Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is a sport played between 2 teams of 6 players (a goalie with 5 players on the ice) with skates on an ice rink. Skaters must direct a rubber puck with a long stick to try to score into the opponent's goal. In the end, the team that has scored the most goals wins.
This variant of hockey is characterized by being a physical sport; Players can perform body charges on their opponent to try to wrest control of the puck from them, so they are usually equipped with all kinds of protections. It is also one of the fastest games, due to the minimal friction of the puck and skates on the ice, and one of the few sports that allow unlimited player changes without interrupting the game.
It was invented in the late 19th century in Canada, where it is the national sport. popularity in the United States, Central Europe, Scandinavia, Finland and Russia, and is even considered the main variant of hockey in countries of the northern hemisphere with cold climates. Its main governing body at the international level is the International Ice Hockey Federation.
History
March 6, 1875 was the first time that a game was played indoors in the city of Montreal, and in 1877 several students from McGill University decided to write the first hockey regulations. > on ice. Among other rules, it was established that each team had to have nine players on the court, and the ball began to be replaced by a square wooden puck, which later evolved into the current disc. That same year, said institution founded the first hockey team, the McGill University Hockey Club, followed by the Montreal Victorias. In Europe, the first teams arose in England from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Developed in Canada
The sport achieved notable popularity throughout Canada, where it expanded rapidly, and due to the growing number of practitioners, the city of Montreal organized the first ice hockey tournament, within the city's Winter Fair, in 1883. The winner of the tournament was the team from McGill University. On December 8, 1886, several teams that competed in the tournament three years earlier organized the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, which established, among other innovations, the concept of penalty (penalty) and the current puck model.
In 1888, the new Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley of Preston, attended the Montreal Winter Fair tournament as a spectator, and became interested in the sport. In 1892, and because there was no tournament to determine a national champion, he donated a metal cup that would be awarded as a trophy to the best amateur club in Canada each year. The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which would later be recognized as the Stanley Cup, began in 1893 and its first champion was the Montreal Hockey Club. In 1910 the award was given to professional teams, and today it is the main trophy won by the champion of the National Hockey League.
International expansion
Its expansion to the United States dates back to 1893, when Yale University played its first game against Johns Hopkins University. The country's first amateur championship was the U.S. Amateur Hockey League in 1896, while the first professional club was Portage Lake (Houghton, Michigan) in 1902. A year later the first professional league, the Pro Hockey League, between teams from Canada and the United States. This championship lowered the number of players on the track per team from nine to the current six. In 1909 the oldest hockey team in history still in existence was founded: the Montréal Canadiens.
The National Hockey Association, one of the first attempts to establish a regular professional championship, was founded in 1910 and lasted seven seasons, while in parallel the Pacific Coast Hockey Association emerged, which included teams from the United States and lasted until 1924. It was not until November 26, 1917 when the first stable professional league, the National Hockey League, was created after the disappearance of the NHA. This championship was imposed on the rest, and today it is the main league in North America for this sport, being also considered the main professional league in the world. At first it was only made up of Canadian clubs, and the pioneering teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs and Toronto Arenas. In 1924 the first team from the United States arrived, the Boston Bruins.
On the other hand, the sport also developed in Europe, and in 1908 the International Ice Hockey Federation was created in Paris, initially formed by France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland. Within the framework of the Olympic Games In 1920, this body organized the Ice Hockey World Championship, which was won by the Canadian team. In 1922, King Alfonso XIII of Spain inaugurated the first ice rink in Spain. It was called the Ice Palace and the first ice hockey match between two Spanish teams took place there as early as 1923. A year later, the event was held at the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix. 1924. In the Soviet Union, the first contact with ice hockey was in the 1930s.
Throughout the XX century the professional plane of hockey developed, which began to gain international relevance through world tournaments, dominated by Canada and the Soviet Union. Taking advantage of the pull of the Cold War, these two teams faced each other in 1972, in a series of matches known as the Summit Series. The victory of the United States over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics, known as the "Miracle on Ice". Since the early years of the NHL, team rosters have been filled with Canadian players and very few Americans. But years later, prompted by other tournaments such as the World Hockey Association, North American teams began to receive players from Western Europe and, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Other events that marked ice hockey were the introduction of professional players in the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics, and the general strike that paralyzed the NHL for an entire season, due to a labor dispute between players and teams that ended with the establishment of a salary cap.
Nature of the game
In an ice hockey game, the skater must control the puck (a black puck) with the stick (a stick)., which they must try to put into the rival goal. When the game ends, the team that has scored the most goals wins. In the player's statistics, both the goals scored and the assists he has made are counted as points ( points ).
