The Basics of Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey is commonly called hockey. It is most popular in cold weather places, but the Unites States has adopted it everywhere because we can afford to build indoor artificial ice rinks. There are several leagues and other organizations where major league type players play like the NHL and IHF. The Olympics supports these rules and they give out medals every four years for the top three teams. The women's medals have always been won by only the Americans or Canadians. These two countries seem to produce women who really know a lot about the sport and strive to play it the right way, just as the men do. They are tough, but seem to be able to be very graceful to watch.

Hockey was probably invented in Canada, as near as we can tell. There are stories of a game with men playing on ice and sticks with a small ball. Montreal is for sure where the game has developed into what it is today. It is the epicenter of our modern hockey. This is where all of the early major championships were played. These games were played mostly by Canadians, but for sure, the game and it's stories spread throughout the world and people noticed, imitated, and we have hockey.

Professional Hockey began in 1902 in Pennsylvania. The IPHL was later formed in 1904. They got a lot of the Canadian league players and started to grow and really became a hit. 1910 saw the NHA come about in Montreal. It changed rules and modernized them to more of what we have today. In 1917 they finally re-organized and included the United States and became the NHL.

You'll notice how much equipment the players wear. They helmets that cover their heads so hopefully they don't get concussions, but sometimes they still do. They're supposed to wear mouth pieces so they don't lose teeth, but see them without teeth a lot. They wear ice skates of course so they can move quickly across the ice. They wear thick padding to protect against the huge hits they take against boards and when they hit the ground or into the goal. The goalies must be padded to the hilt because of all of the shots of the puck they take or they would be injured greatly and they have a mask over their face that the other players do not. Everyone has a stick so that they can move, pass, or shoot the puck up the ice.

The NHL is an awesome league. The teams are all fun to watch. Going to a game is great, especially if you can sit near the boards and see the guys hit next to them, it's just crazy. There's a lot going on there. There are many great teams and players. It was thought that Sidney Crosby would be the next great one, but he has had major head and brain issues so we may never see him recover for the Penguins. The Stars and Rangers are always good along with the Devils and Bruins,

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