Ice hockey Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice , in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber hockey puck into their opponent ' s net to score points . In the United States and Canada , where the sport is very popular , it is known simply as " hockey " ; however , the name ice hockey is used by their own governing body ( IIHF ) and in most other countries . There the word hockey is generally reserved for another form of the sport , such as field hockey or roller hockey . The game is played between two teams with six players ( five skaters and a goalie ) on the ice . A team usually consists of four lines of three forwards , three pairs of defensemen , and two goalies . Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team . Each team has a goaltender who tries to stop the puck from going into the goal or " net . " A fast - paced physical sport , hockey is most popular in areas of North America ( particularly in Canada and northern parts of the United States ) and Europe that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover . With the advent of indoor artificial ice rink s hockey has become a year - round pastime in some areas . In North America , the National Hockey League ( NHL ) is the highest level for men , and the most popular . It is the official national winter sport of Canada , where the game enjoys immense popularity . The first organized game was played on March 3 , 1875 , in Montreal , Canada . While there are 72 total members of the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) , 162 of 177 medals at the IIHF World Championships have been taken by these seven nations : Canada , the Czech Republic , Finland , Russia , Slovakia , Sweden and the United States . Of the 66 medals awarded in men ' s competition at the Olympic level from 1920 on , only six medals did not go to the one of those countries . All 12 Olympic and 36 IIHF World Women ' s Championships medals have gone to one of these seven countries , and every gold medal in both competitions has been won by either Canada or the United States . History . There are many examples of games throughout history incorporating hitting a ball on an ice - covered surface which predate hockey . IJscolf , a game resembling colf on an ice - covered surface , was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age . It was played with a wooden curved bat ( called a " colf " or " kolf " ) , a wooden or leather ball and two poles ( or nearby landmarks ) , with the objective to hit the chosen point using the least number of strokes . A similar game ( " knattleikr " ) had been played for a thousand years or more by the Vikings , as documented in the Icelandic sagas . However , modern hockey is believed to have evolved from outdoor stick - and - ball games adapted to the icy conditions of Canada during the 19th century . The games of British soldiers and immigrants to Canada ( influenced by First Nations stick - and - ball games ) may have influenced the game played on ice skates ( often with a puck ) with sticks made by the Mi ' kmaq people of Nova Scotia . Another theory is that the game was introduced by Icelandic immigrants adapting the game of " knattleikr " . These immigrants moved to Canada and the U . S . after the eruption of a volcano in Iceland in 1875 . Immigrants from Iceland played for Canada , winning the first Olympic medal in hockey . These games provided recreation for British soldiers . Canadian oral histories describe a traditional stick - and - ball game played by the Mi ' kmaq in eastern Canada , and Silas Tertius Rand ( in his 1894 " Legends of the Micmacs " ) describes a Mi ' kmaq ball game known as " tooadijik " . Rand also describes a game played ( probably after European contact ) with hurleys , known as " wolchamaadijik " . Stick - and - ball games date back to pre - Christian times . In Europe , these games included Irish sport hurling , the closely related Scottish sport shinty and versions of field hockey ( including " bandie ball , " played in England ) . European immigrants to Canada brought their games , adapting them to the icy conditions . The name " hockey " has no clear origin , although its first known mention in English dates to 1363 . Early 19th - century paintings depict shinney ( or " shinny " ) , an early form of hockey with no standard rules which was played in Nova Scotia . Many of these early games absorbed the physical aggression of what the Mi ' kmaq in Nova Scotia called " dehuntshigwa ' es " ( lacrosse ) . Shinney was played on the St . Lawrence River at Montreal and Quebec City , and in Kingston and Ottawa , Ontario . The number of players was often large . To this day , shinney ( derived from " shinty " ) is a popular Canadian term for an informal type of hockey , either ice or street hockey . In 1825 , John Franklin wrote " The game of hockey played on the ice was the morning sport " on Great Bear Lake during one of his Arctic expeditions . A mid - 1830s watercolor portrays New Brunswick lieutenant governor Archibald Campbell and his family with British soldiers on skates playing a stick - on - ice sport . Captain R . G . A . Levinge , a British Army officer in New Brunswick during Campbell ’ s time , wrote about " hockey on ice " on Chippewa Creek ( a tributary of the Niagara River ) in 1839 . In 1843 another British Army officer in Kingston , Ontario wrote , " Began to skate this year , improved quickly and had great fun at hockey on the ice . " An 1859 " Boston Evening Gazette " article referred to an early game of hockey on ice in Halifax that year . Thomas Chandler Haliburton , in " The Attache : Second Series " ( published in 1844 ) , reminisced about boys from King ' s College School in Windsor , Nova Scotia playing " hurly on the long pond on the ice " when he was a student there in 1810 and earlier . Based on Haliburton ' s account , there have been claims that modern hockey was invented in Windsor , Nova Scotia , by King ' s College students and named after an individual ( “ Colonel Hockey ' s game ” ) . Others claim that the origins of hockey come from games played in the area of Dartmouth and Halifax in Nova Scotia . Name . William Pierre Le Cocq stated , in a 1799 letter written in Chesham , England , “ I must now describe to you the game of Hockey ; we have each a stick turning up at the end . We get a bung . There are two sides one of them knocks one way and the other side the other way . If any one of the sides makes the bung reach that end of the churchyard it is victorious . ” The word " hockey " was used centuries earlier , in 1363 when King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning a number of games : " moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone , wood and iron throwing ; handball , football , or hockey ; coursing and cock - fighting , or other such idle games . " From the context , the word " hockey " is a corruption of the word " hook " ( referring to the end of the stick ) . In 1527 a statute in Galway , Ireland read , " At no time to use ne occupy ye hurling of ye litill balle with the hookie sticks or staves , nor use no hand balle to play without the walls , but only the great foot balle . " This referred to hurling ; the hook made it likely that the stick resembled those used in shinty . According to the Austin Hockey Association , the word " puck " derives from the Scots Gaelic " puc " or the Irish " poc " ( to poke , punch or deliver a blow ) . " . . . The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck . " Modern hockey . While the game ' s origins may lie elsewhere , Montreal is at the centre of the development of modern ice hockey . On March 3 , 1875 , the first organized indoor game was played at Montreal ' s Victoria Skating Rink between two nine - player teams , including James Creighton and several McGill University students . Instead of a ball , the game featured a puck ( to keep it in the rink — which did not have boards — and protect spectators ) . The goal posts were apart , and the game lasted 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 those for field hockey . The McGill University Hockey Club , the first hockey club , was founded in 1877 ( followed by the Montreal Victorias , 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 ; the McGill team captured the " Carnival Cup . " The number of players per side was reduced to seven , and the game divided into thirty - minute halves . The positions were now named : left and right wing , centre , rover , point , cover point and goalkeeper . In 1885 , the Montreal City Hockey League was established . In 1886 the teams competing at the Winter Carnival organized the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada ( AHAC ) , and played a season comprising " challenges " to the existing champion . In Europe , it is believed that in 1885 the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club was formed to play the first Ice Hockey Varsity Match against traditional rival Cambridge in St . Moritz , Switzerland ; however , this is undocumented . The match was won by the Oxford Dark Blues , 6 – 0 ; the first photographs and team lists date from 1895 . This rivalry continues , claiming to be the oldest hockey rivalry in history . Ice hockey was not the only game on ice derived from stick - and - ball games played in Europe ; during this period bandie ball was adapted to the ice , evolving into bandy ( which remains popular in Sweden , Russia , Finland and Norway ) . In 1888 the Governor General of Canada , Lord Stanley of Preston ( whose sons and daughter were hockey enthusiasts ) , attended the Montreal Winter Carnival tournament and was impressed with the game . In 1892 , realizing that there was no recognition for the best team in Canada ( although a number of leagues had championship trophies ) , he purchased a decorative bowl for use as a trophy . The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup ( which later became known as the Stanley Cup ) was first awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club , champions of the AHAC ; it continues to be awarded annually to the National Hockey League ' s championship team . Stanley ' s son Arthur helped organize the Ontario Hockey Association , 