By Brandon Bonnette
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Ice Hockey is known to have evovled around the game of
field hockey which was played in Northern Europe for
hundreds of years. The modern version of ice-hockey
finds its origins in the rules laid down by a Canadian
named J G Creighton. His rules were implemented in the
first game of ice hockey played in Montreal, Canada in the
year 1875.
In fact, the “rink” or the playing area for ice hockey was
actually used in the game called “curling” in Scotland
during the 18th century. Initially there were as many as
thirty players for each side and the goals were two stones
frozen on one end of the ice. The rules for the game of ice
hockey were drafted at McGill University in Montreal,
Canada in the year 1879. Ice hockey found its way to the
US in the year 1893. By the early 1900s, the sport had
become prevalent in parts of Europe including the UK.
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In 1799, William Pierre Le Cocq, in a letter
written in Chesham, Buckinghamshire,
England, provides the earliest known
reference to the word 'hockey‘.
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A game played on ice with a curved bat and a ball existed
before Ice Hockey in the form of IJscolf, or Colf on ice,
which was a popular game in the low countries between
the Middle Ages. The game was played with a wooden
curved bat (called Colf or Kolf) and a ball made of wood or
leather between two poles or simply convenient nearby
landmarks, with the object of hitting the chosen point with
the least number of strokes.
However, most believe that ice hockey evolved from stickand-ball games, played outdoors, and adapted to the icy
conditions of Canada in the 19th century. The games of
British soldiers and immigrants to Canada, influenced by
stick-and-ball games of First Nations, evolved to become
a game played on ice skates, often played with a puck, and
played with sticks made by the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia.
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Hockey is played on an ice rink with 6 people
on each side including a Goaltender, 2
Defensemen, and 3 Offense men ( Left wing,
Center, Right wing).
You can’t ever check a guy into the boards by
hitting their back.
You cannot cross the blue line on the
opposing side till the puck is carried over or
you will get a whistle for offsides.
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For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the
"penalty box" and his team has to play with one less
skater for a short amount of time. Minor penalties
last for two minutes, major penalties last for five
minutes, and a double minor penalty is two
consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A
single Minor penalty may be extended by a further
two minutes for drawing blood from the victimized
player. The team that has taken the penalty is said to
be playing shorthanded while the other team is on a
power play. Some penalties include: tripping,
elbowing, roughing, high-sticking, delay of the game,
too many players on the ice, boarding, illegal
equipment, charging, holding, interference, hooking,
slashing, butt-ending or cross-checking.
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In hockey rules fighting is prohibited but for
the players in the fight you get a 5 minute
major penalty. At college and junior level it is
a 10 minute misconduct.
The best hockey fight in history was Ken
Tasker vs. Trevor Senn.
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There are usually 2-4 officials in a hockey
game. They break up fights, they take face
offs, they watch the lines, they determine
what a goal is, and they determine penalties.
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Chicago Blackhawks 2010
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Pittsburgh Penguins 2009
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Detroit Red Wings 2008
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Anaheim Ducks 2007
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Carolina Hurricanes 2006
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Canceled due to lockout 2005
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Tampa Bay Lightning 2004
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New Jersey Devils 2003
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Detroit Red Wings 2002
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Colorado Avalanche 2001
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New Jersey Devils 2000
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"Five Best Hockey Fights of All-time - 04-13-2010." Sports
Betting Odds, Picks and Statistics – Covers.com. Web. 10 May
2011.
<http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=187033>
.
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The History of Hockey. Web. 10 May 2011.
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"Ice Hockey." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 10 May
2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey#History>.
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<http://www.historyofhockey.net/>.
"NHL Stanley Cup Winners - NHL Playoff Champions - Stats
Hockey." Stats Hockey - Hockey Information & Store. Web. 10
May 2011.
<http://statshockey.homestead.com/stanleycup.html>.