Hockey Terms

Ice hockey is a sport with many unique names, terms and actions. Some of these can be confusing so we'll get you started with the most common ones here. If you get stuck - ask! The fans of the Cardiff Devils are a friendly group and always happy to make new hockey friends.

Assist: the pass or passes which immediately precede a successful scoring attempt; a maximum of two assists are credited for one goal.

Backhand shot: a shot or pass made with the stick from the left side by a right-handed player or from the right side by a left-handed player.

Breakaway: a fast break in which an attacker with the puck skates in alone on the goalie, having gotten past or clear of the defensemen, trapping the opponents behind the play.

Check or checking: any contact initiated by a defending player against an opponent to get the puck away from him or slow him down; there are two main types of checks: stick check and body check.
Clearing the puck: getting the puck out of one's own defensive zone

Deke or deking: a decoying or faking motion by the puck-carrier; the art of making a defensive player think you are going to pass or move in a certain direction when you are not. There are shoulder dekes, stick dekes and head dekes.

Delayed whistle or delayed call: when an official raises his arm but does not blow his whistle, waiting to see the outcome of a play before calling a penalty; this is done so as not to penalize the non-offending team by stopping its momentum.

Empty-net goal: a goal scored against a team that has pulled the goalie.

Face-off: the method of starting play; the dropping of the puck by between the sticks of two opposing Centres.

Full strength: when a team has its full complement of 6 players on the ice.

Goal: provides one point; scored when a puck goes between the goalposts from the stick of an attacking player and entirely crosses the red line between the goalposts.

Hat trick: three or more goals scored by a player in one game.

Icing: a violation which occurs when the team in possession of the puck shoots it from behind the red center line across the opponent's goal line into the end of the rink (but not into the goal) and a member of the opposing team touches it first; results in a face-off in the offender's defensive zone; a shorthanded team cannot be called for icing.

Intermission: a fifteen-minute recess between each of the three periods of a hockey game.

Killing a penalty: preventing the opposition from scoring when a disadvantaged team has a player in the penalty box.

Linesmen: the two officials on the ice, one toward each end of the rink, responsible for infractions of the rules concerning off-side plays at the blue lines  and for any icing violations; they conduct most of the face-offs, sometimes advise the referee concerning major penalties, and separate players who are fighting.

Offside: a violation which occurs when both skates of an attacking player cross the opponent's blue line before the puck is passed or carried into the attacking zone.

Penalty box: an area with a bench just off the ice, behind the sideboards outside the playing area where penalized players serve their penalty time.

Pulling the goalie: taking the goalkeeper off the ice and replacing him with a forward; leaves the goal unguarded so is only used as a last minute attempt to score.

Save: the act of a goalie in blocking or stopping a shot.

Slap shot: a shot in which the player raises his stick in a backswing, with his strong hand held low on the shaft and his other hand on the end as a pivot. Then as the stick comes down toward the puck, the player leans into the stick to put all his power behind the shot and add velocity to the puck; achieves an extremely high speed (up to 120 miles per hour) but is less accurate than a wrist shot.

Stick handling: moving the puck along the ice with the stick blade.

Sudden-death overtime: an overtime period that ends as soon as one team scores a goal, determining the winner and terminating the game.

Wrist shot: a shot made using a strong flicking of the wrist.