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 ; in addition , there were leagues throughout Canada . Winnipeg hockey players used cricket pads to better protect the goaltender ' s legs ; they also introduced the " scoop " shot , later known as the wrist shot . Goal nets became a standard feature of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League ( CAHL ) in 1900 . Left and right defence began to replace the point and cover - point positions in the OHA in 1906 . " Ice polo " , a similar sport , was popular in the United States during this period ; however , by 1893 the first ice - hockey matches were played at Yale and Johns Hopkins University . Ice polo ( played in New England ) would die out as Americans adopted ice hockey . In 1896 , the first ice - hockey league in the U . S . was formed . The U . S . Amateur Hockey League was founded in New York City , shortly after the opening of the artificial - ice St . Nicholas Rink . Lord Stanley ' s five sons were instrumental in bringing ice hockey to Europe , defeating a court team ( which included the future Edward VII and George V ) at Buckingham Palace 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 competition , and the first European championship was won by Great Britain in 1910 . During the mid - 20th century , the " Ligue " became the International Ice Hockey Federation . Most of the early indoor ice rinks have been demolished ; Montreal ' s Victoria Rink , built in 1862 , was demolished in 1925 . The Stannus Street Rink in Windsor , Nova Scotia ( built in 1897 ) may be the oldest still in existence ; however , it is no longer used for ice hockey . The Aberdeen Pavilion ( built in 1898 in Ottawa was used for ice hockey in 1904 and is the oldest existing facility that has hosted Stanley Cup games . The oldest indoor ice hockey arena still in use today for ice hockey is Boston ' s Matthews Arena , built in 1910 . . The Madison Square Garden in New York City , built in 1968 , is the oldest continuously - operating arena in the NHL ( National Hockey League ) . Professional era . Professional ice hockey has existed since the early 20th century . By 1902 , the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League was the first to employ professionals . The league joined with teams in Michigan and Ontario to form the first fully professional league — the International Professional Hockey League ( IPHL ) — in 1904 . The IPHL hired players from Canada ; in response , Canadian leagues began to pay players ( who played with amateurs ) . The IPHL , cut off from its largest source of players , disbanded in 1907 . By then , several professional hockey leagues were operating in Canada ( with leagues in Manitoba , Ontario and Quebec ) . In 1910 , the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) was formed in Montreal . The NHA would further refine the rules : dropping the rover position , dividing the game into three 20 - minute periods and introducing minor and major penalties . After re - organizing as the National Hockey League ( NHL ) in 1917 , the league expanded into the United States with the Boston Bruins in 1924 . Professional ice hockey leagues developed later in Europe , since bandy was still popular , but 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 . Top European leagues include the Kontinental Hockey League , the Czech Extraliga , the Finnish SM - liiga and the Swedish Elitserien . Equipment . Since ice hockey is a full contact sport and body checks are allowed , injuries are a common occurrence . Protective equipment is mandatory and is enforced in all competitive situations . This includes a helmet ( cage worn if certain age ) , shoulder pads , elbow pads , mouth guard , protective gloves , heavily padded shorts ( also known as hockey pants ) , athletic cup ( also known as a jock ; for males and jill ; for females ) , shin pads , skates , and ( optionally ) a neck protector . In addition , goaltenders use different gear , a neck guard , chest / arm protector , blocker , catch glove , and leg pads . One important piece of equipment is the ice skate itself . Hockey skates are optimized for several factors , some of which increase the effort needed to achieve the highest skating speeds ( see Racing Skates ) . Hockey skates are optimized for physical acceleration ( maneuverability ) . This includes rapid starts , stops , turns , and changes in skating direction . In addition they must be rigid and tough to protect the skater ' s feet from contact with other skaters , sticks , pucks , the boards , and the ice itself . Rigidity also improves the overall maneuverability of the skate . Blade length , thickness ( width ) , and curvature ( rocker / radius ( front to back ) and radius of hollow ( across the blade width ) are quite different from speed or figure skates . Hockey players usually adjust these parameters based on their skill level , position , and body type . Another important piece of equipment is the stick itself . It consists of long relatively wide and slightly curved flat blade , attached to a shaft . The curve itself has a big impact on its performance . A deep curve allows