# Hockey Terms and Slang: A to Z Glossary of 140 Words

140 hockey terms explained in plain English, from apple to wrist shot. Learn the rules, penalties, positions, stats, and slang you hear at the rink.

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## Hockey terms, explained in plain English

Every word you are likely to hear at the rink, on a broadcast, or in the dressing room, in 140 short definitions you can read in a few seconds each.

This glossary is for anyone who is new to the game or wants to keep up: first-time players, parents in the stands, adults joining a beer league or rec team, and volunteer coaches who need to explain icing to a bench full of kids.

Terms are listed from A to Z, with links between related entries so you can follow a topic, like penalties or goaltending, from one definition to the next. Most of these terms also apply to ball hockey and roller hockey, but the rules there can differ: some ball and roller leagues play without icing or offside, and most rec leagues of every kind do not allow body checking. Where the NHL and amateur play differ, the definition says so.

## 140 hockey terms, A to Z

- Apple: Slang for an assist. A player with "two apples" set up two goals.
- Assist: Credit given to the last one or two players who touched the puck before a teammate scored. Up to two assists can be awarded on each goal.
- Backcheck: Skating hard back toward your own net to defend after the other team gains possession. It is usually the forwards' job to backcheck.
- Backhand: A pass or shot taken from the back side of the stick blade. It is harder to control than a forehand but can surprise a goalie.
- Ball hockey: A version of hockey played on foot, usually in running shoes, with a ball instead of a puck, on a dry surface such as a rink floor, gym, or outdoor court. Rules vary by league; organized play often uses a low-bounce ball, and most rec leagues do not allow body checking.
- Bar down: A shot that hits the underside of the crossbar and drops straight down into the net. It makes a satisfying ping and is a favorite of highlight reels.
- Barn: Slang for a hockey rink or arena, especially an older or well-loved one.
- Beer league: A casual adult recreational league, named for the drinks many teams share after games. Beer leagues usually ban body checking and often play shorter, running-time periods.
- Bench: The area along the boards where each team's players and coaches sit when they are not on the ice. Players change lines by stepping on and off from the bench.
- Bench minor: A two-minute penalty charged to the team rather than an individual, such as for too many men on the ice or abuse from the bench. The coach picks any skater on the ice at the time to serve it.
- Biscuit: Slang for the puck. "Put the biscuit in the basket" means shoot the puck into the net.
- Blocker: The rectangular padded glove a goalie wears on the hand that holds the stick. It is used to deflect shots away from the net.
- Blue line: The two blue lines that divide the rink into three zones. They decide whether a player is offside when the puck enters the offensive zone.
- Boarding: A penalty for checking or pushing an opponent violently into the boards, especially when they are defenseless. It is usually a minor or major depending on how dangerous the hit was.
- Boards: The waist-high wall that surrounds the rink, with glass mounted on top. Players use them to bank passes and battle for the puck along them.
- Body check: Using your hip or shoulder to legally hit an opponent who has the puck. It is allowed in the NHL and higher levels of competitive play, but not in most adult rec leagues or younger age groups.
- Breakaway: When a player with the puck gets past every defender and has only the goalie to beat.
- Breakout: A planned way of moving the puck out of your own defensive zone, usually with short passes from the defensemen to the wingers and center.
- Butterfly: A goaltending style where the goalie drops to both knees with the leg pads flared out to each side, covering the bottom of the net.
- Cage: A wire face mask attached to the front of a helmet. Cages or full shields are required in youth hockey and in many adult leagues.
- Catcher: The goalie's glove hand, shaped like a baseball mitt, used to catch and hold the puck. Also called the trapper.
- Celly: Slang for a goal celebration, from a fist pump to a full team pile-on.
- Center: The forward who plays in the middle of the ice between the two wingers. Centers usually take faceoffs and are expected to help on defense as well as offense.
- Change on the fly: Swapping players between the bench and the ice while play continues, instead of waiting for a stoppage. The player coming off must be within a few feet of the bench before the new player joins the play.
- Charging: A penalty for taking several strides or leaving your feet to build up speed before hitting an opponent.
- Chirp: Trash talk aimed at an opponent, a referee, or sometimes a teammate. Chirping is part of hockey culture, but too much can earn a penalty.
- Coincidental penalties: Penalties of equal length given to players on both teams at the same stoppage, which cancel out so neither team gets a power play. In the NHL, coincidental minors at full strength result in 4-on-4 play instead.
- Crease: The painted blue area in front of each net. Attacking players who interfere with the goalie in or near the crease can have a goal called back.
- Cross-checking: A penalty for hitting an opponent with the shaft of the stick while holding it with both hands and no part of the stick on the ice.
