States winning in 1996 and Canada winning in 2004...
, played in 1996 and 2004. The United States won in 1996 and Canada won in 2004.
There have been eleven
women's world championshipsThe IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship is the premier international tournament in Women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation ....
as of 2008, beginning in 1990. Women's hockey has been played at the
OlympicsIce hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
since 1998. The
2006 Winter Olympic finalIce hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held at the Torino Palasport Olimpico and the Torino Esposizioni in Turin, Italy. The men's competition, held from 15 to 26 February, was won by Sweden, and the women's competition, held from 11 to 20 February, was won by Canada.-Men's competition:The...
between Canada and Sweden marked the first women's world championship or Olympic final that did not involve both Canada and the United States
The annual
Euro Hockey TourEuro Hockey Tour is an annual ice hockey tournament only open to the national men's teams of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden...
, an unofficial European championships between the national men's teams of the
Czech RepublicThe Czech men's national ice hockey team is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world, currently ranked sixth by the IIHF behind the United States. It is controlled by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czechs won the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and won three...
,
FinlandThe Finnish men's national ice hockey team, , as it is called in Finland is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is considered a member of the "Big Seven", along with Canada, Russia, the USA, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic...
,
RussiaThe Russian men's national ice hockey team is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world, rated number one in IIHF world rankings. It has been competing internationally since 1993 and follows a long tradition of Soviet Union team mostly composed of Russian players...
and
SwedenThe Swedish men's national ice hockey team, or Tre Kronor , as it is called in Sweden, is one of the most successful ice hockey teams in the world. The IIHF currently ranks them third...
have been played since 1996-97.
Other ice hockey tournaments featuring national teams include the World U20 Championship, the
World U18 ChampionshipsThe IIHF World U18 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World...
, the
World U-17 Hockey ChallengeThe World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is an international ice hockey tournament held annually in Canada. The tournament does not operate during years in which the Canada Winter Games are held. As such, the World Under-17 Challenge is held three out of every four years...
, the
World Junior A ChallengeThe World Junior A Challenge is an international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior A Hockey League, and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Championship is to display the best-of-the-best at just the Junior "A" level...
, the
Ivan Hlinka Memorial TournamentThe Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament is an annual event held each August for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world...
, the
World Women's U18 ChampionshipsThe IIHF World Women's U18 Championships are the junior edition of the IIHF World Women's Championships. The champioships are limited to female ice hockey players under 18 years of age...
and the
4 Nations CupThe 4 Nations Cup is an annual women's ice hockey tournament, held between few major national teams in the sport; currently, these are Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. Until 2000, when Sweden joined, the tournament was the 3 Nations Cup. In general, it is held in or around November...
.
Clubs
The
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
, and specifically the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
trophy, is the oldest still operating international competition, featuring clubs from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The
Kontinental Hockey LeagueThe Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008 and ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
, an international ice hockey league in
EurasiaEurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km
2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface...
and the successor to the Russian Super League, was
launched in 2008The 2008–09 KHL season was the inaugural season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It started on September 2, 2008, and finished on February 26, 2009...
with clubs from the
post-Soviet statesThe post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in December 1991...
and seeks to expand beyond the
former USSRThe post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in December 1991...
for the league's future seasons.
The Elite Ice Hockey League is the highest level of ice hockey in
Great BritainThe British men's national ice hockey team is the name of the national ice hockey Team for the United Kingdom...
. The league is served by teams from all of the
home nationsHome Nations is a collective term used to refer to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales . It is most commonly heard in sporting contexts...
:
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The
Asia League Ice HockeyThe Asia League Ice Hockey is a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, China, South Korea, and formerly the Russian Far East...
, an international ice hockey league featuring clubs from
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
, is the successor to the
Japan Ice Hockey LeagueThe Japan Ice Hockey League was an annual Ice hockey league, for Japanese teams, which began in 1966 and ended in 2004, when it was replaced by the Asia League Ice Hockey....
.
International club competitions organized by the
IIHFThe International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 68 members...
include the
Champions Hockey LeagueThe Champions Hockey League was a short lived ice hockey league which was launched in 2008–09 by the International Ice Hockey Federation . Its creation coincided with the IIHF's 100th anniversary. The league included the best teams in European ice hockey...
, the Continental Cup, the
Victoria CupThe Victoria Cup is the premier middle distance harness race of Australia. Conducted over 2575m, rather than the staying distance of over 3000m or the sprint distance of under 2000m, the Victoria Cup was run at the Melbourne Showgrounds up until 1975, when it was shifted to Moonee Valley...
and the European Women's Champions Cup.
One of the oldest international ice hockey competition for clubs after the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
playoffs is the
Spengler CupSpengler Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. Originally held in 1923, the Spengler Cup tournament is one of the oldest international ice hockey club team tournaments in the world. The tournament, entry to which is by invitation, is hosted by the Swiss team HC Davos...
, held every year in
DavosDavos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland.It is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
between
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
and
New Year's DayNew Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome . In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the...
. It was first awarded in 1923 to
Oxford University Ice Hockey ClubOxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
.
Pre-seasonIn an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1st through October 1st; in European football , it is generally from August until May In an...
tournaments include the
Tampere CupTampere Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Finland.Djurgården, Dinamo, Tappara and Espoo Blues have won the Tampere Cup two times each....
and the
Pajulahti CupPajulahti Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Finland. So far, it has been won exclusively by Russian teams.- Pajulahti Cup winners :...
.
Ice hockey in popular culture
Ice hockey is the official winter sport of Canada. Ice hockey, partially because of its popularity as a major professional sport, has been a source of inspiration for numerous films, television episodes and songs in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n
popular culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture...