for lifting the puck easier while a shallow curve allows for easier backhands . It is quite distinct from sticks in other sports games and most suited to hitting and controlling the flat puck . Its unique shape contributed to the early development of the game . The ' Moffat ' stick is currently reputed to be the oldest hockey stick in existence . By retracing the stick ' s ownership through several generations of the Moffatt family , a settler clan that was farming outside of North Sydney by the early 1800s , Presley compiled considerable archival and other evidence that the object was probably used in early , shinny - like games of " hurley " at a popular skating site called Pottle Lake . It is typical of the 19th century style of stick used in the Irish game of hurling . Injury . Ice hockey is a full contact sport and carries a high risk of injury . The players are moving at around 30 – 45 km / h ( approximately 20 - 30 mph ) and quite a bit of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players . Skate blades , hockey sticks , shoulders , hips , and hockey pucks all contribute . The number of injuries is quite high and includes lacerations , concussion s , contusions , ligament tears , broken bones , hyperextension s , 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 ( 49 % ) rather than when a player is checked into the boards ( 35 % ) . 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 ) One of the causes of head injury is checking from behind . Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind , many leagues , including the NHL have made this a major and gross misconduct penalty ( called " boarding " ) . Another type of check that accounts for many of the player to player contact concussions is a check to the head . A check to the head can be defined as delivering a hit while the receiving player ’ s head is down and their waist is bent and the aggressor is targeting the receiving player ' s head . Checks to the head have accounted for nearly 50 % of concussions that players in the National Hockey League have suffered . Concussions that players suffer may go unreported because there are no obvious physical signs if a player is not knocked unconscious . This can prove to be dangerous if a player decides to return to play without receiving proper medical attention . In recent years there has been debate over whether or not a check to head should be deemed an acceptable hit in hockey . In March 2011 , the NHL instituted a new concussion testing protocol to help improve detection of concussions during gameplay Game . While the general characteristics of the game are the same wherever it is played , the exact rules depend on the particular code of play being used . The two most important codes are those of the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) and of the Canadian founded and North American expanded National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Ice hockey is played on a " hockey rink " . During normal play , there are six players per side on the ice at any time , one of them being the goaltender , each of whom is on " ice skate s " . The objective of the game is to score " goals " by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc , the " puck " , 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 stick 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 forward . With the arrival of offside rules , the forward pass transformed hockey into a truly team sport , where individual performance 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 defensemen . The " forward " positions consist of a " centre " and two " wingers " : a " left wing " and a " right wing " . Forwards often play together as units or " lines " , with the same three forwards always playing together . The " defencemen " 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 " shorthanded " or on a " power play " . 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 " ice " 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 " faceoff " . 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 " faceoff " and guide the positioning of players . There are three major rules of play in ice hockey that limit the movement of the puck : " offside " , " icing " , 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 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 , plus two goaltenders . In the NHL , the players are usually divided into four lines of three forwards , and into three pairs of defenceman . On occasion , teams may elect to substitute an extra defenceman for a forward ; this seventh defenceman might sometimes play on the fourth line as a forward . Penalties . For most penalties , the offending player is sent to the " penalty box " and his team has to play without him for a short amount of time . " Minor " penalties last for two minutes , " major " penalties last for five minutes , and a " double minor " penalty is two " consecutive " penalties of two minutes duration . A single " Minor " penalty may be extended by a further two minutes for causing visible injury to the victimized player . This is usually when blood