Basic Skills
The basic skills needed to perform in an ice hockey game are:
- Skating: It is considered as the main one, as players move along the track at high speeds and make many rhythm changes, so they need to dominate it completely to handle the album in the most appropriate way.
- Handle of the cane: Players can not only use the stick to move the disk or tablet, they can also use the feet, although it is usual to push it on both sides of the outgoing part of the stick, and as quickly as possible to generate confusion in the rival. The exception is that a goal can only be scored with the stick.
- Pass: Send the disc between players of the same team using the stick. It can be done through raisins or air passes.
- Tyre: Throw the disc with the stick at high speed, with the intention of score a goal. It can be done without lifting the stick to shoot more accurately (wrist shot), or lifting the cane to throw with more propulsion and strength (slap shot).
- Checking: A player's ability to grab the disc on the contrary. It can be done with the stick (stick checking), which would be to take control of the disk, deflect the disk or block your shot. They can also be done with a charge done with the body (body checking), which is the most famous form in this sport. Physical contact is allowed, but only using the upper body and without directly employing the arms.
Tactical position of the players
- Save me (goalie): He is the player in charge of defending the goalie. To block the puck the goalkeeper must have reflexes, flexibility, speed and sufficient strength and agility to move any part of the body with body protection, rather stricter than that of the field player. The keeper is the only one capable of touching the puck with hands during any part of the game, but contrary to a player, the goalkeeper cannot skate beyond the middle track, otherwise his team receives a punishment.
- Defenders (defensemen): They are two, and their task is to defend the team of the rival attackers, for which they are usually placed on the same line, one on the right and the other on the left, in the area of defense of their team. There may be defenders who go up to the attack, but their main task is to prevent rivals from approaching their area and endangering their own goal.
- Centre (center): It occupies the center of the track, and is one of the most moving on the track. He is an attacker or frontier and is usually the main scorer of the team, although he also collaborates in defensive plays when the rival strikes.
- Let's go. (wingers): They are two attack players, located on the sides of the track. They are usually fast, they fight for the control of the album, and they are responsible for making attack plays for other players, when they are free to mark. On the track there is one on the left and the other on the right.
The number of players that each team can have on the field is 25 skaters and 4 goalies, although in the NHL it is reduced to 18+2: twelve offensive players and six defensive players. Each team has lines of attack (two wingers and a center) and defense (two defenders), which they usually use in various sections of the match. As there are no limitations on substitutions, the coach can change players at any time during the match that he wants. Before the replacement player enters, the substituted player must have entered the bench. There cannot be more than six players per team on the court, under penalty of penalty.
Each team has a captain, who wears the letter C on his jersey. This player is in charge of directing the team from inside the track, and in addition to a main captain there are several secondary ones who perform this function when the first one does not this. The alternate captain wears the letter A on his jersey, and serves when the first captain is not on the ice.
Player equipment
Because hockey is a contact sport and players move at high speed, injuries can occur frequently. For this reason, players usually wear, in addition to basic clothing -team shirt, pants and skates-, a series of approved protective accessories.
The main one is the helmet, which is mandatory for all new players of the National Hockey League since 1979, and which can be complemented as a transparent visor to protect the nose area and eyes, or else a grating that covers the face. In the neck area, the player can wear an optional protector that allows him to avoid injuries and cuts. For the body, there is a series of accessories such as shoulder pads, elbow pads, shell and special gloves. In the area of the legs, the player wears, in addition to shorts, which have protections, leggings that give him mobility and protect him from the cold, and protection for the legs such as shin guards with knee pads.
The goalkeeper has special protections, since he has to block the puck. His wardrobe consists of a hockey mask that protects his entire face and whose design has evolved over time. The first to use it was Jacques Plante in 1956, who made a fiberglass mold of his own face to protect himself from the blows of the puck and which was finally included in the regulations. The stick that he carries is much wider than that of the field player, since it helps him stop the trajectory of the puck more easily, and his skates also have a special design. Other accessories that he wears are adapted arm and chest protectors, special and thicker gloves with pads, and special leg protectors, which are similar to those used in cricket batting.
Rules of the game
The main world body governing ice hockey is the International Ice Hockey Federation, whose regulations apply to international competitions and major European championships. However, its influence in North America is less, since the regulations introduced by the National Hockey League apply there. The differences between both standards are minor.
Length of the game
Each hockey game consists of three periods of 20 minutes each, and separated by two intervals of 5 minutes each. It is only counted as playing time when the puck is in motion, and the clock is stopped each time the puck stops. This can happen when the referee signals a foul, a goal is scored, or the puck goes out of bounds. There is a judge who is in charge of keeping game time, known in English as game timekeeper. The team is entitled to a 30-second timeout per period.
