Hockey Basics

The Goal

Two teams try to score by shooting the puck into the opposing team's net. The team with more goals at the end of the game wins.

Each team normally has six players on the ice at a time: one goaltender, two defensemen and three forwards.

Game Format

A regulation hockey game consists of three 20-minute periods.

Play moves quickly and players change on and off the ice frequently, often while play is still happening. These substitutions are called line changes.

If a PWHL game is tied after regulation, overtime and, when necessary, a shootout are used to determine a winner according to the league's competition rules.

Positions

Goaltender (G)

Protects the net and tries to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

Defense (D)

Usually plays closer to their own goal and helps defend against opposing attacks while also contributing offensively.

Center (C)

A forward who often takes faceoffs and plays an important role at both ends of the ice.

Left Wing (LW) / Right Wing (RW)

Forwards who generally play along their respective sides of the ice and focus heavily on creating and finishing scoring opportunities.

Faceoff

A faceoff restarts play. Two opposing players line up across from each other, and an official drops the puck between them.

Faceoffs happen at the beginning of each period and after stoppages in play.

Offside

An attacking player generally cannot enter the offensive zone before the puck does.

The blue lines divide the rink into zones. If an attacking player crosses the offensive blue line ahead of the puck and their team continues the play, the officials can call offside and stop play.

Icing

Icing generally occurs when a player shoots the puck from their own side of the center red line all the way past the opposing team's goal line without it being touched.

When icing is called, play stops and the faceoff usually comes back into the offending team's defensive zone.

Penalties and the Penalty Box

Players can receive penalties for illegal actions such as tripping, hooking, slashing or interference.

For many penalties, the offending player must sit in the penalty box for a set amount of time, leaving their team temporarily short-handed.

Power Play and Penalty Kill

When one team has more players on the ice because an opponent is serving a penalty, the team with the advantage is on a power play.

The short-handed team is on the penalty kill.

Power plays create some of the best scoring opportunities in hockey because the attacking team has an extra skater.

Checking

Body contact is part of hockey, but not every hit is legal.

The PWHL allows body checking within its rules, while illegal hits — including certain dangerous or prohibited contact — can result in penalties.

Pulling the Goaltender

Late in a game, a team that is losing may remove its goaltender and send an additional skater onto the ice.

This gives the team another offensive player but leaves its own net empty, creating a high-risk opportunity to try to tie the game.

Hockey Terms Dictionary

A beginner-friendly glossary of common hockey slang, inspired by terminology shared by the PWHL.

Apple

An assist.

Bar Down

When a shot hits the crossbar and goes down into the net.

Barn Burner

An action-packed, high-scoring game.

Celly

Short for “celebration,” usually referring to how a player celebrates after scoring a goal.

Dangle

A skillful series of stickhandling moves used to get around a defender.

Filthy / Nasty

Hockey slang for an exceptionally skilled or impressive play. Despite how it sounds, it's a compliment.

Gino

A goal.

Light the Lamp

To score a goal.

One-Timer

A shot taken directly off a pass without stopping or controlling the puck first.

Snipe

A particularly accurate, well-placed shot.

Sauce / Saucer

A pass that lifts slightly off the ice, often allowing the puck to travel over an opponent's stick before landing near a teammate.

Top Shelf

The upper part of the net; “top shelf” usually describes a shot or goal placed high in the net.