Ice hockey is played with a closed disc composed of vulcanized rubber. A 'Flat Ball' has been used to describe the closed disc. Although open disc designs have only been used on floors, hockey pucks are built for usage on ice, dry surfaces, or underwater.
An open or closed disc, a hockey puck is used in a variety of sports and pastimes. Here are designs for ice hockey and several floor hockey variations. They're all made to perform the same purpose as a ball in a game of ball.
Ringette rings are toruses, and hockey pucks in the shape of open discs should not be mistaken with them. Ringette rings are devices made to be used in the ringette sport. There are two types of ringette rings: one for use on ice and the other for use on dry surfaces, as in a gym ringette. A rubber pneumatic torus is used in the ice game of ringette.
The sport and game pucks, which are closed discs, are the focus of this article.
A vulcanized rubber hard disc is required for ice hockey. A conventional ice hockey puck is black, 1 inch thick (25 mm), 3 inches in diameter (76 mm), and weighs between 5.5 and 6 ounces (156 and 170 g); other pucks are heavier or lighter.
Silkscreened team or league logos are commonly found on one or both faces of pucks. To decrease bouncing during play, pucks are frozen before the game.
The word puck has an unknown origin. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic puc or the Irish poc, which means 'to poke, hit, or deliver a blow' and is used in the sport of hurling for striking or pushing the ball.