- Cycle: An offensive pattern where forwards keep possession low in the offensive zone by passing the puck along the boards to a teammate skating in behind them.
- D pair: Two defensemen who play together as a unit, one on the left side and one on the right. Teams usually dress three pairs.
- Dangle: Slang for slick stickhandling that fools a defender or goalie. A player who does it well has "mitts."
- Defenseman: One of the two skaters who play behind the forwards and are mainly responsible for stopping the other team's attack. Defensemen also start breakouts and shoot from the point. Often shortened to D.
- Defensive zone: The area between your own blue line and the end boards behind your goalie. It is where you defend.
- Deflection: A shot that changes direction after glancing off a stick, skate, or body on its way to the net. Players often stand in front to tip shots on purpose.
- Dek hockey: A form of hockey played on foot on a plastic tile surface called a dek, usually with a ball and running shoes. It is played mostly in outdoor rinks, and many leagues use smaller teams than ice hockey.
- Deke: A fake that gets a defender or goalie to move one way so you can go the other. Short for decoy.
- Delay of game: A minor penalty for stalling play, most often for shooting the puck directly over the glass from your own defensive zone. It can also be called for deliberately knocking the net off its moorings.
- Delayed offside: When an attacker is offside but the defending team has the puck, the linesman raises an arm and lets play continue. If the attackers all clear the zone, the offside is wiped out; if they touch the puck first, play stops.
- Delayed penalty: When a referee raises an arm to signal a penalty but lets play continue until the penalized team touches the puck. The other team usually pulls its goalie for an extra attacker during the delay.
- Double minor: Two minor penalties served back to back, for four minutes total. In the NHL, a high stick that draws blood is a common example.
- Drop pass: A pass where the puck carrier leaves the puck behind for a trailing teammate to pick up.
- Dump and chase: A strategy of shooting the puck deep into the offensive zone and sending players to chase it, instead of trying to carry it in past the defense.
- Elbowing: A penalty for using an extended elbow to hit an opponent.
- Empty net: A net with no goalie in it, usually because a trailing team pulled its goalie late in the game. A goal scored into it is an empty-net goal.
- Enforcer: A player whose main role is to protect teammates and fight when needed. The role is far less common in today's game, and fighting is not allowed in amateur hockey.
- Even strength: When both teams have the same number of skaters on the ice, usually five each. Most of a game is played at even strength.
- Extra attacker: An additional skater sent on for the goalie, giving a team six attackers. Teams do this during a delayed penalty or when trailing late in a game.
- Faceoff: The way play starts or restarts: the official drops the puck between two opposing players, usually centers, who try to win it back to a teammate.
- Faceoff circle: One of the large painted circles in each end zone and at center ice. During a faceoff, only the two players taking the draw may be inside the circle.
- Faceoff dot: A painted spot where faceoffs take place. An NHL rink has nine: one at center ice, two in each end zone, and four in the neutral zone.
- Fighting: Two players dropping their gloves and trading punches. In the NHL it draws a five-minute major for each fighter; in amateur and youth hockey it usually means ejection and a suspension.
- Five-hole: The gap between a goalie's legs. A goal through the five-hole slides under the goalie.
- Flow: Slang for long hair sticking out the back of a player's helmet.
- Forecheck: Pressuring the other team in its own defensive zone to win the puck back before it can break out.
- Forward: One of the three attacking players: the center and two wingers. Forwards lead the offense but are also expected to backcheck.
- Forward line: A group of three forwards, a center and two wingers, who play shifts together. Teams usually roll three or four lines.
- Game misconduct: A penalty that ejects a player for the rest of the game. The team does not go shorthanded for it, and it can bring a suspension.
- Glass: The clear panels on top of the boards that protect fans and keep the puck in play. Players clear the zone "off the glass" by lifting the puck against it.
- Gloves: Padded gloves that protect a skater's hands and wrists from sticks, pucks, and slashes while still allowing a good grip on the stick.
- Goal: When the whole puck crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. Each goal is worth one point on the scoreboard.
- Goal line: The red line that runs across the rink at each end, between the goal posts. The puck must completely cross it for a goal to count. It is also used to judge icing.
- Goalie: The player who guards the net and tries to stop shots. Goalies wear extra padding, use a wider stick, and are the only players allowed to hold the puck with their hands. Also called the goaltender or netminder.
- Goals against average (GAA): A goalie stat showing goals allowed per 60 minutes played. It is calculated as goals against times 60, divided by minutes played. Lower is better.
- Gongshow: Slang for a chaotic game or situation, such as a game full of penalties, fights, or wild goals.
- Gordie Howe hat trick: An informal feat in which one player scores a goal, records an assist, and gets into a fight in the same game. It is named after the Hall of Famer, though he rarely did it himself.
