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Ice hockey is a contact sport that is played on ice using skates and sticks. In the United States, Canada, and some European countries, it is known as “hockey.” The term “ice hockey” is used in countries where hockey refers to field hockey (see the hockey decoder).

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The game is played by two teams with six players each, including a goaltender. It is usually played indoors on a hockey rink. The main goal of the game is to score goals by shooting a rubber disc, which is also called the puck, into the opposing team's goal net that is on the other side of the rink.

There are three main rules in ice hockey that limit the puck movement: offside, icing, and puck going out of play. A player is offside if he is in the opponent's zone before the puck. A player cannot “ice the puck” across both center lines. The puck is out of play when it is out of the ice rink.

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Other Hockey Sports (on ice)

• 3x3 Ice Hockey — a variation of ice hockey played on a half rink with just three players on each team.
• Pond Hockey — a version of ice hockey played on a natural frozen body of water.
• Bandy — a team sport played on ice using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal, a precursor to ice hockey. See also Rink Bandy and Rinkball.
• Ringette — very similar to ice hockey.
• Power Hockey — ice hockey played while riding an electric wheelchair.
• Ice Sledge Hockey — ice hockey on double-blade sledges for people with physical disabilities on the lower body.
• Spongee — outdoor non-contact sport played on an ice rink in rubber boots with a sponge puck instead of a hard puck like in ice hockey.
• Broomball — a game like ice hockey played with a broom and no skates. Also the similar Moscow Broomball.

Other Hockey Sports (off ice)

• Ball Hockey — very similar to ice hockey, though played on foot and on a non-ice surface.
• Field Hockey — played outdoors on turf, players hit a hard round ball through goals using sticks with curved ends.
• Street Hockey — a team sport that was derived from ice hockey, though it is played on an asphalt or cement surface instead of ice, and players usually just wear shoes.
• Roller Hockey — description of the umbrella sport name which includes rink and inline hockey.
• Rink Hockey — roller hockey played on quad skates.
• Unicycle Hockey — a team sport, similar to roller or inline hockey, though all competitors are riding a unicycle and using a tennis ball and ice-hockey sticks.
• Inline Hockey — players move around on a wooden or concrete surface wearing inline skates
• Floor Hockey — indoor (non-ice) hockey sports derived from field and ice hockey.
• Floorball — a version of floor hockey
• Air Hockey — played on an air-hockey table, participants try to hit a puck elevated on a cushion of air into the opponent's goal.

Related Pages

• Hockey Decoder — a discussion about the different forms of hockey played around the world.
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports