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Hockey Terminology | A - B - C

A

Adams Division

With the Patrick Division made up the Wales Conference until the 1992-93 season; renamed the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference starting with the 1993-94 season.

All-Star Game

A mid-season exhibition game pitting selected stars of North American origin against selected stars from the rest of the world; from 1969 to 1997, the game was played between representatives from the NHL's two conferences.

Assist

The pass or passes which immediately precede a successful scoring attempt; a maximum of two assists are credited for one goal.

Attacking zone

The area between the opponents' blue line and their goal.

B

Backcheck

An attempt by a player, on his way back to his defensive zone, to regain the puck from the opposition by checking or harassing an opponent who has the puck.

Backhand shot

A shot or pass made with the stick from the left side by a right-handed player or from the right side by a left-handed player.

Beat the defense

To get by one or both of the defensemen.

Beat the goalie

To outwit the goalie and score a goal.

Behind the net

The area of ice behind the goal cage is legal territory.

Blind pass

To pass the puck without looking.

Blue lines

Two blue, 12-inch wide lines running parallel across the ice, each 60 feet from the goal; they divide the rink into three zones called the attacking, defending and neutral (or center) zones; defending blue line is the line closer to a player's own net; attacking blue line is the one farther from his net; used in determining offsides.

Boarding or board-checking

A minor penalty which occurs when a player uses any method (body checking, elbowing or tripping) to throw an opponent violently into the boards; if an injury is caused, it becomes a major penalty.

Boards or board wall

A wooden or fiberglass wall 3 1/2 to 4 feet high which surrounds the rink to keep the puck and players from accidentally leaving the rink and injuring spectators; all rinks have shatterproof glass that rises above the boards to provide additional protection.

Body check

When a hockey player bumps or slams into an opponent with either his hip or shoulder (the only legal moves) to block his progress or throw him off-balance; it is only allowed against an opponent in control of the puck or against the last player to control it.

Break

A chance to start a rush when the opposing forwards are caught out of position.

Breakaway

A fast break in which an attacker with the puck skates in alone on the goalie, having gotten past or clear of the defensemen, trapping the opponents behind the play.

Breaking pass

A pass to a teammate who is trying for a breakaway.

Butt-ending

A major penalty which occurs when a player jabs an opponent with the shaft of his hockey stick.

C

Campbell Conference

Was one of the two conferences in the NHL that contained the Norris and Smythe Divisions until 1992-93; renamed the Western Conference in 1993.

Carom

A rebound of the puck off the boards or any other object.

Center or center forward

The center player in the forward line who usually leads his team's attack when they are trying to score a goal; he takes part in most of the face-offs; he controls the puck and tries to score or pass it to a teammate who is in a better position to score a goal.

Center face-off circle

A circle, measuring 30 feet in diameter, at the center of the ice where the puck is dropped in a face-off to start the game and to restart the game after a goal has been scored.

Center ice

The area between the two blue lines, also called the neutral zone.

Centering pass

A pass from an attacking player towards the middle of the ice to a teammate with a better angle at the goal.

Center line

A red, 12-inch wide line across the ice midway between the two goals.

Charging

A minor penalty which occurs when a player makes a deliberate move of more than two steps when body checking an opponent; if serious injury is caused or blood is drawn it becomes a major penalty.

Check or checking

Any contact initiated by a defending player against an opponent to get the puck away from him or slow him down; there are two main types of checks: stick check and body check; these are only allowed against a player in control of the puck or against the last player to control it immediately after he gives it up; checking after too many steps or strides becomes charging.

Clearing the puck

Getting the puck out of one's own defensive zone.

Clearing the zone

When a defending player sends the puck out of the opponent's attacking zone, all the attacking players must leave or clear the zone to avoid being called offsides when the puck reenters the zone.

Cover

When a player stays close to an opponent to prevent him from receiving a pass or making a play on offense.

Crease lines

The red lines that form the semi-circular area with a 6-foot radius in front of the goal called the goal crease.

Cross bar

The horizontal bar that connects the top of the two goalposts.

Cross-checking

A minor penalty which occurs when a player holds his stick in both hands and drives the shaft into an opponent; a stick check where a player has both hands on the stick and no part of the stick on the ice; if serious injury is caused or blood is drawn it becomes a major penalty and a game misconduct.