is drawn during high sticking . The team that has been given a penalty is said to be playing " shorthanded " while the opposing team is on a power play . A two - minute " minor penalty " is often charged for lesser infractions such as tripping , elbowing , roughing , high - sticking , delay of the game , too many players on the ice , boarding , illegal equipment , charging ( leaping into an opponent or body - checking him after taking more than two strides ) , holding , holding the stick ( grabbing an opponent ' s stick ) , interference , hooking , slashing , kneeing , unsportsmanlike conduct ( arguing a penalty call with referee , extremely vulgar or inappropriate verbal comments ) , butt - ending ( striking an opponent with the knob of the stick — a very rare penalty ) , spearing , or cross - checking . As of the 2005 – 06 season , a minor penalty is also assessed for diving , where a player embellishes or simulates an offence . More egregious fouls may be penalized by a four - minute " double - minor " penalty , particularly those that injure the victimized player . These penalties end either when the time runs out or when the other team scores during 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 violent state of the hit . A minor or major penalty for boarding is 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 , both the players 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 this case , both teams will have only four skating players ( not counting the goaltender ) until one or both penalties expire ( if one penalty expires before the other , the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder of the time ) ; this applies regardless of current pending penalties . However , in the NHL , a team always has at least three skaters on the ice . Thus , 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 this 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 an additional minor or major penalty is assessed , a designated player must serve out of that segment of the penalty in the box ( similar to the above - mentioned " two - and - ten " ) . In some rare cases , a player may receive up to nineteen minutes in penalties for one string of plays . This could involve receiving a four - minute double minor penalty , getting in a fight with an opposing player who retaliates , and then receiving a game misconduct after the fight . In this case , the player is ejected and two teammates must serve the double - minor and major penalties . A " penalty shot " is awarded to a player when the illegal actions of another player stop a clear scoring opportunity , most commonly when the player is on a " breakaway " – A penalty shot allows the obstructed player to pick up the puck on the centre red - line and attempt to score on the goalie with no other players on the ice , to compensate for the earlier missed scoring opportunity . 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 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 ( marked by two red lines on either side of the net ) is the only area behind the net where the goalie can play the puck . An additional rule that has never been a penalty , but was an infraction in the NHL before recent rules changes , is the two - line offside pass . Prior to the 2005 – 06 NHL season , play was stopped when a pass from inside a team ' s defending zone crossed the centre line , with a face - off held in the defending zone of the offending team . Now , the centre line is no longer used in the NHL to determine a two - line pass infraction , a change that the IIHF had adopted in 1998 . Players are now 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 were commonplace . Rules are now more strictly enforced , resulting in more penalties , which in turn provides more protection to the players and facilitates more goals being scored . There are many infractions for which a player may be assessed a " penalty " . The governing body for United States amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce the number of 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 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 " officials " on the ice , charged with enforcing the rules of the game . There are typically two " linesmen " who are mainly responsible for calling offside and icing violations , breaking up fights , and conducting faceoffs , and one or two " referees " , who call goals and all other penalties . " Linesmen " can , however , report to the " referee ( s ) " that a penalty should be assessed against an offending player in some situations . The restrictions on this practice vary depending on the governing rules . 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 . Another less commonly used system is the two referee and one linesman system . This system is very close to the regular 3 - man system except for a few procedure changes . 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 has 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 they work for . 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 Canada and USA Hockey 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 . Checking . 