Ice hockey
is a contact winter team sport played on
ice skates
on a rink with specific lines and markings for the event. It's one of the
fastest ice team sports, and it's part of a small group of four ice team sports
that presently includes bandy, ringette, and rinkball, regardless of their modifications.
In
ice
hockey, two opposing teams control, advance, and shoot a closed,
vulcanized rubber disc called a '
puck' into the other team's goal using ice hockey sticks.
One point is awarded for each goal. The squad that scores the most goals is the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at any given time, one of whom is the
goaltender unless there are any penalties.
Lacrosse was once considered
Canada's national sport, but it is now regarded as the country's official national
summer sport, while
ice hockey
is the country's official
winter sport.
Ice hockey
is a
modern sport that originated in
Canada, most notably in
Montreal, where the
first indoor game was played on
March 3,
1875. Some aspects of that game have survived to this day, such as the length of the
ice rink and the use of a
puck.
Ice hockey
leagues for amateurs started in the
1880s, while professional
ice hockey
started around
1900. During the
1920 Summer Olympics, the sport was
first played at
Olympics.