- Grinder: A hard-working player known more for winning puck battles, finishing checks, and killing penalties than for scoring.
- Half-wall: The stretch of boards in the offensive zone between the corner and the blue line. Power plays often run through a player stationed there.
- Hand pass: Batting the puck to a teammate with your hand. It is allowed inside your own defensive zone but stops play anywhere else, and a goal cannot be scored directly off one.
- Hat trick: Three goals by the same player in one game. Fans traditionally throw hats onto the ice to celebrate.
- High-sticking: A penalty for hitting an opponent with a stick above the shoulders. In the NHL it is usually a minor, or a double minor if it causes an injury. Separately, a goal does not count if the puck was played with a stick above the crossbar.
- Hockey pants: Padded shorts worn over the hips, thighs, and tailbone to protect against falls and hits. Also called breezers.
- Holding: A penalty for grabbing an opponent or their stick with your hands or arms to slow them down.
- Hooking: A penalty for using the blade of your stick to tug or hook an opponent and slow them down.
- Hybrid icing: The icing rule used in the NHL and many other leagues. When the puck is iced, the linesman judges which player would reach the faceoff dots first: if it is a defender, icing is called right away; if it is the attacker, play continues.
- Icing: Shooting the puck from your side of the center red line all the way across the other team's goal line without anyone touching it. Play stops and the faceoff returns to the offending team's end. A shorthanded team is allowed to ice the puck in most leagues.
- Inline hockey: Hockey played on inline skates, usually with a puck on a smooth indoor or outdoor surface. Most leagues play four skaters and a goalie per side, and many play without offside, icing, or body checking.
- Interference: A penalty for impeding or hitting an opponent who does not have the puck.
- Leg pads: The large pads a goalie wears from the foot to above the knee to block low shots.
- Line change: Swapping one group of players on the ice for fresh ones from the bench. Teams change lines every 30 to 60 seconds or so, during stoppages or on the fly.
- Linesman: An on-ice official who calls offside and icing, drops the puck for most faceoffs, and breaks up fights. Higher levels use two linesmen alongside the referees.
- Major penalty: A five-minute penalty for more serious fouls, such as fighting or a hit that injures an opponent. Unlike a minor, the player stays in the box for the full five minutes even if the other team scores.
- Match penalty: The most severe penalty, given for deliberately trying to injure an opponent. The player is ejected, a teammate serves five minutes in the box, and a suspension usually follows.
- Minor penalty: The most common penalty: two minutes in the penalty box. If the other team scores on the power play, the player is released early.
- Misconduct: A 10-minute penalty, often for abusing an official or unsportsmanlike behavior. The player sits for 10 minutes, but the team is not shorthanded and can replace them on the ice.
- Natural hat trick: Three goals in a row by the same player, with no one else on either team scoring in between.
- Neutral zone: The middle area of the rink between the two blue lines.
- Odd-man rush: An attack where the offense has more players than the defense in the play, such as a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2.
- Offensive zone: The area between the other team's blue line and the end boards behind their goalie. It is where you try to score. Also called the attacking zone.
- Offside: An attacking player is offside if both of their skates are completely past the offensive blue line before the puck fully crosses it. Having one skate on or behind the line keeps a player onside. The result is a faceoff outside the zone.
- One-timer: Shooting a pass right away, without stopping the puck first. It gives the goalie very little time to react.
- Overtime: Extra time played when a game is tied. In the NHL regular season it is five minutes of 3-on-3, followed by a shootout if no one scores; playoff games use full 20-minute 5-on-5 periods until someone scores. Rec leagues often use a short overtime, a shootout, or simply allow ties.
- Penalty box: The bench-like area across from the team benches where penalized players serve their time. Also called the sin bin.
- Penalty kill: Defending while your team is shorthanded because of a penalty. Players on the penalty kill focus on blocking shots and clearing the puck.
- Penalty shot: A free one-on-one attempt against the goalie, awarded when a player with a clear scoring chance, such as a breakaway, is fouled from behind.
- Period: One of the segments of a game. The NHL plays three 20-minute periods; youth and rec leagues often play shorter periods, sometimes with running time.
- Pinch: When a defenseman steps in from the blue line deeper into the offensive zone to keep the puck in or join the attack.
- Plus-minus: A stat that gives a player +1 for being on the ice when their team scores at even strength or shorthanded, and -1 when the other team does. Goals scored on a power play are not counted for the team that has it.
- Point: In stats, a goal or an assist; a player's points are their goals plus assists. On the ice, the point is the area just inside the offensive blue line where defensemen set up.
- Poke check: Jabbing the stick blade at the puck to knock it off an opponent's stick.
