What you can't watch without
The rules you will see every few minutes, in the order you meet them. Each opens on its answer.
B · Beginner · 10 rules · Step 1 of 4The game
- How does a game of ice hockey work?Two teams of six, five skaters and a goalkeeper, try to shoot a rubber puck into the other team's goal with their sticks.
- How big is an ice hockey rink?The rink is 60 metres long and 26 to 30 metres wide, with rounded corners and boards about 1.07 metres high.
- How long is an ice hockey game?A game is three periods of 20 minutes of actual play, with the clock stopped at each stoppage.
- When does a goal count in ice hockey?A goal counts when the whole puck crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar, with the net in place.
- What happens if an ice hockey game is tied?In IIHF preliminary-round games, a tie after 60 minutes leads to five minutes of three-on-three sudden death, and then a shootout.
Game flow
- How does a face-off work in ice hockey?Play starts and restarts with a face-off: an official drops the puck between the sticks of two opposing centres at one of nine spots.
- What is offside in ice hockey?Attacking players must not enter the attacking zone ahead of the puck.
- What is icing in ice hockey?Icing is when a team at equal or greater strength shoots the puck from its own half beyond the opponents' goal line.