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 trap " 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 . 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 offside 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 center 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 that 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 struck directly off a pass , without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions . " 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 attacker " 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 . This rule was recently changed by the NCAA for college level hockey in the United States . In college games , the penalty is still enforced even if the team in possession scores . One of the most important strategies for a team is their " forecheck " . Forechecking is the act of attacking the opposition in their defensive zone . Forechecking is an important part of the " dump and chase " strategy ( i . e . shooting the puck into the offensive zone and then chasing after it ) . Each team will use their own unique system but the main ones are : 2 – 1 – 2 , 1 – 2 – 2 , and 1 – 4 . The 2 – 1 – 2 is the most basic forecheck system where two forwards will go in deep and pressure the opposition ' s defencemen , the third forward stays high and the two defencemen stay at the blueline . The 1 – 2 – 2 is a bit more conservative system where one forward pressures the puck carrier and the other two forwards cover the oppositions ' wingers , with the two defencemen staying at the blueline . The 1 – 4 is the most defensive forecheck system , referred to as the trap , where one forward will apply pressure to the puck carrier around the oppositions ' blueline and the other 4 players stand basically in a line by their blueline in hopes the opposition will skate into one of them . There are many other little tactics used in the game of hockey . " Pinching " is the term used when a defencemen pressures the opposition ' s winger in the offensive zone when they are breaking out , attempting to stop their attack and keep the puck in the offensive zone . A " saucer pass " is a pass used when an opposition ' s stick or body is in the passing lane . It is the act of raising the puck over the obstruction and having it land on a teammate ' s stick . Deke . A " deke , " short for " decoy , " is a feint with the body and / or stick to fool a defender or the goalie . Many new players , such as Pavel Datsyuk , Mike Legg and Patrick Kane , have picked up the skill of " dangling , " which is fancier deking and requires more stick handling skills . 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 . A fight will also break out if one of the team ' s skilled players gets hit hard or someone gets hit by what the team perceives as a dirty hit . 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 leagues ) or a game misconduct penalty and suspension ( high school and younger , as well as some casual adult leagues ) . Crowds seem to like fighting in ice hockey and cheer when fighting erupts . 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 ( playoffs only ; same ends as the odd periods otherwise ) . 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 favor " sudden death overtime " , 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 both teams awarded one point in the standings in the event of a tie . With a goal , the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none ( just as if they had lost in regulation ) . From 1999 – 2000 until 2003 – 04 , the National Hockey League 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 idea was to discourage teams from playing for a tie , since previously some teams might have preferred a tie and 1 point to risking a loss and zero points . 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 identical to that from 99 – 00 – 03 – 04 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 shots . 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 in overtime or 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 . The overtime mode for the NHL playoffs differ from the regular season . In the playoffs there are no shootouts nor ties . If a game is tied after regulation an additional 20 minutes of 5 on 5 sudden death overtime will be added . In case of a tied game after the overtime , multiple 20 - minute overtimes will be played until a team scores , which wins them the match . Women ' s ice hockey . Modern women ' s ice hockey . 