Hockey 101

The following players are used in a game of ice hockey. 

• Forwards
• Defencemen
• Goaltender

The forwards are broken down into centermen and wingers. 

During even-strength play, there will be 5 players and a goaltender on the ice for each time. 

• 1 Center
• 2 Wingers
• 2 Defencemen
• 1 Goalie

If your team is short-handed while killing a penalty, there can be either 4 or 3 players on the ice giving the other team an advantage known as a power play. 

Faceoffs take place after a stoppage in play. 2 players will line up at one of the faceoff dots in the faceoff circle in an attempt to win the puck dropped by one of the linesmen. There are 9 faceoff dots and 5 faceoff circles on the ice surface.

Icing the puck is another big part of the game where a player shoots the puck prior to reaching the center ice line into the other team’s zone and crosses the red line. The linesman is responsible for calling an icing. There are other rules and factors that affect icing the puck which you can read here.  

An offside call is made by a linesman if a player crosses into the offensive zone by passing the blue line ahead of the puck. The puck must cross the blue line first or an offside will be called resulting in a stoppage in play.