- Power play: When a team has more skaters on the ice because the other team has a player in the penalty box. A goal scored this way is a power-play goal.
- Puck: The hard rubber disc used in ice hockey, one inch thick and three inches across. Pucks are often frozen before games so they bounce less.
- Pulling the goalie: Taking the goalie off the ice for an extra skater, usually late in a game when a team is trailing by a goal or two.
- Rebound: A puck that bounces off the goalie or the net after a shot, giving attackers a second chance to score.
- Red line: The line across the middle of the rink that splits it in half. It is used to judge icing.
- Referee: The on-ice official in charge of the game, who calls penalties and decides whether goals count. Referees wear orange or red armbands to stand out from linesmen.
- Roller hockey: In North America, roller hockey usually means inline hockey. In other parts of the world, it can mean a different game played on quad skates with a ball and curved sticks.
- Roughing: A penalty for shoving, punching, or other unnecessary rough play, usually after the whistle, that falls short of a fight.
- Saucer pass: A pass flipped so the puck floats over sticks in the way and lands flat on a teammate's stick. Players call a good one "sauce."
- Save: When the goalie stops a shot that would otherwise have gone in.
- Save percentage: A goalie stat showing the share of shots on goal that were stopped: saves divided by shots. A goalie who stops 27 of 30 shots has a .900 save percentage.
- Screen: Standing in front of the goalie to block their view of a shot.
- Shift: The stretch of time a player spends on the ice before changing. Shifts are usually short, often under a minute, because hockey is so tiring.
- Shin guards: Hard-shelled pads that protect a skater's knees and shins from pucks, sticks, and falls.
- Shootout: A tiebreaker in which players take turns going one-on-one against the goalie. In the NHL regular season, it follows a scoreless overtime and starts with three shooters per team.
- Shorthanded: Playing with fewer skaters than the other team because of a penalty. A goal scored while shorthanded is a shorthanded goal, sometimes called a shorty.
- Shot on goal: A shot that would have gone in if the goalie had not stopped it, or that does go in. Shots that miss the net or hit the post do not count.
- Shutout: A game where a goalie, or a team, allows no goals.
- Sieve: Slang for a goalie who lets in a lot of goals, like a strainer with holes.
- Skates: Boots with steel blades that every player wears on the ice. Goalie skates have a lower, longer blade and extra protection.
- Slap shot: The hardest shot in hockey: the player winds up, swings the stick, and strikes the ice just behind the puck. It is powerful but slower to release than other shots.
- Slashing: A penalty for swinging your stick at an opponent's body or stick, especially the hands.
- Slot: The prime scoring area in front of the net, between the faceoff circles. Shots from the slot are the most dangerous.
- Snapshot: A quick shot that is a cross between a wrist shot and a slap shot, with a short backswing and a fast release.
- Spare: A player who fills in for a team that is short on players for a game. In rec leagues, finding spares (also called subs) is a regular part of a manager's week, and spare goalies are especially in demand.
- Spearing: A penalty for jabbing an opponent with the blade of the stick. It is treated seriously and often brings a major and a game misconduct.
- Stick: The long shaft with a curved blade used to pass, shoot, and handle the puck. Players choose a left or right stick based on which side of the body they shoot from.
- Stickhandling: Controlling the puck with your stick while skating, moving it side to side to protect it from defenders.
- Tape-to-tape: A perfect pass that goes right from the passer's stick blade to the receiver's, named for the tape players wrap around their blades.
- Tip: Redirecting a teammate's shot on purpose by touching it with your stick on the way to the net.
- Too many men: A bench minor called when a team has more players on the ice than allowed, usually because of a sloppy line change.
- Top shelf: The upper part of the net, just under the crossbar. Scoring there is often described as going where "mom keeps the cookies."
- Trapezoid: The painted area behind the net in the NHL and some other leagues. Goalies may play the puck behind the goal line only inside it, or take a penalty.
- Tripping: A penalty for using your stick, knee, foot, or body to knock an opponent off their feet.
- Two-line pass: A pass from inside your defensive zone that crosses both your blue line and the center red line. It used to be offside, but the NHL removed the rule in 2005 and most other leagues have since done the same.
- Two-on-one: An odd-man rush where two attackers come in against one defender, often written 2-on-1. The defender usually tries to take away the pass and leave the shooter to the goalie.
- Wheel: Slang for skating speed. A player who "has wheels" is fast; to "wheel" can also mean carrying the puck around the zone.
- Winger: A forward who plays on the left or right side of the center. Wingers work the boards, go to the net, and cover the other team's defensemen in their own zone.
- Wraparound: Carrying the puck behind the net and trying to tuck it in at the far post before the goalie can slide across.
- Wrist shot: The most common and accurate shot in hockey: the player sweeps the puck forward and flicks the wrists to release it, with no backswing.