If after these three times there is a tie, a sudden death five-minute overtime is played, in which the first team to score a goal wins (similar to the golden goal that was applied in soccer).. In the NHL during the regular season, overtime is played 4 against 4 (with the goalie), remaining as follows: 1 goalie, 1 defender, 1 center and 1 winger. If after this period the tie persists, the game will normally proceed to a free-throw round (penalty shot). In playoffs in the NHL, overtimes of 20 minutes to sudden death would be played at 5 against 5 (goalkeeper included). In international play, in playoffs, a 20-minute overtime would be played at 4 against 4 (goalkeeper included), followed by a round of penalty shots if parity is not broken.
Playing field
The field where ice hockey is played is an ice rink, specially designed for this sport and known as a rink. Ice minimizes the friction of the puck on the track and allows skaters to reach high speeds, which is why this variant of hockey is considered one of the fastest sports in the world.
The pitch has a rectangular format, In the National Hockey League the rink is narrower, measuring 61 meters x 26 meters. The distance from the end of the rink to the nearest goal line is 4 meters. All lanes have rounded corners instead of 90 degree angles to prevent the "puck" (disc) can stop. An opaque wall surrounds the entire field and prevents the puck from leaving it. Above that wall is another transparent one, which is one meter high and allows spectators a wide view of the game, while protecting them. Players can use the walls during their game (for example, making self-passes).
In the center of the court there is a red line (center line), which divides the field in half and serves to mark certain infractions such as icing. There are two other red lines, known as the red goal line, which are located at each end of the rectangle, four meters from the end of the court. Players can pass, through that area, behind the goal with the puck. Two blue lines, separated 8.85 meters from the red line (8.5 meters in the NHL) delimit the three zones of the field: defense zone, neutral zone and attack zone.
The goal (goal box) is located in front of each goal line. This goal has a resistant net, fastened with three metal nails, and measures 1.2 meters high by 1.8 meters wide.
All hockey rinks have a reserve bench, where the substitutes and the coach are located. There is also a penalty bench (penalty bench) where players who have committed an offense must enter for a certain time. These benches are located behind the protection wall.
Before the matches and during the break time, special vehicles are used, known as zamboni, which are in charge of smoothing the ice surface. The ice on the rink must be kept at a temperature below -10 °C.
Fighting
Under the rules of the International Federation, fighting is prohibited and should be avoided under all circumstances. If two players start hitting each other, they must be separated.
However, in the NHL and other North American leagues, there is some permissiveness during the development of individual fights, letting players fight until one wins or both fall to the ground, as long as protections have been removed like the gloves or the stick so that the fight is fair. The fights can even animate the attending public. When the match is over, the referees separate the players and apply penalties. In case of a massive fight, the referees will try to separate them. In the youth and university leagues they are not allowed, and even expulsions are applied.
Fouls
Infractions
The main ones committed in hockey are offside (offside) and icing.
- Out of the game (or also offside): It is committed when a player enters the attack zone before the puck. For example, if a player, from the neutral zone, passes directly to another player that is located right in the attack zone. It also occurs when the player in the attack zone takes the puck to the neutral zone and returns with him to attack. Criminalizes with a faceoff from the neutral zone.
- Icing: When a player throws the puck from behind the central line. If goal mark, it's valid. If it fails, which is when puck crosses the goal red line of the goalkeeper, the rival must achieve the possession of puck to get them to step on this offense. Criminalizes with a faceoff in the defence area of the offending team. In order for the infringement to occur, the referee must judge that the player of the team he is defending could not have touched the puck before he crossed the red line of his goalkeeper's goal. In 2013 the NHL introduced a "hybrid" icing system in which, if the online judge determines that the defensive team player would have arrived before the puck, he would ask for the infringement before he touches it. This rule was implemented to avoid accidents caused by races between players to avoid icing.
These infractions are penalized with faceoff, but never with expulsion, since they are minor.
Penalties
In English they are known as penalty, and they are the most serious offenses, which require a penalty by the main referee. The punishment is to deprive the player who committed the fault to continue playing temporarily, which is known as expulsion. The time may vary depending on the infraction; from two minutes for a foul, to the final expulsion and suspension of matches in the event of a serious offence. To avoid that a foul could paralyze a decisive attack, the referee grants the law of advantage if the attacker keeps the puck, to whistle the foul when he scores a goal, the opponent regains possession, or the clock stops.
