noob (american!) hockey questions!

[Angry_Games]

Hi all...first I apologize for being american (hehehe), and second for any questions that you guys probably have had instilled in you since birth. Hockey is not a real big sport in USA (it is growing though) like it is in Canada.

I always ignored it like I do soccer and most other non-american sports (ie: baseball, basketball, football), but ever since I started playing EA's NHL2002 on PC and even more religiously, ESPN NHL Hockey (among other hockey games that i own) on Xbox, I have taken a SERIOUS interest in the game.

you have to understand for me, the rules of hockey are nothing like any other sport I have paid attention to, so here's a couple of questions that I still dont seem to understand very well (and i have downloaded and read the entire NHL rulebook hehe).

1. Offsides - I understand offsides as a general rule, but not specifically. I say this because I know that the guy with the puck has to cross the blue line first (with puck first right?) before any of his teammates, but I get confused as watching NHL on tv I see sometimes guys passing into the offensive zone across the blue line while they are still in the neutral zone, to players that have crossed the blue line before them! Sometimes it is called offsides, other times it is not! Can anyone explain this a bit better for me as to why this is?

2. I would ask for clarification on icing, as that is the ONE rule i never really understood until the NHL rulebook got read. I do understand it for the most part, and especially on power plays (clearing the puck so you dont get stuffed 5 on 4 in your end), but like #1, I see sometimes icing is called, other times its considered 'clearing' yet to me both calls can look the same (ie: sometimes they call it, other times they dont!)

3. crease - i think i got this one, but listening to announcers, sometimes it defies me exactly where they think the crease is lol

4. two-line pass - again, i got the idea of this, but sometimes I see guys pass the puck off the boards and across two lines and it is ok, but other times i think they dont pass it off the boards and its a two-line pass...this might be a no brainer but not for me lol

5. hooking - got this one (cuz im VERY guilty of hooking in my games lol), but i see on tv sometimes i am damn sure there's a hook going on, but its not really hooking. How much can you 'hook' enemy player before ref decides its really hooking?

6. Boarding - rarely called that i see on tv, but called a lot in my games...i understand about distance traveled to opponent etc for making calls like charging...but I thought it was ok to rack someone into the boards if they have the puck? or is it like football where you can only check someone from the side/front?

ok well thats all I can think of. I try to watch NHL on tv as much as possible now (its one of the few times i turn tv on and dont play xbox), and I cannot wait to finally go see a REAL hockey game in person (in Boise we have i think IHL Boise Steelheads). But like everything i do in life, something I love, I really want to understand it fully to enjoy it more!

so please be kind and not flamey, as i'd really dig getting into this sport even more than I already am. And yes im lame because I like the Devils...but what do you expect from someone who never paid any attention to the sport until about midway through last year's season.

and yes, my one huge regret in life in sports is NOT being into hockey at all when Gretzky played (I'm 30 years old and lived through the period but only now am I realizing what i missed!). I got to see Jordan play NBA ball and even in person 3 times, and Montana in football once...but truly regret not liking hockey back when the Great One played =/.

ok no more babbling from me hehe... thanks anyone who replies!!!

Travis aka Angry_HipChecker hehe

[Estey]

hey man no problem, I must say that if I didn't grow up watching and playing hockey I would be at a lose as well...heck some things in basketball and football still throw me

1.Offsides is a really hard thing to catch on tv, but a player can be over the line, in as much as one member of his body, usually his leg is touching the ice on the blueline or just before it. In that way he can lean over the blueline and recieve those passes 4-5 feet in (depending how far he can reach) and as long as he is dragging one of his legs on the blueline or just before it (in the nuetral zone) it is ok. Once again it is very very hard to see this since the game is so fast

2. Sometimes the puck is tipped or hit by the opposing team as one team ices the puck and therefor, it techically isn't a team icing the puck. make sense? ALso sometimes a player on the team icing the puck can race down and touch it (the puck)before the other team touches it and thus negating the icing call. Finally, sometimes when the puck is moving slow the team that must touch the puck for it to b icing will kind of wait until it croses the red goal line, usually the refs call of icing if they do not think the puck is proceeding with enough momentum to cross the line and the other team is just waiting for it to do so, so they can get a faceoff in the opposing teams end! Hope that helped

3-4, I think you got it

5. Hooking is technically illegal, but some refs will allow it to go on as long as you don't trip the guy. It is a very shady area in hockey and changes from game to game...in the eastern conference for example you can get away with a little more, but in the western it is a little more free. It all depends on the game and the refs largely...no definite answer to this one

6. Boarding is another issue that is subject to interpretation. Usually it is checking someone hardly into the boards on an angle were they can't defend themselves.....usually this is in the back, so it is called as either checking from behind or crosschecking, as the player usually uses his stick to propel the player into the boards!


I hoped this helped and if anyone here can elaborate on my points by all means...just keep watching hockey and if you can see it in person it will become more clear as TV sometimes does a crappy job of really letting the spectator know what is going on...however, ESPN does do a remarkable job at this.

