Never seen a hockey game? This will get you started.
The basics of Hockey: you skate, you pass, you shoot and you score.
Hockey uses a hard, rubber puck, one inch thick with a diameter of three inches. It’s flat on the top and bottom, with rounded sides. Players try to skate the puck to the oppositions zone and shoot (hit) the puck past the other team's goalie and into the net (or goal).
SKATING
SKATE: a metal frame that can be fitted to the sole of a shoe and to which is attached a runner or a set of wheels for gliding over ice or a surface other than ice
Skating is the skill that makes hockey unique and it is something that players of all levels of the sport continually strive to improve.
Without adequate skating ability, players are less able to perform the other essential skills of the sport.
Stick Handling is perhaps the most difficult of the basic skills to master. It allows a skilled player to maneuver around opponents with the puck and create better offensive opportunities.
PASSING
Passing is what makes hockey a true team sport and helps make the game fun. Passing gets everyone on the ice involved in the action and turns scoring into a team effort.
Helping teammates experience success is what the game is all about and passing allows the thrill of scoring to be shared.
Shooting is the end result of an offensive team play and is the action that produces a goal.
Many players spend most of their time practicing on shooting because they believe scoring is the most fun. Players should, however, place an equal emphasis on the other basic skills of hockey; given the fact most players generally take fewer than six shots in an entire game.
While there are a variety of ways to shoot the puck, the purpose of the shot always remains the same: to score a goal.