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 . In 2011 , Canada has 85 , 827 women players , United States has 65 , 609 , Finland 4 , 760 , Sweden 3 , 075 and Switzerland 1 , 172 . While there are not as many organized leagues for women as there are for men , there exist leagues of all levels , including the Canadian Women ' s Hockey League , Western Women ' s Hockey League , Mid - Atlantic Women ' s Hockey League , and various European leagues ; as well as university teams , national and Olympic teams , and recreation al teams . By the end of 2011 there had been thirteen IIHF World Women ' s Championships . The USHL welcomed the first female professional hockey player in 1969 – 70 , when the Marquette Iron Rangers signed Karen Koch . Women ' s ice hockey was added as a medal sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics 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 in women ' s ice hockey . In current IIHF women ' s competition , body checking is either a minor or major penalty , decided at the referee ' s discretion . In addition , players in women ' s competition are required to wear protective full - face masks . One woman , Manon Rhéaume , appeared as a goaltender for the NHL ' s Tampa Bay Lightning in pre - season games against the St . Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins , and in 2003 Hayley Wickenheiser played with the Kirkkonummi Salamat in the Finnish men ' s Suomi - sarja league . Several women have competed in North American minor leagues , including goaltenders Kelly Dyer , Erin Whitten , Manon Rhéaume , and defenceman Angela Ruggiero . Pond hockey . Pond hockey is a form of ice hockey played generally as pick - up hockey on lakes , ponds and artificial outdoor rinks during the winter . Pond hockey is commonly referred to in hockey circles as shinny . Its rules differ from traditional hockey because there is no hitting and very little shooting , placing a greater emphasis on skating , puckhandling and passing abilities . Since 2002 , the World Pond Hockey Championship has been played on Roulston Lake in Plaster Rock , New Brunswick , Canada . Since 2006 , the U . S . Pond Hockey Championships have been played in Minneapolis , Minnesota , and the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships have been played in Huntsville , Ontario . International competition . National teams . The annual men ' s Ice Hockey World Championships are more highly regarded by Europeans than North Americans because they coincide with the Stanley Cup 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 . Hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924 ( and at the summer games in 1920 ) . Canada won six of the first seven gold medal s to 1952 , the exception occurring in 1936 when Great Britain won . The USSR won all but two gold medals from 1956 to 1988 as well as a final time as the Unified Team at the 1992 Albertville Olympics . The United States won their first gold medal in 1960 . On the way to winning the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics amateur US college players defeated the heavily favored Soviet squad – an event known as the " Miracle on ice " in the United States . Since the 1998 games in Nagano all top players from the NHL have been able to take part , with Vancouver 2010 being the first time held in an NHL market since the inclusion of NHL players . Nowadays Winter Olympics games are the most highly regarded international tournament by ice hockey fans . The 1972 Summit Series and 1974 Summit Series , established Canada and the USSR as a major international ice hockey rivalry . It was followed by five Canada Cup tournaments , where the best players from every hockey nation could play , and two exhibition series , the 1979 Challenge Cup and Rendez - vous ' 87 where the best players from the NHL played the USSR . The Canada Cup tournament later became the World Cup of Hockey , played in 1996 and 2004 . The United States won in 1996 and Canada won in 2004 . Since the initial women ' s world championships in 1990 there have been thirteen tournaments . Women ' s hockey has been played at the Olympics since 1998 . The 2006 Winter Olympic final between Canada and Sweden marked the only time the women ' s world championship or Olympic final did not involve both Canada and the United States The annual Euro Hockey Tour , an unofficial European championships between the national men ' s teams of the Czech Republic , Finland , Russia and Sweden have been played since 1996 – 97 . Other ice hockey tournaments featuring national teams include the World U20 Championship , the World U18 Championships , the World U - 17 Hockey Challenge , the World Junior A Challenge , the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament , the World Women ' s U18 Championships and the 4 Nations Cup . Leagues . The National Hockey League ( NHL ) , and specifically the Stanley Cup trophy , is the oldest still operating international competition , featuring clubs from the United States and Canada . The Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) , an international ice hockey league in Eurasia and the successor to the Russian Super League and the Soviet League , the history of which dates back to the 1940s , was launched in 2008 with clubs from the post - Soviet states . It expanded beyond the former USSR in 2011 with the addition of Lev Poprad from Slovakia . That team was disbanded after one season after it was purchased by interests from the Czech Republic , who reconstituted the team as Lev Praha ( representing Prague ) . Slovakia ' s presence will continue with the addition of Slovan Bratislava . The GET - ligaen is the top professional ice hockey league in Norway . The Czech Extraliga is the top professional ice