Hockey Terms

Altercation: any incident involving players (including goaltenders) leading to a penalty or penalties.  

Assist: the pass or passes which immediately precede a successful scoring attempt; a maximum of two assists are credited for one goal.

Attacking player: a player whose team has possession of the puck and is advancing the puck towards his opponent's goal.  

Attacking zone: the area between the opponent's blue line and their goal.

Backcheck: an attempt by a player, on his way back to his defensive zone, to regain the puck from the opposition by checking or harassing an opponent who has the puck.

Boarding: a minor penalty which occurs when a player uses any method (body checking, elbowing or tripping) to throw an opponent violently into the boards; if an injury is caused, it becomes a major penalty.

Body check: when a hockey player bumps or slams into an opponent with either his hip or shoulder (the only legal moves) to block his progress or throw him off-balance; it is only allowed against an opponent in control of the puck or against the last player to control it.

Breakaway: a fast break in which an attacker with the puck skates in alone on the goalie, having gotten past or clear of the defensemen, trapping the opponents behind the play.

Butt-ending: a major penalty which occurs when a player jabs an opponent with the shaft of his hockey stick.

Change of possession: the last player to touch the puck is considered to be in possession of the puck. Rebounds off goalkeeper's pads or other equipment shall not be considered as a change of possession.    

Charging: a minor penalty which occurs when a player makes a deliberate move of more than two steps when body checking an opponent; if serious injury is caused or blood is drawn it becomes a major penalty.

Check or checking: any contact initiated by a defending player against an opponent to get the puck away from him or slow him down; there are two main types of checks: stick check and body check; these are only allowed against a player in control of the puck or against the last player to control it immediately after he gives it up; checking after too many steps or strides becomes charging.

Checking from behind: occurs when a check is delivered on a player or goalkeeper who is not aware of the impending hit, and therefore unable to protect or defend himself, and contact is made on the back part of the body.     

Clearing the puck: getting the puck out of one's own defensive zone.

Clipping: the act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent.

Cross-checking: a minor penalty which occurs when a player holds his stick in both hands and drives the shaft into an opponent.

Control of the puck: the act of propelling the puck with the stick, hand or feet. If while it is being propelled, the puck is touched by another player or his equipment, or hits the goal or goes free, the player shall no longer be considered to be "in control of the puck."

Crease: identifies enclosed space designated for the protection of the goalkeeper and the use of the referee in the discharge of their respective duties. The lines which designate this space are to be considered part of the crease.

Defending zone: a team's defending zone is between their own blue line and the end boards behind their own goal.

Deke or deking: a decoying or faking motion by the puck-carrier; the art of making a defensive player think you are going to pass or move in a certain direction when you are not. There are shoulder dekes, stick dekes and head dekes.

Delay of game: a minor penalty imposed on any player who purposely delays the game in any way, such as shooting or batting the puck outside the playing area or displacing the goalpost from its normal position.

Double minor: a type of minor penalty given for certain accidental infractions that result in an injury to another player or for certain deliberate attempts to injure an opponent that are unsuccessful; penalty time of 4 minutes is served, double the time of a normal minor penalty.

Elbowing: a minor penalty which occurs when a player strikes his opponent with an elbow to impede his progress. 

Extra attacker: a team may choose to remove their goalkeeper from the ice for the purpose of adding an additional player. (Also known as pulling the goaltender.)    

Face-off: the action of the referee or linesman in dropping the puck between the sticks of two opposing players to start or resume play. Begins when the official indicates the location of the face-off and the officials and players take their appropriate positions and ends when the puck has been legally dropped.

Forecheck: to check or harass an opponent who has the puck in his defensive zone and keep the opponents in their end of the rink while trying to regain control of the puck; usually done by the forwards.

Freeze the puck: to hold the puck against the boards with the skate or stick in order to stop play briefly or gain a face-off.

Full-strength: when a team has its full complement of 6 players on the ice.   

Hat trick: three or more goals scored by a player in one game.

Head-butting: occurs when a player or goaltender makes intentional contact, or attempts to make contact, with an opponent by leading with his head and/or helmet.

