Sport: RULES OF THE RINK

Face-Off. Hockey’s version of the jump ball in basketball, in which the referee drops the puck between two opposing players to initiate play. Besides the blue center circle, eight red face-off dots are positioned at strategic points about the rink to get the puck back into action after a referee’s whistle stops the game. Among the most common: the “end-zone face-off,” which usually occurs after a goalie blocks a shot at the net, and the “last-play face-off,” which takes place at the point where play has been stalled or the puck has flown off the ice.

Blue Lines. Twin lines running parallel across the width of the ice that divide the rink into three 60-ft. zones—attacking, defending and neutral (center ice). When a team is on the attack, the puck must cross the opponent’s blue line ahead of all offensive players (to prevent them from lurking around the goal, waiting for a length-of-the-ice pass); otherwise play is stopped and reopened with a face-off.

Crease. The 4-ft. by 8-ft. rectangle in front of each goal that is off limits to all attacking players unless the puck is already in the area. The crease is designed to protect the goalie from constant screening or being driven into the net by the offense’s interference.

Check. Applies to all means, legal or otherwise, of breaking up an attack. Basic is the body check, which is similar to a football block and carries some of the same restrictions: it cannot be thrown from behind or below the knee. Also it can only be leveled at the man with the puck. Cross-checking, or rapping a player with the stick lifted completely off the ice, is patently illegal. Legal defensive moves include poke checking, which is simply an attempt to jab the puck free, and hook checking, which is usually a desperation gambit—the off-balance defender hooks his stick around the puck as the attacker charges past.

Penalty. Hockey is unique in that a penalty generally entails suspension from the game for a specified length of time. A minor penalty carries a two-minute suspension, and is imposed for such offenses as illegal checks, high-sticking (raising the stick above shoulder height), charging, tripping, slashing, kneeing, elbowing and intentionally shooting the puck out of the rink. A major penalty (five minutes’ suspension) is generally meted out for starting fist fights or roughing the goalie. Deliberate or provocative infractions, particularly those involving officials or fans, can lead to stiffer penalties: misconduct, ten minutes on the bench; game misconduct, suspension for the balance of the game, a fine and possible league action; and the most severe sentence, the match penalty, which sends the player immediately to the dressing room, orders an automatic fine, and calls for prompt review by the league president. Finally, a penalty shot is occasionally awarded at the referee’s discretion when a player throws his stick at the puck in his defending zone or commits some other flagrant act not covered by a specific penalty. Here one man from the opposing team is given a free dash at the net from the center red line with only the goalie between him and the goal.