.
Attendance records
The Cold War
The largest hockey attendance in history was on October 6, 2001, for a game commonly known as the Cold War. Two college hockey rivals,
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
and
Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act. Its alumni include at least six winners of the...
, opened their season with a game in Michigan State's outdoor football arena,
Spartan StadiumSpartan Stadium opened in 1923 in East Lansing, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Michigan State University Spartans...
. A $500,000 sheet of ice was used, and the temperature was . The game drew a record-breaking 74,554 spectators, smashing the previous number of 55,000 attendance during the Sweden vs. Soviet Union game during the world championship in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
.
The Heritage Classic
The
Heritage ClassicThe Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second National Hockey League game to be played outdoors, and the first as part of the regular season...
was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
between the
Edmonton OilersThe Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and the
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. It set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide.
An old-timers game, referred to as the
MegaStars game, was played prior to the regular-season match, and featured alumni of Oilers playing against a squad of former Canadiens. This is the only NHL alumni game in which
Wayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League...
has played since retiring, and he maintains it will be the last.
The 2008 Winter Classic
The largest crowd to ever watch an NHL game was during the
AMP Energy NHL Winter ClassicThe 2008 NHL Winter Classic also known as the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic was a National Hockey League game played on January 1, 2008 at 1:27 p.m. ET, outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. It was the first regular-season outdoor professional ice hockey game to be played in...
when 71,000 people watched the
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League and are the defending Stanley Cup champions. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first...
battle the
Buffalo SabresThe Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding:...
. The game was held at
Ralph Wilson StadiumRalph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home stadium for the Buffalo Bills National Football League football team and is the largest stadium of any kind in New York...
, which is the
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
home stadium in
Orchard ParkOrchard Park is a suburb southeast of Buffalo, New York. The town contains a village also named Orchard Park. Orchard Park is one of the "Southtowns" of Erie County.-History:...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, a suburb of
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
, on January 1, 2008. This was the first NHL game held outdoors in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Penguins scored the first goal within the first 20 seconds of the game. The Sabres then scored in the 2nd period to tie the game. The game went into overtime and the Penguins ended up winning during a shoot out on a
goalGoal may refer to:* An objective or desired outcome** Goal , a desired state of affairs of a person or of a system** Goal in systemics and socio-cognitive engineering...
by
Sidney CrosbySidney Patrick Crosby
ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League ....
. Both teams wore
throwback jerseysThrowback uniforms and jerseys are one-time or limited-time variations on a sports team's uniforms styled to resemble uniforms from that team's past...
- the Penguins donning the powder blue jerseys from the 70s and the Sabres old-logo jerseys from the same era. Both goalies, Ryan Miller and Ty Conklin played in their second outdoor game. The game was easily a success from a PR and hockey standpoint for the NHL despite the cold temperatures and snow.
Future Potential Record-Breaking Games
On February 5, 2010, Michigan and Wisconsin Bips are scheduled to play in the Camp Randall Hockey Classic, an outdoor game at Wisconsin's
Camp Randall StadiumCamp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, it is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats 80,321...
. If the game sells to capacity, 80,351, it would break the current record held by the Cold War.
Shortly after Wisconsin and Michigan agreed to play at Camp Randall Stadium, Michigan and Michigan State agreed to play an outdoor game the following season at
Michigan StadiumMichigan Stadium, nicknamed The Big House, is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium has often been called "The Carnegie Hall of all Sports" and is also known as "the House that Yost built." It was built in 1927, at a cost of $950,000 and had an...
, shortly after the completion of the stadium's renovation project. Tentatively called The Cold War II, if the game sells to capacity it would likely break the attendance record for a college hockey game. Michigan Stadium is slated to hold over 108,000 following renovations, which will again make it the largest football stadium in the world, and largest sports stadium in the United States. The Detroit Red Wings have expressed interest in negotiating with the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
on an outdoor game of their own, leaving the possibility of breaking the overall attendance record should such a game ever occur.
Number of registered players by country
Number of registered hockey players, provided by the respective countries' federations. Note that data is not available for every country.
| Country |
Players |
% of Population |
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
|
545,363 |
1.75% |
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
435,737 |
0.15% |
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
|
77,202 |
0.05% |
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
|
74,589 |
0.63% |
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
|
67,747 |
0.71% |
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
|
42,886 |
0.82% |
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
|
22,344 |
0.04% |
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
|
19,106 |
0.29% |
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
20,540 |
0.02% |
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
|
11,621 |
0.02% |
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
|
9,402 |
0.1% |
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
|
9,007 |
0.1% |
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
|
8,000 |
0.01% |
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
|
6,258 |
0.01% |
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
|
4,356 |
0.11% |
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
|
4,836 |
0.21% |
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
|
4,250 |
0.08% |
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
|
3,259 |
0.02% |
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
|
2,931 |
0.02% |
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
|
2,930 |
0.03% |
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
|
2,122 |
0.005% |
| The Netherlands |
2,050 |
0.01% |
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
|
2,000 |
0.02% |
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
|
1,189 |
0.0026% |
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
|
980 |
0.05% |
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
|
100 |
0.000% |
See also
- Hockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
- Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
- Ice hockey equipment
In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection.- Background :The hard surfaces of the ice and boards, pucks flying at high speed , and other players maneuvering pose a multitude of inherent safety hazards...
- Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championship is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
- List of ice hockey leagues
- Sledge (Sled) Hockey
Sledge hockey is a sport that was designed to allow participants who have a physical disability to play the game of ice hockey. Ice sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s in Stockholm, Sweden at a rehabilitation center...