History of Ice Hockey

Study Notes

Ice hockey was influenced by sports like Field Hockey, Lacrosse and Hurling.
Early ice hockey games had up to 30 players per side.
Early games used a ball instead of a puck and stones as goals.
The earliest skates were made of animal bones and date back to 3000 BC.
In 1877, McGill University students created the first set of rules for the game.
Lord Stanley of Preston donated a trophy for the winning team of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup in 1888.
The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup became known as the Stanley Cup.
The first official game in the US was played in 1890 between Johns Hopkins and Yale University.
The first professional hockey team was created in 1899.
A puck replaced the ball in 1860 and the net goal was introduced in 1900.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was formed in November 1917.
Ice Hockey was added to the Olympics in 1920.
The first women's hockey games were played around 1890 but they didn't become part of the Olympic Games until 1998.
The NHL was the first major professional team sport in North America to cancel an entire season in 2005.

Professional ice hockey games last for 60 minutes, divided into three 20-minute periods.
The goal is to score points by hitting the puck into the goal or net.
Each team has 6 players on the ice at a time.
The game starts with a face-off at the center circle, and after each goal is scored.
A team is divided into 3 forwards (right wing, center, and left wing), 2 defensive players, and a goalie.
Substituting all 3 forwards at once is called a line change.
The goalie's main job is to stop the puck from entering the net.

When play is stopped, it is restarted with a face-off, where the official drops the puck.
The puck can be stopped by hand but can't be held, passed, or advanced by hand.
A goal is scored when a player hits, sweeps, or pushes the puck into the net directly off the stick or by a teammate or defensive player.
A player can touch the puck with their feet, but cannot kick it directly into the goal.
A puck cannot be thrown into the goal to score.
When a goalie catches or stops the puck, they must be given space to release it to a teammate by hand or stick.
If a goalie falls onto the puck and can't release it, a face-off takes place in the attacking zone.

There is a penalty box across the ice from the bench where players sit out their time after committing a foul.
A 2-minute penalty is given for minor fouls like high sticking, tripping, hooking, holding, slashing, cross-checking, or roughing.
A 5-minute penalty is given for fighting.
A penalty shot is a free shot awarded to an offensive player when they are impeded from behind while in possession of the puck, and no one is between them and the goalie.
Up to 2 players with minor infractions can be in the penalty box at once without replacement players on the ice. No team is forced to play with less than 2 players.
A replacement player is allowed when a teammate receives a 5-minute penalty for fighting.

High Sticking: Playing with the stick above shoulder height or the crossbar of the goal.
Hooking: Using the blade end of the stick to "hook" an opponent and impede their progress.
Tripping: Placing one’s stick, knee, foot, arm, hand, or elbow in a way that causes an opponent to trip or fall.
Slashing: Hitting an opponent with the stick on a body part like an arm or wrist.
Cross-checking: Checking an opponent with both hands on the stick and no part of the stick on the ice.
Holding: Holding an opponent with hands or a stick.
Roughing: Unnecessary roughness, like engaging in fisticuffs or shoving.