The sport ice hockey is a very competitive game. I love this games, but it has many different rules. The basic object of this activity is to get the puck, which is a small black disk, into the opposing team’s net. There are rules that come with this sport and many positions. The rules can extend to many different levels for example, something simple like you have to wear a mouthguard or as confusing as offsides. Here I am going to teach you how to play the game of ice hockey.

Let’s start with the basics, which is the equipment. You would normally think that a hockey player looks like someone who is going on a camping trip in the middle of Antarctica. But really it’s for your own safety. What you need the most is a mouthguard, skates, knee pads, hockey pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, a helmet, and of course a stick. Everything is pretty much straight forward, and protects the body part that is in the name itself. There are also clothes that you might need to consider. The hockey socks that go over the knee pads are very important. They normally go by the color of your team that you are on. Also the jersey that you put over your shoulder pads and elbow pads is important because you can represent your team as well as your socks do too. This hockey equipment will help you not only stay on your feet when skating, but it will protect you from harsh injuries.

The second thing that is very important about a hockey game is the rules and the concept. There are three main rules that you must follow at all times or your team will suffer the consequences. The first rule is offsides which is when any player without the puck, from the other team skates over the defending team’s blue line when they are the first person from their team crossing the line. This might sound confusing but trust me, you will understand it better once you watch a game or play a game. When I was younger it took me some time too. The second big rule that everyone must follow to keep the game fair is icing the puck. Which means when a player from one team in their own zone shoots the puck all the way down to the other side of the ice and pases the other team’s goal line. However, if a team is on a penalty kill (when they have a player who got a penalty), then they could shoot the puck down into the attacking team’s zone and it wouldn’t be called for an icing. I think that this is really helpful because it is an advantage for you to regroup. The last main rule that is important to obey in hockey is always to wear your mouthguard. This is because there has been many incidents where kids forget their mouthguard or just don’t bother wearing it, and they fall down and injure themselves. Mouthguards are definitely not my favorite thing in the world, but I learned that it’s only there to protect you. The concept of the game is to get the puck into the opposing team’s net which would count as one goal each time you score.

The last thing that I want to go over is the positions of the players. There are four positions all together but there are only six players on the ice at once. Which is the one goaltender, the two defensemen, one center, and two wingmen. One of the most important positions is the goaltender. Which in my opinion, you have to be the most focused and ready for anything that may come at you. The goaltender’s job is simply not to let any pucks go past him/her into the net. The second positions is the two defensemen. They are the last players that have to stop the other team from getting to the net. They have to not only defend their zone, but they have to defend their net, and not let anyone by them. After them, is just the other team against the goaltender. I play defense and I personally like it the best because it gives me a good view of the ice. The next position is also very important which is the center. There is only one player who plays center while on the ice. He/she is like the quarterback on the ice, the center leads the attack by carrying the puck on offense. They have to play not only defense but offense at the same time. This position does the most skating through his/her shift. Last but not least is the two wings. There is one left wing and one right wing (just like how there is one left defenseman and one right defenseman). They are the two players who score the most or get the most assists. Due to the fact that they are always the first players to go into the opposing team’s zone.

I hoped that I helped you understand a little more about the game ice hockey than you did before you read this. Thank you for reading.

~Meaghan