In my hometown located in Western Canada, hockey is as popular as basketball and football are here in Utah. For that reason, I’d seldom considered the questions that I now face every time hockey comes up in conversation.
Here are the six questions I most frequently get, along with their answers.
Is fighting allowed in hockey?
Fighting is not expressly permitted, but it doesn’t get penalized nearly as heavily as it does in most sports.
It results in a “major” penalty — five minutes, rather than the two given for minor penalties — but because both players involved typically get the same penalty, they cancel each other out. Neither team plays short-handed.
Those involved players do have to sit out for five minutes, but the fighters are often guys that don’t play much anyway.
It’s also worth noting that fighting is not allowed at certain levels of hockey, including:
- All children’s levels
- College
- International
- The QMJHL, one of the top major-junior leagues in Canada
And to answer the question of why they fight, it often has to do with game management. It’s a way for players to police the game. When a player knows the Utah Mammoth’s Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien is on the other side, he might be less likely to put a cheap hit on Clayton Keller.
How do icing and offside work in hockey?
First things first: In hockey, it’s “offside,” not “offsides.” With that out of the way, here’s how they work.
The principle for offside is simple: “black over blue before you.” If your team crosses the blue line before the puck does, the play is stopped. It’s a way to prevent cherry-picking and Hail Mary passes.
Icing is slightly more complicated.
When a player on his team’s side of the ice shoots the puck all the way down, a race begins. If a player from the offensive team arrives at the top of the face-off circle first, play continues.
If it’s the defensive team that gets there first, the whistle goes and the face-off comes all the way back to the other team’s end, which gives that defending team the opportunity to possess the puck in the offensive zone.
Hockey is very much a game of zones, which is why these rules are important. The more time you possess the puck in the offensive zone, the more likely you are to score — and if you can keep the puck out of your own end, the other team’s chances of scoring are slim.
I can’t see the puck. How do you follow the play?
The answer to this question isn’t as straightforward as the others, but here’s the best answer: Pay attention to what everyone is doing, not just the player with the puck.
For example, if a player dumps the puck into the zone, you can tell where it is by watching where the players go. And if a guy takes a shot and all of his teammates put their hands up, they’re probably celebrating a goal.
Once you’ve watched a few games, you’ll start to pick it up. And don’t feel bad, either. I just went to my first college football game and I had a hard time seeing where the ball was most of the time.
What on Earth is a ‘power play?’
“Power play” is a complicated name for a simple situation. When one team takes a penalty, the other team gets the advantage playing with more players on the ice. The advantage is called a power play.
As mentioned, minor penalties last for two minutes, majors are five and occasionally you’ll see a double-minor, which is two minor penalties served consecutively by the same player.
How can you move up in the standings even if you lose in overtime?
Some major pro sports use a win/loss system, while others, including the NHL, base the standings on points.
In the NHL, a win is worth two points, an overtime or shootout loss is worth one and a regulation loss is worth zero. In the current system, the top three teams in each division automatically make the playoffs, and an additional two teams from each conference qualify as wild cards.
It benefits teams to win in regulation rather than overtime because it not only allows them to gain points, but it also prevents opposing teams from getting them.
For example, when the Mammoth blew a 3-0 lead to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, they were disappointed — even though they pulled off the win in overtime. That’s because they’re battling with the Jets for a playoff spot, so they want to limit their success as much as they can.
What’s the difference between goals and points?
“Points” has two distinct meanings in hockey: As explained in the above subsection, teams accrue points over the course of a year. Additionally, players score points throughout the year, which have nothing to do with points in the standings.
How are those points calculated? Goals + assists = points.
Each goal can have up to two assists awarded with it. Those are awarded to the last two players to control the puck before the goal scorer, unless the opposing team had controlled it more recently.
For example, on the play shown below, Mikhail Sergachev passed it to Sean Durzi, who passed it to Alexander Kerfoot, who scored. Sergachev and Durzi got assists, while Kerfoot was credited with the goal. All three players’ point totals increased, too.
Other questions?
I know I didn’t cover nearly every question new hockey fans have. If there are other things you’re wondering about, leave a question in either the comment section of this article or that on the social media site where you saw it.
If there are enough questions, I’ll write a second part shortly.
In the meantime, check out these other “Hockey 101″ articles.