hockey league in Czech Republic . The SM - Liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland . Slovakia ' s top - tier pro ice hockey league is known as the Slovak Extraliga . The Elitserien , or Swedish Elite League , is the top level league in Sweden . The American Hockey League ( AHL ) , sometimes referred to as " The A , " is the primary developmental professional league for players aspiring to enter the NHL . It comprises 30 teams from the United States and Canada . It is run as a " farm league " to the NHL , with the vast majority of AHL players under contract to a NHL team . The SM - Liiga , Elitserien , and AHL are often considered roughly comparable in terms of talent and competitive level . The National League A ( NLA ) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland . The Deutsche Eishockey Liga ( German Ice Hockey League , shortname DEL ) is a the top level profession league in Germany The East Coast Hockey League ( ECHL ) is a mid - level minor league in the United States . Some ECHL players are under contract to NHL teams . The Southern Pro Hockey League ( SPHL ) is a developmental minor league in the United States . Most undrafted players get their start in this league . The Professional Hockey League ( PHL ) is the sole professional league in Ukraine and successor to the nation ' s Ukrainian Hockey Championship . The history of the league dates back to 1992 and the country ' s independence , and dissolution of the Soviet league format . The Elite Ice Hockey League is the highest level of ice hockey in United Kingdom . The league is served by teams from all of the home nations : England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland . The Austrian Hockey League , called the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga ( English : Erste Bank Hockey League ) for sponsorship reasons , is the highest - level ice hockey league in Austria . The roots of the EBEL league go back to 1923 ; it exists in today ' s form since the 1965 - 66 season . Since 2005 / 06 also non - Austian teams are competing for the " EBEL Champion " title . Since then the league has added teams from Slovenia ( starting 2006 - 07 and 2007 – 08 ) , Hungary ( starting 2007 - 08 ) , Croatia ( starting 2009 - 10 season ) , and the Czech Republic ( starting in 2011 - 12 ) . Since the season 2012 / 13 the EBEL consists of 12 teams . The Asia League Ice Hockey , an international ice hockey league featuring clubs from China , Japan and South Korea , is the successor to the Japan Ice Hockey League . The Australian Ice Hockey League and New Zealand Ice Hockey League are represented by nine and five teams respectively . As of 2012 , the two top teams of the previous season from each league compete in the Trans - Tasman Champions League . International club competitions organized by the IIHF include the Champions Hockey League ( currently cancelled ) , the Continental Cup , the Victoria Cup and the European Women ' s Champions Cup . One of the oldest international ice hockey competition for clubs is the Spengler Cup , held every year in Davos , Switzerland , between Christmas and New Year ' s Day . It was first awarded in 1923 to Oxford University Ice Hockey Club . The World Junior Club Cup is a tournament for junior ice hockey clubs from all over the world . Pre - season tournaments include the European Trophy , Tampere Cup and the Pajulahti Cup . 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 American popular culture . Attendance records . Attendance in the 30 , 000 range was once quite common for major international matches held outdoors in the 1940s and 50s in Moscow ' s Lenin Stadium . Figures of this type are still common in bandy , a relative of ice hockey played outdoors . The record for a Stanley Cup playoff game is 28 , 183 , set on April 23 , 1996 , at the Thunderdome during a Tampa Bay Lightning – Philadelphia Flyers game . A new record was set on December 11 , 2010 , when the University of Michigan ' s men ' s ice hockey team faced cross - state rival Michigan State in an event billed as " The Big Chill at the Big House . " The game was played at Michigan ' s ( American ) football venue , Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor , with a capacity of 109 , 901 as of the 2010 football season . When UM stopped sales to the general public on May 6 , 2010 , with plans to reserve remaining tickets for students , over 100 , 000 tickets had been sold for the event . Ultimately , a crowd announced by UM as 113 , 411 , the largest in the stadium ' s history ( including football ) , saw the homestanding Wolverines win 5 – 0 . " Guinness World Records " , using a count of ticketed fans who actually entered the stadium instead of UM ' s figure of tickets sold , announced a final figure of 104 , 173 . Number of registered players by country . Number of registered hockey players , including male , female and junior , provided by the respective countries ' federations . Note that this list only includes the 32 of 72 IIHF member countries with more than 1 , 000 registered players as of December 2012 . References . " Mandatory Equipment "