Hockey Glossary

All star game Currently, this mid-season exhibition game is played between the best players of North America against those from the rest of the world. Previously it was played between the stars from the two conferences of the NHL. Backcheck An attempt to wrest control of the puck back from an opponent who is making way to the checker's defensive zone. Backhand A shot on goal or pass performed from the opposite side. A right-handed backhand comes from the left side, and vice versa. It is the stuff ice hockey goal highlight reels are made of.

Blue lines

A pair of 12-inch blue lines divide the rink into three zones, a center zone and two attacking/defending zones. Each blue line is 60 feet away from the nearest goal. These lines are used in penalizing for offsides.

Butt-ending

This is a major penalty charged when a player jabs the end of his stick into an opposing player.

Center

The center player of a team's forward line. The center is typically the leader in an attack on goal and usually performs in face-offs.

Deke

A faking movement by the puck carrier to throw off the defensive player or goalie. Short for decoy. Commonly, we see shoulder dekes, stick dekes, and head dekes. A good deke will leave you with an open hockey goal at which to shoot.

Face-off

The means by which play is started. The official drops the puck between the sticks of opposing players. The players must stand a stick's length away from each other with their blades flat on the ice.

Falling on the puck

This is a minor penalty called when any player stops play by intentionally falling on the puck, covering it with a hand, or otherwise guarding the puck from play.

Field hockey

This is an enormously popular international sport that operates on a much larger area than ice hockey, hence the larger size of field hockey goals. It is similar in its use of sticks and a small object (puck, ball), but it is played on a field. Internationally it is simply referred to as "hockey," but for the purposes of disambiguation, we call it field hockey in North America.

Fighting

Hockey can be a violent sport, but fighting is never encouraged. When two players drop sticks and gloves and engage, a major penalty will be dealt to both. If the referee considers a player to have instigated the fight, he will be issued a minor penalty. When the altercation is less severe, the minor penalty issued is called roughing.

Floor hockey/knee hockey

Hockey is a space-intensive sport that doesn't lend itself to indoor play or even play on a modest driveway. This is remedied by a number of "off-ice" alternatives, one of them being floor hockey or knee hockey- both are just a matter of setting up hockey goals in large, open space. Failure to take precautions can result in all kinds of new and unpleasant injuries result from this practice. Proper gear, please.

Major penalty

A major penalty results in 5 minutes in a penalty box, depriving the player's team of the full complement of players. It is reserved for the most serious infractions. Opposed to a minor penalty, the full penalty time is served even if the opposing team scores a power-play goal.

Minor penalty

A penalty lasting 2 minutes. If the opposing team manages to score a power-play goal, the offending player is let out of the penalty box to resume play.

Offside

When an attacking player crosses into the opponent's defending territory ahead of the puck, whether via pass or carried by a teammate, offsides is called. It creates more exciting play by forbidding attackers to hang back behind the blue lines. Offsides is also called when a pass occurs between a player in the defensive zone to an attacker across the center red line. Play is stopped and resumes in a face-off.

Power-play

When a team loses one or two players due to penalties, the opposing team has the opportunity to attack with a full complement of attackers on a short-handed team. If the penalties were minor, a power-play goal would result in the offending player returning to the ice. Major penalties always require the full 5 minute penalty be served.

Ragging

Skillful puck handling usually performed with the intent of eating up clock time to close a game or await a penalized player's return to the ice.

Screen shot

A shot on goal taken from the coverage of a player blocking the goalie's field of view.

Slap shot

A powerful attempt on goal which requires the player to raise the stick in a backswing with the dominate hand. Using the other hand as a pivot, the player comes down on the puck with much greater force than by other shots. Professionals can reach speeds of 120 mph. Hockey shooting targets are often used to develop this skill shot.

Street hockey/Roller Hockey

Played on foot or in-line skates, these forms of "off-ice" hockey are becoming increasingly popular in North America. It's easy to set up a couple of hockey nets in a tennis or basketball court, making the need for ice less important for playing hockey.

Waffle pad

This is the giant pad attached to the goalie's dominate hand to protect it from being broken by the puck.

Wash out

A term used when a referee reneges on a call or calls back a goal.

Winger or wing

Position charged with flanking the center. There are left and right wings. These three positions comprise the attacking element of the team.

Wrist shot

Attempt on goal made by using a strong flick of the wrist and forearm. Not as powerful, but often more accurate than the slap shot.

Zones

The rink is divided into zones divided by two blue lines. The attacking zone is that area farthest from the hockey goal a team defends, neutral zone is between the two lines, and the defending zone is the area where the team's goal is.