As I’m sure most of us who grew up in the Midwest can say, my life has revolved largely around sports. As seasons pass, summer, fall, winter, and spring, so do sports. Spring and summer are full of endless baseball games and thrilling basketball games with March Madness. Chilly autumn weekends are for football, noon to midnight, college and pro. Winter brings more basketball and CFB playoffs. The one sport I did not grow up watching was hockey. Blame it on my family, or maybe blame it on the Red Wings’ mediocre performance over the last two or so decades. Over the last year or so, hockey has rapidly cemented itself as one of, if not my most favorite, sports, and as such, I feel it is incumbent upon me to share it with you.Â
For simplicity’s sake, I will be addressing mostly professional and collegiate hockey, but know that the rules and fundamentals of the sport remain largely unchanged. The National Hockey League (NHL) is the most significant professional hockey league in the world, with 32 teams, seven of which are based in Canada. Each hockey game has three periods, each 20 minutes long, with an intermission between each period. Teams will have six players each on the ice at a time: three forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie. Players switch on and off the ice frequently, known as line changes, often every 30–60 seconds. The number of players you are allowed to have on the ice can change depending on whether or not your team takes a penalty. Each season consists of 82 games per team, which runs from October to April, after which a postseason consisting of the 16 best teams takes place. The playoffs run a best-of-seven series, and the winner is awarded the Stanley Cup.Â
Now that we have a general idea of how the sport functions, let’s talk about what makes it so interesting. The first, and most obvious characteristic, is how fast-paced these games are. While it may vary depending on the game and who’s playing, you can be on the ice playing concurrently for two to seven minutes on average without a single whistle being blown. While this fast-paced nature can make the game a bit hard to follow, once you get the hang of it, you are rewarded with an exhilarating experience that can really only be compared to basketball. Another captivating, albeit intense, aspect of hockey that I love is the physicality. Hockey is one of the sports that is extremely contact heavy, and is also the only professional sport left that has opposing players fighting each other on the regular. The practice is so common that there’s a term for it, “dropping the gloves,” and nowadays, unless it gets out of hand, players go largely unpunished. Fighting as an accepted part of hockey can make for some intense watches, especially when it comes to important games or rivalry matches.Â
Whether you are familiar with the sport or not, I implore you to give it a chance the next time you are flipping through channels. It may not be the most beginner-friendly, but with a little patience and willingness to Google search, you will soon be part of an interesting and niche community. For all the Spartans reading, I would highly recommend following our very own collegiate team as we are ranked first in the nation as of Oct. 27, 2025, and have a promising season ahead.Â