Hockey Rules

	Hockey can be played indoors of outdoors. When being played indoors, it is played in a rectangular area of ice called a rink. A typical rink is 200 ft long by 85 feet wide. A rink is surrounded by boards that reflect the puck and offer a place for players to check the opposing team. There is Plexiglas above the boards to prevent the puck from leaving the rink area. The ice is divided in half by a red line. The red line is where the face off usually takes place. Half way between the red line and the goal is a blue line. This line determines off sides. Off sides is when an offensive player enters their zone before the puck or when the puck crosses a blue line and the red line before being touched by another player. There are other lines and circles on the ice indicating where face offs take place and which zone belongs to which team.
This is a hockey net. Players from each team try to shoot the puck into their opponent's net to score points. A goalie guards this net to prevent the other team from scoring. There is a red goal line at each end of the rink. At the middle of this red line is where the net is. A hockey net is a steel frame with a heavy mesh to make the net. The mouth of the goal is usually 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. There is a red arch on the ice in front of the goal. This marks where the goalie's crease is. Players are not permitted to enter the crease.
	The most important piece of hockey equipment is probably the hockey stick. A player will hold the shaft to shoot the puck, and the part of the stick that the puck will hit is called the blade. There is an angle at which the shaft meets the blade and this is called a lie. If your lie angle is smaller, then you will have an easier time stick handling the puck when it is close to you. If the lie of your stick is larger, then you will be able to control the puck in a larger area of motion. Most hockey sticks are made of wood, but may have an aluminum shaft or replaceable blade. Five out of six players on the ice will use this type of stick. The goalie has a special, larger stick for stopping pucks.
Each period begins with a face off at the center line, the red line, of the ice. Players line up on their sides of the face off and the official drops the puck between the centers from each team. Each player tries to control the puck to gain possession for his/her own team. A face off is also taken place when the puck is hit out of the rink or a player has gone offside.
	It is as important to learn to stop quickly in hockey skates as it is to skate quickly. To do a power stop you must skate quickly towards your mark, shift your weight to your front skate, and stop on on the inside of the blade. It is easiest to keep your knees bent while you stop. There is another way to stop too that helps players change direction. This is called the turning stop. To do a turning stop you must skate quickly towards your mark, stop on the outside edge of your back skate, and keep your front skate off the ice while doing so. Now bring your front led back in the reverse direction and completely turn around. The turning stop requires more practice than the power stop will, but both are very helpful when playing hockey.
There are a few different ways to shoot a hockey puck. One shot that is commonly used to shoot is the wrist shot. This shot works best when you are faced directly towards the net and shoot using your forehand. You keep your feet square and make sure that your stick blade stays on the ice. To supply the shot with power, snap your wrist right after releasing the shot. Another shot is the backhand shot. Use this shot when you are at an angle to the net. Drop the puck to your backhand side, rotate your hips and shoulders, and shoot. This shot is not as accurate as the wrist shot. The snap shot is very difficult to learn. Point your feet towards the puck and keep your weight on your back skate. At the same time, push the puck in front of you to create a gap on the ice between your stick blade and the puck. With a snapping motion of the wrist, catch your stick up with the puck and hit it towards the net. Finally, there is the slap shot. It isn't as accurate as other shots, but it is faster and harder. To shoot a slap shot, keep your weight on your back skate and raise your stick behind you to the height of your shoulder. As you draw through, shift your weight to your front skate and slap the puck in the direction you want it to go. The higher the stick on the follow through, the farther the shot will go.