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Recently I've been getting more and more into hockey. I just watched a great game between Vancouver and Detroit (that apparantly broke Detroit's 23 home game winning streak record) and last night enjoyed a college game between North Dakota and Denver.
I'm still confused on some rules. What exactly is icing? When is a player offsides? Can an offensive player score while he's in the goalie's crease? As a Dallas native I can vividly recall Brett Hull scoring the final goal to win the Stanely Cup I watched that game live on TV, and I remember it being controversial because replay showed his skate was in the crease. Does the NHL have that rule anymore? Can someone give me the basics to hockey so that I can better understand what I'm watching?
I also have a question on the college game. I am originally from Texas, follow college football and know a lot about the history of the game. I know the traditional powerhouse programs ~ Alabama, Michigan, Texas, etc., major football coaches like Woody Hayes, Joe Pa, and Bear Bryant, the BCS/playoff controversey, and I know of major individual awards such as the Heisman, etc. What is the college hockey equivalent of Michigan, Texas, Bear Bryant, Joe Pa, the Heisman, etc?
Icing is called against Team A if a player on Team A shoots the puck from behind the red line and it continues across Team B's goal line without contact by any player and is then recovered by a player on Team B. Icing is "waved off" if a member of Team B could have played the puck instead of allowing it to continue past the goal line.
A player on Team A is offsides if he crosses Team B's blue line before the puck. A pass that crosses both a blue line and the red line is considered an offside pass.
Unlike the NFL, most NHL players do not play NCAA college hockey. The Canadian Hockey League (made up of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL) is a major junior hockey league that is the largest source of future NHL talent. I love WHL junior hockey. Some players also play CIS college hockey in Canada. With that said, the increased popularity of NCAA hockey has made it an important part of the NHL pipeline.
Michigan is also a hockey powerhouse. Like the football program, however, the best years were long ago though they manage to still win on a regular basis while falling short of championship glory.
To summarize that, the goalie has to have unrestricted movement within his crease. A player can enter it at any time, but they can't get in the goalie's way.
The Brett Hull goal, referred to in the OP was under a different rule (a short lived one, it was only in effect for 2 or 3 years, if memory serves) where a player couldn't enter the crease unless they had control of the puck.
To summarize that, the goalie has to have unrestricted movement within his crease. A player can enter it at any time, but they can't get in the goalie's way.
The Brett Hull goal, referred to in the OP was under a different rule (a short lived one, it was only in effect for 2 or 3 years, if memory serves) where a player couldn't enter the crease unless they had control of the puck.
Thank you for the clarification. I wasn't familiar with that particular situation.
OP: if you plan to continue to watch college hockey, ESPN will show the NCAA final game on a Saturday night in April. This year it's in Tampa. They've played the game in non-traditional venues often this past decade, even in a dome in Detroit.
North Dakota, Boston University, Wisconsin, Denver and Maine have also been good over the years.
You can check the weekly polls for the teams' rankings. I think USA Today has one.
Ties are allowed in the regular season but OT is played in the playoffs.
OP: if you plan to continue to watch college hockey, ESPN will show the NCAA final game on a Saturday night in April. This year it's in Tampa. They've played the game in non-traditional venues often this past decade, even in a dome in Detroit.
North Dakota, Boston University, Wisconsin, Denver and Maine have also been good over the years.
You can check the weekly polls for the teams' rankings. I think USA Today has one.
Ties are allowed in the regular season but OT is played in the playoffs.
I know about Denver and North Dakota as I watched two games of theirs this past weekend. ND (which this college football fan sees as Notre Dame LOL) won the first game I watched while Denver won the second. From the broadcast I learned that Ferris State is ranked #1, which is apparantly a first for their program. Coming out of my football bubble I find it interesting that certain universities from different parts of the country emphasize different sports. I've never heard of Ferris State, Colorado College, St. Cloud, and others before I turned on the Altitude network.
Thanks for the great responses everybody This afternoon I found a Hockey 101 guide on the Dallas Stars' site.
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I watched that game live on TV, and I remember it being controversial because replay showed his skate was in the crease. Does the NHL have that rule anymore? Can someone give me the basics to hockey so that I can better understand what I'm watching?
