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The Basics of Hockey (available in a printer friendly version.) The
Rink 4
- 1 Standard Ice Hockey Rink The
rink is surrounded by boards that are 4 feet tall and usually have
Plexiglas that extends another 4 feet above the boards.
The boards should all be joined together smoothly and the doors to
the rink should close securely. Poorly
maintained boards can be dangerous and you should think twice about
playing on this type of rink. The
ice surface on indoor rinks is usually maintained with a special vehicle -
predominantly made by the Zamboni company.
The Zamboni machine has blades that removes about 1/4 of an inch of
ice and then applies an even coat of water to resurface the ice. Rinks
will have the players benches, penalty boxes and the scorer's tables
located in a variety of locations around the rink.
Be aware of their location as this can be used to a team's
advantage when a penalized player returns to the rink. Rink
Markings The
blue lines separate the rink into thirds.
The center line is dashed and colored red.
The goal line is red and extends across the front of the goal to
both boards. To score, the
puck must completely clear the goal line inside the goal. The
crease is a semi circle in front of the goal.
Older rinks may still have the crease as a rectangle, but most
rinks now have the semi circle. A
goal will not count if an offensive player is in the crease (unless an
offensive player is pushed into the crease by a defender.) There is one face-off circle in the center of the rink and two at each end. They are all 15 feet in diameter. During a face-off all players, other than those facing off, must keep their skates outside of the circle. The face-off circles at each end contain small lines (known as "hash marks"). During a face-off, opposing players must keep their skates out of the circle and behind the hash marks. The hash marks are useful markers for team strategy discussions, as a defensive player may tell a wing to stay at the hash mark by the boards to await a break out pass. There
are also four face-off dots outside the blue lines. These are used for off
sides calls (see below) and other stoppages in the games.
The referees position the players when these face-off dots are
used. Rink
Zones 4 - 2 Rink Zones
The
three portions of the rink are known as the offensive zone, the neutral
zone (also called center ice), and the defensive zone.
Although most hockey coaching focuses on offensive or defensive
zone play, there has been considerable attention paid lately to the
neutral zone. The
best teams - pro, college or amateur - have strategies developed and well
executed for play in the neutral zone. The
best place to shoot from in the offensive zone is the "slot".
The slot extends from in front the goal for about 20 feet.
Defensive players will try to keep the offense out of the slot or
at least have the offense players tied up.
Defensive
players are positioned at the "points" when their team is on
offense. As the puck moves
from one side of the rink to the other, the defense moves along the blue
line. One defender should
always be close to the boards while the other is more towards the center.
There is always debate about how close to the blue line the
defensive player should stay when they are on the point.
If they move closer to the goal they are "pinching in."
Chapter 9 provides more information on defensive positioning. Players positions are sometimes referred to as "high or low." If a player is high they are usually between the face-off dot and the blue line. If they are low they are between the face-off dot and the goal line. Goal 4 - 3 Ice Hockey Goal and Net
Most new goals have the netting strung very tightly. This can cause a very hard shot to enter the goal and pop back out as though the goalie stopped it. Periods Players Players
normally skate a shift of 30 seconds to 2 minutes, with a 60 second shift
as the optimal target for most adults players.
Teams need to pay attention to the shift time on the rink as the
tendency is for players to stay out too long.
A good practice is for the next line on the rink to keep track of
the current line's time on the rink.
As this time approaches 60 seconds, they should start to shout to
their team mates to get off. Even
if the forwards think they have a good rush going, it is almost always
better to dump the puck into the corner and get "fresh legs"
onto the rink. Hockey
has the unique rule of allowing players to "change on the fly."
For a one player to replace another while the game continues, they
must skate to the bench. Both
players can be on the rink surface together, but the player leaving the
rink cannot play a puck that may come within their area.
If a player leaves the bench and another player does not get off ,
the team has "too many players" and the referees can invoke a
two minute penalty. A
team's ability to effectively change on the fly is a team skill that can
make a big difference in winning games.
To do this requires discipline from the next set of players onto
the rink. Every
player should know if they are the next player on the rink and what
position they are to take. As
a player leaves the rink and heads toward the bench they should shout out
their position - "right wing".
The new right wing should then enter.
