Ice hockey
Ice hockey is a team game on ice for six players a side, five skaters and a goalkeeper, who try to shoot a rubber puck into the other team's goal with their sticks. A game has three periods of 20 minutes of actual play, and players may change during play. Attackers may not enter the attacking zone ahead of the puck (offside), and a team may not shoot the puck from its own half beyond the opponents' goal line (icing).
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How long
Three periods of 20 minutes of playing time, with 15-minute breaks
Lengths are from the rule book.
The big events, and why they matter
- 1Winter Olympic Games (ice hockey)The title national teams are measured by, when NHL players take part.Every 4 years · Holder: the United States won both
- 2IIHF World ChampionshipThe men's world title, held every year with divisions below the top group.Yearly · Holder: Finland, over Switzerland; Norway third
- 3IIHF Women's World ChampionshipThe women's world title.Yearly (in November from 2026, so also in Olympic years) · Holder: the United States beat Canada 4–3 in overtime
- 4Asian Winter Games (ice hockey)Asia's winter multi-sport title.About every 4 years; next Almaty 2029 · Holder: Men's: Kazakhstan · Women's: Japan
India
India's men and women enter the IIHF Division IV in 2027; the men have played no official international game since 2018.
- Ice hockey at the Olympic Games: No medal; India's men have played no official international game since 2018 (the data pass, 2026-10-16)
- IIHF World Championship (men): No top-division game. India's men enter Division IV in 2027 after no official game since 2018
- IIHF Women's World Championship: No top-division game. India's women enter Division IV in 2027; they won bronze at the 2025 IIHF Women's Asia Cup (the data pass)
Countries to know
India and the nations that have done best, biggest titles first.
- CanadaIce hockey at the Olympic Games: 14 golds, 8 silvers, 3 bronzes (latest 2026); IIHF World Championship (men): 28 golds, 16 silvers, 9 bronzes (latest 2023)
- Soviet UnionIce hockey at the Olympic Games: 7 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze (latest 1988); IIHF World Championship (men): 22 golds, 7 silvers, 5 bronzes (latest 1991)
- United StatesIce hockey at the Olympic Games: 6 golds, 12 silvers, 2 bronzes (latest 2026); IIHF Women's World Championship: 11 golds, 13 silvers (latest 2025)
- SwedenIce hockey at the Olympic Games: 2 golds, 4 silvers, 5 bronzes (latest 2014); IIHF World Championship (men): 11 golds, 19 silvers, 19 bronzes (latest 2025)
Who runs it
| Rules made by | International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Official Rulebook 2026/27, version 1.0 (June 2026); the NHL has its own rules |
| International federation | International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) |
| In India |
Where and when it is played
On a rink 60 metres long and 26 to 30 metres wide, with boards around it. The big events: the Winter Olympic Games every four years and the IIHF World Championship and Women's World Championship every year.