So you’re standing in the TD Bank Sports Center, decked out in your brightest gold and darkest blue Quinnipiac gear, ready to cheer on the Bobcat Hockey team. Right as the puck drops and the face off starts, you stand there dazed and confused. You then realize you don’t really know too much about hockey. Based off the key rules stated below, you’ll be cheering for the Bobcats like you’re a hockey expert!
First off, Quinnipiac is a member of the division one hockey conference ECAC. Besides Quinnipiac, the ECAC conference consists of Dartmouth, Union, Cornell, Clarkson, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Colgate, Saint Lawrence, Rensselaer, and Quinnipiac’s biggest rival, Yale.
The game starts with six players on the ice – one as the goaltender, three forwards – the center, right wing, and left wing, and two defensemen. The goal of the game is to get the puck into the net to score a point; the team with the most points at the end of the three 20 minute periods is the winner of the game.
There are three main rules that limit the movement of the puck – off sides, icing, and the puck going out of play. Offside occurs when a player from the attacking team enters the attacking zone before the puck does. Icing occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines with the puck going untouched. The puck goes out of play whenever it goes past the perimeter of the rink, such as onto the player benches, onto the protective netting above the glass, or over the glass itself. The puck is considered dead once it leaves the perimeter of the rink. Therefore, it does not matter if it comes back onto the surface after going out of play. Whenever off sides, icing, and the puck going out of play occurs, the game resumes with a face off.
There are multiple penalties that can occur during a hockey game. An example of these penalties include hooking, when a player hooks another player with his stick, checking from behind, when a player hits an opponent from behind and the player who has been hit cannot defend himself, slashing, when an opponent hits an opponent with his stick, and spearing, when a player stabs at another player with blade of his stick.
Now, with these basic hockey rules in mind, you can cheer at the top of your lungs for the Bobcats!