## Frequently asked questions

- What are the basic hockey terms? Start with the words for the rink and the game flow: blue line, red line, crease, faceoff, period, and line change. Then learn the two rules that stop play most often, icing and offside, and the penalty words: minor, major, power play, and penalty kill. Add the stats (goal, assist, point) and the positions (center, wingers, defensemen, goalie) and you can follow almost any game.
- What is icing in hockey? Icing happens when a player shoots the puck from their own side of the center red line across the other team's goal line and nobody touches it. Play stops, the faceoff goes back to the offending team's end, and in the NHL that team cannot change lines. The NHL uses hybrid icing, where the linesman blows the play dead if a defender would reach the puck first, while many amateur leagues use no-touch icing. Teams killing a penalty are allowed to ice the puck in most leagues.
- What is offside in hockey? A player is offside if both of their skates are fully across the other team's blue line before the puck completely crosses it. Officials judge it by the skates, not the stick, so a player with one skate on or behind the line is still onside. When it is called, play stops and the faceoff moves outside the zone. Some ball hockey and inline leagues do not use offside at all.
- What does a hat trick mean in hockey? A hat trick is three goals by the same player in one game, and fans often throw hats onto the ice to celebrate. A natural hat trick is three goals in a row with no other goals in between. A Gordie Howe hat trick is an informal mix of a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game.
- What are the positions in hockey? Each team has six players on the ice at full strength: a goalie, two defensemen, and three forwards, made up of a center and two wingers (left wing and right wing). Forwards usually play in lines of three and defensemen in pairs, and coaches rotate lines throughout the game so players stay fresh.

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