Penalized players must sit on a specific bench, where they must remain until they have completed the stipulated penalty time. To control the time, there is a specific judge who is in charge of timing the minutes. In case of being expelled indefinitely, the player goes to the locker room.
In any case, a hockey team cannot have less than four players on the field. In the event that there are more than two expelled, a substitute will fulfill his function. When a team has more players than the rival, it is in an advantage situation (powerplay), and if the advantaged team scores in that situation, the opponent's expelled players can return to the field even if they have not complied your penalty. On the other hand, the disadvantaged team can icing without being penalized as long as the expelled players do not return.
Minor Penalty
Also known as minor penalty. They are usually two minutes of expulsion for the person who commits them, and they are the most common. They are whistled for hitting the opponent with the stick held with both hands (cross-checking), for raising the stick to hit the opponent in the upper body area (high-sticking) or hit him in the lower area (slashing), by grabbing the opponent or his stick (holding), for grabbing the opponent with the stick to stop them (hooking), for interfering with a player or the goalkeeper (interference), for hitting a player without reason or justification (roughing), for hitting him with the elbow (elbowing), for tripping him (tripping), simulating a foul (diving) or intentionally delaying play. The team remains in numerical inferiority.
Severe Penalty
Known as major penalties, they imply a five-minute expulsion, and are more serious than the previous ones. They can be for blocking or tackling the rival player if he does not have or has had the puck (charging), hitting the opponent with the handle of the stick i> (butt-ending), hitting him with the flat part of the stick (spearing) and for hitting an opponent against the protective barrier without justification of possession of the puck (boarding). Fighting is also a severe penalty for the players involved. The team remains in numerical inferiority.
Misconduct
Misconduct. It is insulting or disrespecting a member of the arbitration group, normally official and assistant referees. They are also beeped when a player is involved in a fight and when more than three fights are taking place at the same time. They imply a ten-minute sanction, and if he is a repeat offender in the same match, it means the final expulsion. In both cases, a substitute player can take his place, so the team has the same number of players on the court. If he incurs this foul again, he is expelled for the rest of the match.
Game misconduct
Misconduct during the game. It is when the player hits another intentionally with the intention of injuring the rival. It means an immediate expulsion, and the team can be outnumbered for 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the severity of the injuries suffered by the person affected.
Free kick / penalty shot
It is whistled when an attacking player is alone to shoot at the goal, and the opponent commits a free kick from behind him to save it. The attacker, who must be the player fouled, has the opportunity to go one-on-one in front of the goalkeeper, a short distance apart, from midfield to goal. They can only be the one who throws the puck and the rival goalkeeper, and it is similar to the soccer penalty. It does not entail numerical inferiority for the team that committed it.
Referees
The referees are in charge of enforcing the regulations in the field, and they wear a black and white striped uniform, they have bands on their forearms depending on their function. Like the players, they also wear skates. They also have whistles with which they can stop the game. Using arm gestures, they point out fouls and infractions.
Inside the track
- The principal arbitrator He's in charge of running the hockey game. You can be identified in the field for wearing orange bands in both arms. He is the only one able to cancel goals and penalize the players, in case they have committed an infringement. It also has the power to be able to review the players' outfits and ensure that they meet the standards set by the championship.
- The Assistant (lines) is usually located on a side of the center of the track, and is responsible for monitoring violations that occur between the red central line and the blue lines, such as the out-of-play or the icing. Its function is similar to that of the online judges in football. They do not have the authority to point out faults, but they may notify the central arbitrator to do so if he deems it appropriate.
In an international rules game there is usually one center referee and two linesmen, but the NHL employs two center referees in a game.
Off track
Off-court officials have administrative responsibilities in the match.
Regarding scoring, there is a "goal judge" (goal judge) who is in charge of monitoring whether there has been a goal or not. They are behind the goal and must watch if the puck has completely crossed the goal line. Once the goal has been verified, the referee activates the sirens and the sound box to indicate the achievement of the goal. Then there is the "replay judge" (video goal judge), which is in charge of reviewing the replays of those goals questioned through a television, and can only be requested by the referee.
There is also a judge who is in charge of recording the goals and assists that occur in each match, and a "penalty judge", who is in charge of writing down all the penalties imposed by the referee and to control its duration. Then there is the "time controller", whose responsibility is to control the time of play to stop it when the puck is not in play, and the managers of the statistics.
Championships
Clubs
The premier professional ice hockey league in the world is the National Hockey League (NHL). Teams from the United States and Canada play in it, playing regular season games and later play-offs, where the best two reach a final phase seeking to win the Stanley Cup for the best of 7 games.. This cup is considered the oldest and most prestigious competition in the history of this sport.
