Ice hockey

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Ice hockey, known simply as "hockey" in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on an ice.

Game

The objective of the game is to score by playing a hard rubber disc, the puck, in one of the goals placed on opposite sites of the rink. The players may play the disk using a long, bent stick and - occasionally - by hand.

A team consists of at most 22 players, of whom at most six may be on ice at the same time. Usually one of the six is a goalkeeper, who wears special protection clothing and is allowed to stop shots at goal with his hands.

The other five players are divided into three forwards and two defensemen. The forward positions are named left wing, center and right wing. Typically the three forwards play together as a "line". The defensemen typically stay together as a pair but may change less frequently than the forwards. Ice hockey is a fast paced game and player changes may happen every few minutes and often without an interruption in play.

The area of play is called a rink, which is 61 m (200 ft) in length and 26 to 30 m wide (85 to 100 ft) wide, with the corners rounded with a radius of 8 m (28 ft). The rink is enclosed by boards that are between 1 m and 1.2 m high. The rinks used in the North American NHL are slightly smaller.

The surface of the ice is broken up into different sections by lines painted beneath the ice surface. The red goal lines are located 3.5 m (10 ft) from each end of the rink, and extend across the rink. The opening of the goals is located on the goal line, which means that there is an area behind the goal, which is rather unique for a team sport. The area just in front of the goal, which is restricted to the goalkeeper, is marked by another red line, and is called the goal crease.

Two blue lines over the width of the field divide the area in three equal parts. One function of the blue line is to determine if the team with the puck is "offside". The play is offside if an offensive player crosses the blue line closest to the defending team's goal before the puck does.

A central red line is located in the centre of the rink and extending across the width of the rink and up the boards.

In the centre of the rink, and in the four courners, five red circles are drawn, which serve as face-off areas.

History

The game originated in Canada around 1855, when the game on ice was first played with a puck rather than a ball, distinguishing it from field hockey, as played by British soldiers in Canada. A sport similar to ice hockey, bandy, also uses a ball.

The game quickly gained popularity in Canada, where it became the national winter sport, and the United States. In 1893, the Stanley Cup was established as trophy, which became the award of the winner of the playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917.

The sport also became known in Europe, and in 1908, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) was founded. At the 1920 Summer Olympics, ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics, and it has been part of the Winter Olympics ever since. Canada dominated Olympic play in the early years, being undefeated until 1936. After the Second World War, teams from Eastern Europe became stronger, notably the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, although this was also due to the fact that only amateur players were allowed to play in the Olympics.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, an agreement was made to stop the NHL for a few weeks to allow the professional players to compete in the Olympics. Despite hopes from Canada and the US, the Czech Republic won the Olympic title at that occasion, although Canada would get its revenge 4 years later in Salt Lake City. In 1998, women's ice hockey also made its appearance at the Olympics.

At present the game is most popular in Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Russia. The premier league is the National Hockey League (NHL). It is also played by colleges in the United States as a part of the NCAA culminated in the Frozen Four.