Hockey 101: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Hockey Fan
- Mayline Ruiz
- Sep 9
- 5 min read
Over the past few years, hockey has started to make waves in the sports world. From shocking trades such as the Boston Bruins trading away Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, to infamous games including Canada against the USA in the Four Nations Face-Off. Hockey is growing in all areas. Since hockey is getting new eyes, let’s break down the amazing game and give a brief introduction to the beautiful sport.
Brief Hockey History
Hockey has been played as early as the 1600s in Scotland and has continued to grow since. It wasn’t until March 3, 1875, that there was an official hockey game played by the Montreal Victoria Skating Club. Then, on November 26, 1917, the National Hockey League was formed. Currently, there are six teams known as the Original Six that have been in the NHL since the 1940s. Those teams are the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now there are currently 32 teams in the league, separated into different divisions and conferences.
Divisions and Conferences
The league is divided into two different conferences being the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Eastern Conference is then separated into the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division, and the Western Conference has the Central Division and the Pacific Division. Before we get into the rules of the game, let’s break down the teams and which division they’re in.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Teams: Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and the Boston Bruins.
Metropolitan Division
Teams: Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Washington Capitals.
Western Conference
Central Division
Teams: Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Utah Mammoth (formerly Utah Hockey Club), St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, and the Winnipeg Jets.
Pacific Division
Teams: San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Edmonton Oilers.
How the Game Works
Each team has six players on the ice at all times. For the whole game, there are five skaters and one goalie, meaning there are 12 players in total on the ice. However, these players will get on and off the ice throughout the game. Each team will have three forwards who are trying to score goals and two defensemen who are trying to stop the other team from scoring. The only player who stays on the ice the whole game is the goalie, unless it's a close game. For example, if a team is down by one goal and there are fewer than five minutes left in the game, they will pull their goalie. When the goalie leaves the ice, the team can bring out an extra skater to increase their chances of scoring.
Every game consists of three periods, each lasting 20 minutes, with an 18-minute intermission after the first and second periods. The referee will blow the whistle occasionally, stopping a play, meaning the players won’t play the full 20 minutes without stopping.
Now, a lot of the time, the referees will blow the whistle because they see icing or offside.
Icing
Icing is when a player shoots the puck from their side of the ice, and it goes all the way to the other side of the rink without the puck being touched by a player. In this case, the referee will blow the whistle, and teams will have to do a face-off in the offending player's defensive zone, which is when two players will battle for possession of the puck.
Offside
We will also see the referees blow the whistle if they see offside, which is when a player enters the offensive zone before the puck gets there. When this happens, they will have to do a face-off in the neutral zone, which is in the middle of the rink.
If the score is tied after three periods, they will go into overtime, where there will be five extra minutes of play. During these five minutes, there will be fewer players on the ice as it will be three-on-three, and the first team to score wins the game. If a team fails to score, they will enter a shootout, where three players will take shots against the goalie. Whichever team has the most goals will win the game. If it’s somehow still tied after the three attempts, then they will continue the shootout until one team scores and the other team does not. However, if it’s during the playoffs, there are no shootouts. Each overtime during the playoffs will last 20 minutes, and it will continue to be a five-on-five until someone scores.
Penalties
Now, when it comes to penalties, there are two different kinds that players can receive: minor and major.
Minor
A minor penalty is a less severe penalty compared to a major penalty. When a player gets a minor penalty, their team will be short a player. When this happens, the team with one less player will go on the penalty kill, as they're trying to prevent the other team from scoring. These penalties last for two minutes, which seems short but can be detrimental as the opposing team has an advantage. If you're the opposing team, you will go on the power play. A power play is a huge advantage because the team has an additional player on the ice, which gives them a higher chance to score.
Minor penalties can come from infractions such as cross-checking, boarding, delay of the game, slashing, charging, hooking, interference, holding, high-sticking, and roughing.
One thing to note about minor penalties is that these can last two minutes or until the team with the power play scores. If the team that is on the power play scores a goal, then the penalty is over and both teams are back at full strength. If the referee sees that a penalty is severe but not as severe as a major penalty, they can decide to do a four-minute double minor. The player will then be in the penalty box for four minutes; however, if the team on the power play scores, then the first two minutes of the double minor penalty will be eliminated.
For a more in-depth version of these minor penalties, check out this descriptive video that shows the different penalties: https://youtu.be/2ENfvF2ErMM?si=nSA2TT1rjUrBZsIJ
Major
When a player is given a major penalty, instead of being in the penalty box for only two minutes, they're stuck in there for five minutes. Even if the team on the power play scores, the penalty will continue until the five minutes are over.
Major penalties can be somewhat similar to minor penalties, and some of them include spearing, inciting a fight, checking from behind, fighting, butt-ending, check to the head, boarding, slashing, and leaving the bench when there's an argument.
For more description on each of these major penalties, check out this website: https://www.purehockey.com/c/hockey-rules-and-penalties
Now that you know a little bit more about the history of hockey and the hockey rules, you can feel more comfortable going to a game and using all the knowledge that you've learned. Hockey is such an amazing sport, and there are so many different storylines to each team that make them unique. Have a happy hockey season!
Edited by Mary Merensky
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