High-sticking: a minor penalty which occurs when a player carries his stick above the normal height of his opponent's shoulders and hits or menaces the opponent with it; if injury is caused it becomes a major penalty; if a referee determines that the raising of the stick was unintentional and no contact occurred, it is considered a team infraction, and a face-off is held in the offender's defensive zone.

Holding: a minor penalty which occurs when a player grabs and holds onto an opponent (or his stick) with his hands or arms to impede the opponent's progress.

Hooking: a minor penalty which occurs when a player attempts to impede the progress of another player by hooking any part of the opponent's body with the blade of his stick; an illegal use of one's stick.  

Instigator: a player or goaltender who by his actions or demeanor demonstrates any/some of the following criteria: distance traveled; gloves off first; first punch thrown; menacing attitude or posture; verbal instigation or threats; conduct in retaliation to a prior game (or season) incident; obvious retribution for a previous incident in the game or season.

Interference: a penalty in hockey called when a player attempts to impede the motion of another player not in possession of the puck.     

Line change: the entire forward line and/or defensive line will be replaced at once, which puts players on the ice who work well together.

Neutral zone: the area between the blue lines.

On-the-fly: making player changes or substitutions while play is under way.

Open ice: that part of the ice that is free of opponents.

Penalty box: an area with a bench just off the ice, behind the sideboards outside the playing area where penalized players serve their penalty time.

Poke-check: a quick jab or thrust to the puck or opponent's stick to knock the puck away from him.

Power play: occurs when one team has been penalized so that they have less than the full number of players on the ice than their opponent, the team with more players is considered to be on the power play.

Puck: a black, vulcanized rubber disc, 1-inch thick and 3-inches in diameter, weighing between 5 1/2 and 6 ounces used to play hockey; they are frozen to prevent excessive bouncing and changed throughout the game; can travel up to 120 miles per hour on a slap shot.

Pulling the goalie: taking the goalkeeper off the ice and replacing him with a forward; leaves the goal unguarded so is only used as a last minute attempt to score.

Premature substitution: occurs when a goaltender leaves his goal area and proceeds to his bench for the purpose of substituting another player, the skater cannot enter the playing surface before the goaltender is within five feet (5') of the bench.

Rebound: typically a bounce off a goaltender while attempting to make a save.  Also know as a deflection.

Roughing: a minor penalty which occurs when a fight between players is more of a pushing and shoving match; a less severe penalty than fighting.

Screen shot: a shot on goal that the goalie cannot see because it was taken from behind one or more players from either team standing in front of the net.

Scrum: when one or more players of one team come in close contact with one or more opposing players in such a manner as to create the possibility of a penalty or penalties against one or more of the players.

Short-handed: means that a team, due to penalties imposed, is below the numerical strength of its opponent on the ice.

Slap shot: a shot in which the player raises his stick in a backswing, with his strong hand held low on the shaft and his other hand on the end as a pivot. Then as the stick comes down toward the puck, the player leans into the stick to put all his power behind the shot and add velocity to the puck; achieves an extremely high speed (up to 120 miles per hour) but is less accurate than a wrist shot.

Slashing: a minor penalty which occurs when a player swings his stick hard at an opponent, whether or not contact is made; if injury is caused it becomes a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Spearing: a major penalty which occurs when a player illegally jabs, or even just attempts to jab, the point of his stick blade into another player's body; one of the most serious infractions a player can commit; results in an automatic game misconduct.

Substitution: occurs when a player comes off the bench to replace a player coming out of the game; can be made at any time and play does not need to stop.

Tripping: a minor penalty which occurs when a player places his stick or a part of his body under or around the feet or legs of an opponent causing him to lose his balance; will also be called if a player kicks an opponent's skates out from under him, or uses a knee or leg to cause his opponent to fall.

Two-on-one: a type of break with two attacking players skating against one defensive player.

Two-on-two: a type of break with two attacking players skating against two defensive players.  

Unsportsmanlike  conduct:  any conduct that may be deemed inappropriate, vulgar, disrespectful or profane directed at an opponent, an official or a spectator.       

Wrist shot: a shot made using a strong flicking of the wrist and forearm muscles, with the stick blade kept on the ice; it is slower but more accurate than a slap shot.