There are a lot of important concepts and terms in hockey that one must know to understand this game to the fullest. This article is mainly for Blackhawks fans that do not know that much about hokey and the terms some people may use to describe what is going on. Hopefully after this article people will understand these terms better while watching the games on television or just talking to others. The definitions used in this article are the definitions I would use while explaining these terms to other people.
Power Play
A power play is when your team has either a man advantage or a two man advantage. The way your team gets a power play is by the other team getting called for a penalty. This is when a lot of team take advantage of the other team and score most of their goals because your team has an extra guy on the ice.
Penalty Kill
A penalty kill is when a player on your team gets called for a penalty and has to serve 2-5 minutes in the penalty box. When your team gets a penalty this is the time when your team may give up most of their goals throughout the season.
Icing
Icing is a called made by the referee making the clock stop. This happens when an opposing player shoots the puck from the other side of the red line (mid ice) and no one from your team touches it until it crosses the goal line. When this happens the whistle is blown and the puck is brought all the way down to the other end of the ice for a faceoff. If another player on the opposite team touches the puck before someone on your team does the icing is waved off.
Offside
Offside is another call made by the referee making the clock stop. This is when your team is skating towards the opponents net and one of your teammates skates over the offensive blue line before the puck carrier does. There is another term called delayed offside that is important to the game of hockey. This is when your team shoots the puck in the offensive zone (other team's zone) while one of your teammates is already in the offensive zone. The player on your team that is already in the zone has to come back to the blue line and tag up. After he does this your team is allowed to go back into the offensive zone.
Delay of Game
Delay of Game is penalty called by the referee for all different kinds of reasons. If someone gets called for this they have to go sit in the penalty box for 2 minutes. The first way you can get a delay of game penalty is by shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone only. If your team is in the offensive zone and shoots the puck over the glass that person is not penalized. Another way a player can get a delay of game penalty is by holding the puck on the ice with their hand. If any player on the ice covers the puck with their hand they are going to be sent to the penalty box. These are the most common ways a player is called for a delay of game penalty.
Dangler
A dangler is a slang term for a player that has a lot of stick handling skill and is able to stick handle right around other players. Examples of three great danglers in the NHL are Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks. Danglers are a great weapon to have on a team because these people are usually the ones that get most of the team's assists.
Sniper
A sniper is another slang term for a player that is very good at aiming their shoot and can pick corners like none other. An example of a sniper on the Chicago Blackhawks is the very talented Patrick Sharpe. A sniper is another great person to have on your team because these are the players that score most of the goals. The dangler uses his stick handling skill to make room on the ice, and then passes it to the sniper, and they will most likely put the puck in the net.
Goon
A goon is a very important player to have on your team because they are usually the strongest players out on the ice. If a team is looking for a boost of momentum the coach will tell his goon to go on the ice and get into a fight. This is very common in the NHL because it is an easy way to give momentum to the team as a whole. An example of a goon is the Chicago Blackhawks very own John Scott. He has been in a lot of fights this season and has never lost one yet.
Five Hole
Five hole is a spot player's aim when they are trying to score a goal on the goalie. The five hole is located between the goalie's legs where he puts his sick on the ice. This is called the five hole because the four corners are the first four and the fifth one is a hole between the goalie's legs. A lot of players like to shoot the puck five hole because it makes the shoot look more fancy.
Picking up the Trash
This is a slang term that a lot of people use to explain clearing the puck from the front of the net or scoring off of a rebound. They call it this because the puck is just lying in front of the net and like when there is garbage lying around you must do something with it. The player will either keep shooting on net or will clear the puck away from the net.
Top Cheese
A lot of players like this slang term because it has a really funny name. But this term means when a player is shooting the puck for the top left or top right corners of the net. This is another place players like to shoot the puck because if they score it makes the goal look really cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment