Ice Hockey: Difference between revisions

* Hockey is a nationally engaging sport. Much like [[American Football]] and soccer, though, it also attracts those stereotypical college students who drink beer and riot after games. Even so, full-on riots are rare, and usually there are just loud parties that break out on (city name)'s main streets. There are some notable hockey-provoked riots (see the "Richard riot" in the [[Serious Business]] article) but they prove to be the exception rather than the norm. The typical hockey-watching crowd in Canada are mostly families huddled around the television or a guy inviting his buddies over to watch the game (with or without alcohol).

* Hockey is unashamedly a full-contact sport, and rough-housing with the intent of claiming possession of the puck, called "checking", is legal (however, checking is illegal in women's hockey, and very strictly monitored in children's leagues). Checking opposing players who do not have the puck, however, will usually lead to an interference penalty. Obstructing the goaltender is also illegal, which will lead to an interference penalty and, if a goal was scored on the play, may cause the referee to wave off the goal.

** When a fight breaks out in the NHL, play is stopped immediately while the players circle each other and duke it out (fights or pushing/shoving involving three or more players, however, are usually broken up by the referee before things get nasty). The fight is supervised by the referee and linesmen, who will step in when he feels the confrontation is beyond reasonable limits (however, they ''will'' allow the fight to progress for a variety of reasons, including not wanting to get hurt themselves. As long as both fighters have tacitly agreed to the fight, it ''will'' proceed until one is on the ice). After the fight is broken up, the offending players are given five minute penalties for fighting; in recent rule changes, an extra penalty will be given to the player who instigated the fight. If it's a mutual fight, it's just a five minute major for both.

** Contrary to most portrayals, however, mano-a-mano showdowns are often used [[Your Mileage May Vary|strategically]]. Coaches may send out "enforcers" (defensemen who specialize in starting scraps) to provoke a fight if he feels his team's morale is low, believing that a good old-fashioned beatdown ''might'' cheer them up. Another example is the Edmonton Oilers during [[The Eighties]] taking advantage of the fighting penalty system at the time[[hottip:* :the Oilers excelled at four-on-four play, and since fighting at the time forced both fighters into the penalty box with no substitutes, the Oilers would send out an enforcer like Marty McSorley to [[The Plan|start a fight with another player in order to force penalties and let their special teams go to work]], or even to tactically remove a specific opposing player from the game for a short amount of time.

[[Category:The Forties]]

[[Category:Ice Hockey]]