The second most important (and the only one with a sporting level similar to the NHL) is the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) that has been played since 2008, made up mostly of teams from Russia, although Belarus, Latvia, Finland, Kazakhstan and China have their representatives in the tournament. As in the NHL, the KHL consists of a regular phase and a play-off phase, where the two finalists seek to win the Gagarin Cup in the best of 7 games, which, despite the short time it has been in dispute, has gained respect and prestige. in this sport.
In the background (and far from the competitive and logistical level of the NHL and the KHL) are the other European leagues, although these are also professional with a high level of play like those of Sweden (Svenska hockeyligan), Finland (SM-Liiga), Czech Republic (Extraliga), Switzerland (National League) and Germany (Eishockey Liga). At an even lower level, although of a professional nature, are the leagues of Denmark (Metal Ligaen), Austria (Ice Hockey League), Belarus (Extraleague), France (Ligue Magnus), Norway (GET-ligaen), Poland (Hokej Liga), Slovakia (Tipsport Liga) and Great Britain (Elite Ice Hockey League).
In Spanish-speaking countries, ice hockey competitions are non-existent and their practice is almost nil as there are no scenarios for their development, since the vast majority of Spanish-speaking countries are in tropical climates. Mexico is the only country in Latin America that has a league in this sport, albeit in a semi-professional way, the Mexican Hockey League. In Spain there is a medium-level semi-professional tournament, the Spanish Ice Hockey Super League.
In 2008 the European Champions Hockey League was launched, in which the champions of the different professional leagues in Europe competed, which was organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), playing only one season per year. run out of sponsors in 2009. In 2014 the tournament resurfaced, remaining active to date with teams from Sweden dominating, although without the participation of those from the KHL.
Other important championships were the Continental Cup or the Victoria Cup in 2009, where the Champions Hockey League champion and an NHL team faced each other in a single match, which was discontinued with the cancellation of the European tournament.
Selections
The main tournament between teams is the Ice Hockey World Championship which is held every year. Traditionally, this championship has more interest from European fans than from Americans, due to the fact that the dates on which it takes place coincide with the final phases of the NHL. This also means that the best players of each nation are not always available for their selections, who are committed to their NHL teams that are in those phases.
One of the first championships where countries compete against each other is the Winter Olympics since the 1920 Antwerp edition. The countries with the most gold medals are Canada and the now non-existent Soviet Union, whose sporting heritage is in Russian hands. Professional players have been allowed since Nagano 1998, so stars from the NHL and other professional leagues in Europe can seamlessly participate with their respective countries.
Throughout history there have been other international competitions. In 1972 and 1974, the Summit Series was played between the teams of Canada and the Soviet Union, the world powers of this sport and historical rivals on the international stage. Then came the Canada Cup, where the best players from each country came to play exhibition matches. In 1996, the Ice Hockey World Cup began to be held, which is held with variable frequency, although it is organized by the NHL after the season is over, which allows the participation of star players. of the league with their selections.
The main Spanish-speaking teams in this hockey variant are Spain and Mexico, both of which are registered with the International Federation. However, they have a small weight compared to other countries. The Argentine Ice and Online Hockey Association (A.A.H.H.L) has been affiliated with the IIHF since 1998, the same date that the Chilean Ice and Online Hockey Federation joined.
Between 2014 and 2017, Pan American ice hockey tournaments were held for men and women, with the participation of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Canada participated only in the first tournament, being champion in both categories with semi-professional and amateur players.
Women's Ice Hockey
Women's ice hockey originated in the 1890s, with players such as Lady Isabel Stanley, daughter of Lord Stanley of Preston. Various women's teams had sprung up in the early XX century, but at that time women were forced to play in skirts. In 1920, Lady Isobel donated a trophy, the Lady Meredith Cup, to be awarded to the best hockey team in Canada. Although the growth of women's hockey was stunted for decades, currently has an important development.
Ice hockey is becoming increasingly popular among young women, particularly in Canada and the US. There are some leagues such as the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL), although these are not as important as the NHL. Women's hockey is recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Nine women's world championships have already been organized and it has been part of the Winter Olympic Games since the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.
In August 2010, the NHL began preliminary discussions with the sport's top officials regarding the possible creation of an NHL-supported Women's League. The first woman to play with a professional men's team was Manon Rhéaume, who served as goalkeeper in a friendly match for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, and in 2003 Hayley Wickenheiser played with HC Salamat in the Finnish second division, professional men's category.
The main difference in the rules with the men's hockey is that, in the women's version, since the 1990s body checking (bodychecking) has not been allowed.) to wrest control of the puck.
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