In honor of the NHL coming back in January, here are a few hockey words to get your brain refreshed to start another exciting season on ice. In order of categories (A-Z):
BASIC WORDS
• Twig – hockey stick
• Lumber – hockey stick
• Biscuit – the puck
• Barn – the rink or arena
• Bucket – helmet
• Egg – when a game ends 0-0
• Pillows – the goaltender’s leg pads
• Sweater – hockey jersey
• Sin-bin – the penalty box
• ODR – outdoor rink
• Sauce – a pass that leaves the ice to make it more difficult for opposing players to intercept
• Stripes – the referee
COMMON WORDS
• Apple – assist
• Celly – short for celebration typically after scoring a goal
• Chirp – trash talking, bad mouthing a player to get inside their head
• Chiclet – teeth (mostly the lack of)
• Ferda – “for the boys”, when a player makes a sacrifice for the team
• Cheese – the top shelf of the net
• The Show – NHL
• Junction – the corner of the goal where the crossbar and post meets
• Playoff Beard – when players stop shaving during the playoffs
• Point – a defenseman in the offensive zone
• Trapezoid – the area behind the net where a goalie is allowed to play the puck
GURLS
• Chick – nothing special (just a reference to someone who is a woman)
• Puck Bunny – a girl who knows nothing about hockey, but is attracted to guys who play the sport
• Rocket – a very good looking woman (if you are called a rocket: it is a good sign)
• Missy – nothing special (just a reference to someone who is a woman)
HAIR
• Salad – hockey hair
• Flow – great hockey hair, typically long that flows out of the player’s helmet
• Lettuce – a great head of hockey hair
• Muzzy – mustache
• Lip Sweater – mustache
ON THE ICE ACTION
• Barn Burner – a game that is high scoring, fast paced, and very exciting to watch
• Dusts it Off – defenceman quickly handles the puck then gives it off to a teammate
• Face Wash – player sticks their glove in front of opponents’ face to annoy them
• Gordie Howe Hat Trick – player scores a goal, gets an assist, and gets in a fight all in one game
• Filthy – another word for a great deke or pass
• Gongshow – a game that gets out of control, from big hits or high scores
• Lay the Lumber on Him – a slash or hit with the stick
PLAYERS
• Beauty – a player that is talented both on and off the ice. Loved by his teammates and typically able to get the gurls; probably has the best locker room stories
• Bender – a player who is bad at hockey (the man cannot skate)
• Duster – similar to Bender, a player who is bad at hockey and doesn’t go out of the ice much
• Grinder – a player
• Dangle – when a player is a deke (or decoy) by making moves to fake out the goalie or opposing player; also used to describe the act of stick-handling
• Flamingo – when a player lifts one leg, standing like a flamingo, to get out of the way of a shot
• Hoser – a trash talk term for calling a player or team a loser
• Plumber – not the best player on ice, but is very hard working and does the dirty work in the corners
• Sieve – a goaltender that allows a lot of goals, usually referred to as being full of holes
• Yard Sale – when a player gets hit so hard that he loses his equipment (stick, helmet or gloves) and they’re left on the ice after the play
• Fishbowl – a helmet with a full plastic shield instead of a cage. Typically used as an insult in trash talk. Opinions vary widely on fishbowls, but if you wear one you’re likely one the best players on the ice or the worst
• Grocery Stick – a player that sits on the bench the whole game between the forwards and defense, acting as a separator like the checkout line at the store. (Also could be a duster or maybe a bender)
• Kronwalled – a big hit by the defenceman who is attempting to carry the puck out of the zone, derived from the Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall who is famous for the hit
• Mitts – a player’s hands, a player who has great skills or refers to the player’s gloves
• Pigeon – describes a player that isn’t good enough to score goals by himself, so he picks up the trash of his more skilled linemates
• Playmaker – a player that is known for great stickhandling and passing, not necessarily scoring
• Pylon – a player who is extremely slow on the ice and can easily be skated around
• Ride the Pine – when a player spends the entire game sitting on the bench ad not getting any time on the ice
• Turtle – when one of the players in a fight would rather not and just crouches or falls to his knees and covers himself
• Cherry Picker – a player who stands behind the opposing team’s defense in hopes for a breakaway
• Goon – a player whose only talent is fighting, usually to keep the teams best players safe
• Hands – refers to a player who has good stickhandling and often dangles opposing players
• Plug – a useless player, derived from when a removable extension for a composite stick
• Silky – used to describe a smooth occurrence such as a play or player’s hands
• Stack the Pads – when a goalie lays on his side and puts his pads on top of each other to make a save
• Stay at Home Defenseman – a defenseman who is strong in his own zone but not particularly good in the offensive zone
• Stoned – when a goalie makes a great save
• Suicide Pass – when a player receives a pass that puts him in danger of immediately receiving a hard hit
• Tape to Tape – a pass that perfectly lands on your teammate’s blade
• Toe Drag – when a player uses the end of his blade to dangle the opposition
SHOTS
• Breadbasket – the goalie’s chest, a player puts a shot at the goalie’s logo
• Clapper – a slapshot, a powerful one that leads to a goal
• Coast to Coast – a goal that is scored when a player starts near his own net
• Bar Down – shot that hits the bottom on the crossbars and goes into the net (very impressive shot)
• Hat Trick – the scoring of three goals in a game by one player
• Bottle Rocket – when a goal breaks the goalie’s water bottle that sits on top of the net
• Gino – a goal that is scored
• Light the Lamp – scoring a goal, a red light goes off behind the net when a team scores a goal
• Muffin – a shot that should have been stopped after wavering back and forth in the air all the way to the net
• Top Shelf – the upper section of the goal’s net between the crossbar and the goaltender’s shoulders
• Five-Hole – the area between a goalie’s legs
• Garbage – referring to the puck when there is a rebound, picking up the garbage means putting the rebound in the net
• Slot – a high-scoring area in front of the net
• Snipe – the perfectly placed shot
• Tic-tac-toe – refers to a quick play that results in a goal
• Wraparound – when a player takes the puck around the back of the net and tries to score in one full motion
Now you’re ready to talk all about hockey this NHL season!