The next line needs to watch and anticipate line changes and not
get caught up in watching the game. Some
teams make it a practice for the players coming to the bench to use the
doors into the team bench . The players entering the rink go over the
boards. When you are coming
off the rink make sure to swing wide so your teammates can enter directly
into play. Another practice
is to seat defensive players on the bench closest to their goal and the
forwards farthest from the goal. This
helps both positions get into the play more quickly.
These techniques are very useful as there is nothing more
embarrassing (or painful) than colliding with your teammate on a change.
The
best time to change on the fly is when you are on the attack.
If you can bring the puck into the neutral zone and make a
slow shot into the corner, all
players can change. Never
change on the fly when you are in your own defensive zone.
Teammates should pay special attention if a player on the rink
looks like they are tiring. They
may be very involved in the game and not notice how long they have been on
the rink. A friendly holler
to get off will probably be appreciated - especially by their legs! Off
sides 4 - 4 Off sides
A
player is in the zone when both of their skates are inside the outside
edge of the blue line. This
rule allows a skater that is ahead of the puck carrier to skate along the
blue line with one skate in the neutral zone until the puck carrier enters
the zone. This technique is
helpful because it allows the attacker to maintain speed rather than
pulling up and stopping at the blue line. If
an attacking player is off side but the puck is picked up and
controlled by the defending team a delayed off side is indicated by the
referee with one arm held vertically.
Play will only stop if an
attacking player touches the puck inside the defensive zone.
If all the attackers leave the offensive zone, the delayed offside
is canceled. Delayed
offside can be of strategic advantage to the defending team. It allows the
defense to move the puck up ice with no risk until they reach the neutral
zone. A good defensive
player will move carefully out of the zone and hit a wing or center with
an accurate pass as they break quickly across the neutral zone.
Another
type of offside is the two line pass. If an attacking player passes to
another teammate and the passes crosses two lines (blue lines and the
center line) the team is ruled offside and play is stopped.
Figure 4-5 illustrates this type of offside.
The two line pass rule is intended to keep players from slipping
behind the defense for a long break out pass.
Many adult leagues do not use the two line offside rule.
If so, watch out for wings sneaking behind the defense for easy
break away situations. 4 - 5 Two Line Offside
Icing 4 - 6 Icing
Different
leagues have variations on icing. In
some cases, the puck needs only be shot from behind the center red line.
In some leagues a defender must touch the puck after it crosses the
goal line for the play to be stopped.
If this is your leagues rule, your defensive players will have the
opportunity to stay in shape by having a race to the puck every time icing
occurs! If
an iced puck is either handled by the goalie or enters the crease,
icing is not called. Icing
(or clearing) can be used be used to strategic advantage to get a stoppage
of play in order to make a line change.
If your team is getting trapped in your defensive zone for too long
and you cannot effectively break out, icing is a reasonable tactic.
Although the puck will come back to your end, your team will have
fresh players on the rink. Other
Stoppages of Play If
the puck leaves the rink during play the referees will face-off
the puck in the area close to where it left the rink.
Players should always keep their helmets on even when they are on
the bench, as a puck may leave the rink there. When
two players go for a loose puck against the boards,
it may take some time for the puck to be worked free (This is
activity is informally known by the wonderful hockey term -
"grinding.") The
referees don't like to stop play in this situation, but will do so if they
cannot see the puck for an extended period of time. If
the puck is shot or passed in the air and a player knocks it down with
their stick they must be careful to keep their stick below their waist.
If not, the referee will stop play because of
"puck played with a high stick." The play will be
restarted with a face-off in the area where the puck was hit.
This is not the same offense as high sticking which is described
below and results in a two minute penalty. You
can play a puck in the air with your hand.
However, you must bat the puck down with an open hand and not hit
it toward a team mate. If you do, it is a "hand pass" and the
referees will stop play for a face-off.
Referees will sometimes allow a player a short distance in their
hand. The one exception
is in the defensive zone where a defender can hit the puck with their hand
and direct it to a teammate and no stoppage will occur.
Although hockey is basically a continuous game, most leagues allow a team to call at least one "time out." This is normally allowed only when play is stopped for another reason. A good use of a time out is to plan how you will pull your goalie at the end of a close game. Face-offs The
two players facing off must face each other squarely and remain
approximately one stick length apart.
The visiting team player must put their stick on the rink first.
The players must be still and
"set" before the puck is dropped.
Any violation of these rules and the referee will remove the
offending player and require
a teammate to take the face-off.
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