Statistics (schedule), gamelogs, splits, advanced analytics, and additional information are featured on league pages. Statistics, rosters, payroll details, schedules, gamelogs, splits, advanced analytics, and more can be found on team pages. Basic statistics and links to gamelogs, splits, advanced analytics, and additional resources are included on player pages. With a global following, this sport is practiced in more than sixty nations.
Bandy
With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none , just as if they had lost in regulation,. If a tie occurs in tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour sudden death overtime, in which the teams continue to play twenty-minute periods until a goal is scored. A professional ice hockey game consists of three periods of twenty minutes, the clock running only when the puck is in play. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18, plus two goaltenders. Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. Unintentional deflections off the body or equipment, including skates, are allowed.
In addition, until the mid-2000s, obstruction and interference were allowed, including pushing players in front of the net, minor NHL futures betting hooking, and setting picks. It was not until after the 1990 Women’s World Championship that body checking was eliminated from women’s hockey internationally. Canada’s Rhonda Leeman Taylor was responsible for banning body contact from all Canadian national women’s tournaments in 1983. Players in women’s competition are required to wear protective full-face masks.
Two years later, the 1989 IIHF European Women Championships in West Germany was the first IIHF-sanctioned event and the first European Championship held in women’s hockey, preceding the IIHF-sanctioned Women’s World Championship. The 1987 World Women’s Hockey Tournament in Toronto was the first international competition in women’s hockey, although it was not sanctioned by the IIHF. A tournament in 1902 between Montreal and Trois-Rivières was billed as the first women’s ice hockey championship tournament.
Roller hockey
Since the initial women’s world championships in 1990, there have been fifteen tournaments. The Canada Cup tournament later became the World Cup of Hockey, played in 1996, 2004 and 2016. In the spirit of best-versus-best without restrictions on amateur or professional status (the series were followed by five Canada Cup tournaments), played in North America. For many years (the tournament was an amateur-only tournament), but this restriction was removed, beginning in 1977. The World Junior Club Cup is an annual tournament of junior ice hockey clubs representing each of the top junior leagues. The competition is meant to serve as a Europe-wide ice hockey club championship.
Beginning in the 2014–15 season, the Champions Hockey League was launched, a league consisting of first-tier teams from several European countries, running parallel to the teams’ domestic leagues. Several countries in Europe have their own top professional senior leagues. The third division is the Russian Hockey League, which features only teams from Russia. The second division of hockey in Eurasia is the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). The KHL currently comprises member clubs based in Belarus (1) (China (1)), Kazakhstan (1) and Russia (19) for a total of 22. The league expanded beyond the former Soviet countries beginning in the 2011–12 season, with clubs in Croatia and Slovakia.
Furthermore (if the app determines that a particular impact has the potential to cause brain injury), it will alert the coach who can in turn seek medical attention for the individual. Some teams in the Swiss National League are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player’s ongoing brain injury risk during a game. Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind — many leagues – including the NHL – have made this a major and game misconduct penalty. According to the Hughston Health Alert, prior to the widespread use of helmets and face cages, “Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury in hockey.” Lace bite (an irritation felt on the front of the foot or ankle), is a common ice hockey injury. This stick is primarily intended to block shots, but the goaltender may use it to play the puck as well.
Ice hockey has inspired countless films (television series), and songs within Canadian and American pop culture, largely due to its status as a leading professional sport.
- With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none (just as if they had lost in regulation).
- Ice hockey — partially because of its popularity as a major professional sport, has been a source of inspiration for numerous films, television episodes and songs in Canadian and American popular culture.
- A minor or major penalty for boarding is often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards.
- A tournament in 1902 between Montreal and Trois-Rivières was billed as the first women’s ice hockey championship tournament.
- The Canada Cup evolved into the World Cup of Hockey (which took place in 1996), 2004, and 2016.
- Beginning in the 2014–15 season, the Champions Hockey League was launched, a league consisting of first-tier teams from several European countries, running parallel to the teams’ domestic leagues.
This list only includes the 39 of 84 IIHF member countries with more than 1,000 registered players as of March 2025. Number of registered hockey players (including male), female and junior, provided by the respective countries’ federations. Ultimately, a crowd announced by UM as 113,411, the largest in the stadium’s history (including football), saw the homestanding Wolverines win 5–0.
During normal play (there are six players on ice skates on the ice per side), one of them being the goaltender. Both of these codes (and others), originated from Canadian rules of ice hockey of the early 20th century. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain (Ireland), and elsewhere, primarily bandy, hurling, and shinty. The IIHF Women’s World Championship was held in 1990, and women’s play was introduced into the Olympics in 1998. A forward (Bryan Rust of the Pittsburgh Penguins) shoots toward a net defended by a goaltender (Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals).
In addition, ice hockey is the most popular winter sport in Austria, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland. Ice hockey is most popular in Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, and the United States. The record was approached but not broken at the 2014 NHL Winter Classic (which also held at Michigan Stadium), with the Detroit Red Wings as the home team and the Toronto Maple Leafs as the opposing team with an announced crowd of 105,491.
This competition is the successor to the European Trophy and has ties to the 2008–09 tournament sharing the same name. In their respective nations, the National League A in Switzerland, the Swedish Hockey League, SM-liiga in Finland, and the Czech Extraliga enjoy significant popularity. According to league executive Jayna Hefford (player requests led to the inclusion of body checking), which received favorable feedback during the league’s inaugural play in January 2024.
In Canada, the earliest records documenting women’s ice hockey date back to the late 19th century. A “deke,” an abbreviation for “decoy,” refers to a maneuver involving the body or stick to mislead a defender or goaltender. The term “checking” often denotes body checking, but its true definition is typically known only among devoted fans of the sport. To minimize player injury risks — body checking is classified as a penalty in certain leagues. An additional well-regarded strategy in ice hockey defense involves executing a 200-foot game.
