Facts About Ice Hockey
Here you will find some interesting facts about hockey!
Ice hockey is a fast-moving team sport. It is usually played on an ice surface called a rink. Hockey players wear ice skates and move with great speed and skill across the ice. Two teams of six players compete to score the most points or goals. A team scores when it moves the puck – a small, hard rubber disk – into the opponent’s goal. Hockey is a rough sport, with a great deal of body contact between the players.
A hockey rink is a rectangle with rounded corners. In international hockey the rink is 200 feet (61 meters) long and 98.4 feet (30 meters) wide. Professional hockey in North America is played on a narrower rink.
Several boundary lines run across the width of the rink. Two blue lines divide the rink into three zones. Between the two blue lines, at the middle of the rink, is a red center line. At each end of the rink is a red goal line with a goal cage in the middle. The cage is 4 feet (1.2 meters) high and 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide. A net encloses the sides and back. The ice surface also includes markings for face-offs. A face-off is used to start or restart play after it has been stopped.
The hockey stick is the players’ main tool. Hockey sticks are made from a variety of materials, such as wood or aluminum. A hockey stick is a long shaft with a flat-faced surface, called a blade, at one end. Players use the blade to hit the puck. The puck is 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) across and 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick.
Did You Know?
Cow Poop
- As legend has it, when hockey was played in its early days, a frozen patty of cow poop was used as a puck.
Frozen Pucks
- Today, hockey pucks are frozen before a game to prevent them from bouncing during play.
Stanley Cup Snacks
- Every member of a Stanley Cup winning team gets a personal day with the Cup. Many champs have taken part in the tradition of filling the Cup with food. Some of the items that have been eaten from the Cup include: cereal, meatballs, chicken wings, poutine and ice cream.
Other Cool Facts:
- The NHL (National Hockey League) was established in 1917.
- The Zamboni, the machine used on the ice to keep it properly maintained, was named after Frank Zamboni. He invented the machine in 1949.
- Originally, the Stanley Cup was only seven inches tall. Today it is more than 35 inches tall.
- Rinks in North America measure 85 feet wide by 200 feet long.