It’s hockey, Kids, but not as you know it…

Ice hockey is quite a new sport. It began in 1860. It was first played by Englishmen on a frozen lake in Ontario, Canada. This was the first time players used a ‘puck’, instead of a ball. A puck is a flat, round disk of rubber.

The original ice hockey rules were set by two students at a University in Montreal, Canada, in 1879. The sport soon spread across Canada, then America and the rest of the world.

In 1903, Britain had five ice hockey teams in a league. The British Ice Hockey Association (BIHA) was formed in 1914. It is now called Ice Hockey UK, which was set up in 1999.

In America, they have the National Hockey League (NHL). There are 31 teams in this league.

Ice hockey is now played in 55 countries.

Ice hockey is an Olympic event. The men's Olympic event involves 14 teams. The women's competition has eight teams.

An ice hockey game is played on an ice rink. Two teams play against each other. Six players make up each team on the ice.

Each ice hockey game begins when the referee drops the puck in the centre circle, between the hockey sticks of a player from each team.

There are strict rules on things like elbowing, tripping players up and how high players lift their hockey sticks. Players who break the rules can get sent off the rink by the referee for a couple of minutes.

All the players wear ice skates to move around on the ice.

They each have an ice hockey stick which is curved at the bottom. The sticks are usually made of wood, aluminium or plastic. Players use their sticks to pass the puck to each other.

The aim of the game is to score goals by hitting the puck in the opposing team’s net. Each game is made up of three 20-minute periods.

The goalkeeper’s role is to stop the puck from entering the net or crossing the goal line. If the puck is kicked or thrown into the net then there is no goal.

These are the teams in the British Elite Ice Hockey League:

Basingstoke Bison
Belfast Giants
Cardiff Devils
Coventry Blaze
London Racers
Manchester Phoenix
Nottingham Panthers
Sheffield Steelers

Why don’t you see if there is an ice hockey game being played near you?