No worries dude, I think it is refreshing to see a person taking interest in this great game and the more the marry'er

[lowlight]

I think some others here who actually play the game will be able to answer better, but nobody has yet, so here we go to the best of my ability:

1. Offsides - I understand offsides as a general rule, but not specifically. I say this because I know that the guy with the puck has to cross the blue line first (with puck first right?) before any of his teammates, but I get confused as watching NHL on tv I see sometimes guys passing into the offensive zone across the blue line while they are still in the neutral zone, to players that have crossed the blue line before them! Sometimes it is called offsides, other times it is not! Can anyone explain this a bit better for me as to why this is?

A player is free to cross the offensive blue line without the puck, but HE HAS TO BE BACK on his own side before the puck actually crosses.

If a player is on the other side, and the puck crosses via a pass (IE his teammate is not carrying it over), then the linesman will put his arm up to signal a 'delayed offside'. If the player touches the puck, or interferes with play of the puck, the play is called offside. He has to go back to his side of the blue line for the play not to be called offside, but NOBODY on his team can go in at all, or it will be called offside.

HOWEVER, the 'delayed' rule is changing next year. From now on, if the player 'tags up' (ie goes back to his side of the line), he can go right back in, and the play will be alive. This makes the defensemen have to be much quicker and more aware of what is going on, and should speed up the game too.

2. I would ask for clarification on icing, as that is the ONE rule i never really understood until the NHL rulebook got read. I do understand it for the most part, and especially on power plays (clearing the puck so you dont get stuffed 5 on 4 in your end), but like #1, I see sometimes icing is called, other times its considered 'clearing' yet to me both calls can look the same (ie: sometimes they call it, other times they dont!)

Icing is simple. If a team shoots the puck down the ice ('clears it') from his own side of centre, AND it makes it down to the other end PAST the goal line (but not necessarily in net of course), AND the other team touches it, then it is icing. If the other team's goalie touches it, icing is waved off, and play resumes like normal. Like you said, there is no icing during a penalty.

'clearing the puck' without icing is a skill - basically you are trying to get the puck out of your zone without icing it, so you put just the right amount of power on the clearing. Also, once you are over the centre line, you are free to fire it down all the way.

3. crease - i think i got this one, but listening to announcers, sometimes it defies me exactly where they think the crease is lol

The crease is just the goal crease. In the past, if a player was in the crease before the puck went there, goals were disallowed. They got rid of that rule right quick though!

I am not sure why it still exists though...

4. two-line pass - again, i got the idea of this, but sometimes I see guys pass the puck off the boards and across two lines and it is ok, but other times i think they dont pass it off the boards and its a two-line pass...this might be a no brainer but not for me lol

Hockey is a fast game, so it's understandable why you would miss a lot of 2 line passes. I know I don't notice many of them, but the linesmen always sseem to catch them.

Well I just found out Estey answered all your questions, so I might as well stop here

[Angry_Games]

heh appreciate the answers. I feel like i know enough about hockey to really understand the game, but the mechanics of it im still learning (things like defensive/offensive strategy, movement etc)...and of course the rules.

my brother lives in Dallas and see the Stars play regularly (which is 3-5 times per season for us non-hockey ppl lol) and he has always said that the game is incredibly fast, and the players are probably the fittest in the world because they are non-stop up and down, up and down the ice. And because of the huge checks they have to receive (or give!) lol.

following on TV can be difficult, because it seems that all other sports get good clarity, but watching hockey looks like they are using cameras from 1982 or something. I absolutely CANNOT wait to get moved up to Boise so I can get ESPN HD (ive got a very nice 42" Mitsubishi HDTV) and watch hockey. I've seen baseball played in HD and it is truly incredible at 1080i !!!!

i think i understand the offsides a bit more...mainly i was just wondering why it seems some are called offsides and some are not, but Estey is right, watching on TV isnt the same as watching in person (i can assume this because of seeing other major sports in person vs watching on TV).

here's another question i have:

7. player rotation/subs - when you sub in a line, do you have to do the entire line all at once (ie: your C/LW/RW or your D/D) or can you sub in only one player (say a C for a C)?

part b to this isnt really a rule question, but more of curiosity as the game is so fast i never pay much attention: how long is the average shift? 2 minutes? they are so fast and constantly up and down ice i can imagine how tiring a shift must be!

i got the gist of things like high-sticking (didnt know really what this was until i read the rulebook), cross-checking (i love doing this in my vid game hockey hahaha), charging, etc. And i understand the lines for the most part (centerline, blue line, redline at the goal), and zones, power plays, pk units all that stuff. I think its just the fine points or 'interpretations' of some rules...like Estey said about hooking...its like basketball refs that some games are real lenient and other games they are very strict...its all up to the refs calling the game.

ok, probably will have more questions soon, but i very much appreciate you guys answering this stuff for me! have to educate the gf on these new insights when she gets home (and there's a SJ vs Det game on ESPN tonight i think!)

[Estey]

nope you can sub one player at a time if you wish, especially if he gets hurt...but usually they try to keep the lines the same and the defensive pairs the same!

as for shifts it all depends on the coaches strategy..sometimes they can be 30 seconds, but I have seen forsberg out there for the whole 2 minute Power Play! Hard to say, I guess it is dictated not only by the coach but by the player as well, as he may get tired!