First time on the ice? Learn all about hockey from the Ice Den's professionals. This primer reviews the game's basics. Other pages will teach you about penalties, while our glossary and frequently asked questions will help clear up any confusion.

Right and left defensemen

These two players try to stop the incoming play from the other teams before any chance of scoring is possible. They block shots, clear the puck from in front of their own net and cover the other team's forwards. Offensively, they pass the puck up the ice to the forwards, then follow the play into the attacking zone and try to keep it there.

Goaltender

This player's job is to keep the puck out of his team's net. He can use any part of his body or any piece of equipment to do so and is allowed to catch or smother the puck.

Center

Usually leading his team's attack by carrying the puck up the ice, the center primarily operates up and down the middle of the ice but also has more freedom to roam than his linemates. He is the playmaker, passing between his two wings to set up a goal. Defensively, he tries to keep the play in the attacking zone by harassing the opposing team's puck carrier. As the play moves back toward his own goal, it's his job to hustle back and try to break up the opposing team's play.

Right and left wings

These players predominantly move up and down the sides of the rink with the direction of play. Offensively, they skate alongside the center, passing back and forth and positioning themselves for a shot on goal. In the defensive zone, they guard the opponents’ pointmen, trying to keep them from shooting.

Player lines and "changing on the fly"

Because hockey doesn't demand a stop in play for substitutions, players can go on and off the ice while play is in progress. Each line, which consists of groups of three forwards and two defensemen, changes about every two minutes. Each team usually carries four lines of forwards and three sets of defensemen.

Three main rules

1. Off sides
   A team is off sides when any member of the attacking team precedes the puck over the defending team's blue line. The position of a player's skates and not that of this stick is the determining factor. If both skates are over the blue line before the puck, the player is off side. If he has only one skate over the blue line and one on it, he is on side.
2. Icing the puck
   Icing the puck is not permitted when teams are at equal numerical strength. Icing occurs when a player on his team's side of the red center line shoots the puck all the way down the ice, it crosses the red goal line at any point other than the goal itself and is first touched by a defending player. When this occurs, play is stopped and the puck is returned to the other end of the ice for a face-off in the offending team's zone. Icing the puck is not called:
   
   • If the goalie plays the puck by leaving his net.
   • If the puck cuts across part of the goal crease.
   • When a defending opponent, in the judgment of the linesman, could have played the puck before it crossed the red goal line.
   • When an attacking player who was on side (in the same zone) when the puck was shot down the ice manages to touch it first.
   • When a team is playing short-handed because of a penalty or penalties.
3. Off side Pass
   An off side pass occurs when a member of the attacking team passes the puck from behind his own blue line to a teammate across the center red line. An attacking player may pass the puck over the center red line and the blue line to a teammate, as long as the teammate does not cross the blue line before the puck.