Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice in which two teams try to score by shooting the puck into the opposing team’s goal.
Players move around the rink on skates and mainly control the puck with their sticks. The team that scores more goals wins the game.
During normal play, each team usually has five skaters and one goaltender on the ice. Ice hockey is a fast-paced sport with frequent substitutions, physical contact and regular stoppages in play.
Below are the basic rules you need to understand how an ice hockey game works.
Ice Hockey at a Glance
Teams: 2
Players on the ice: Usually 6 per team — 5 skaters and 1 goaltender
Regulation time: Three 20-minute periods
Objective: Score more goals than the opposing team
Rink: 60 m long and 26–30 m wide under IIHF rules
Goal size: 1.83 × 1.22 m
Puck: A flat disc made of vulcanized rubber
A goal is scored when: The puck completely crosses the goal line according to the rules
Objective of the Game and Scoring
The main objective in ice hockey is to put the puck into the opposing team’s goal while preventing the other team from scoring in yours.
Every valid goal counts as one goal.
For example:
1–0 — the first team has scored one goal and the second team has scored none.
4–2 — the first team has scored four goals and the second team has scored two.
It does not matter how far away the shot was taken or how spectacular it was. Every valid goal adds one to the score.
A goal is awarded when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided the attacking team has not committed an offence that prevents the goal from being awarded.
The Ice Hockey Rink and Goals
Ice hockey is played on an ice rink surrounded by boards and protective glass.
Under international IIHF rules, the official rink is 60 metres long and between 26 and 30 metres wide.
Two blue lines divide the rink into three main zones:
- one team’s defensive zone
- the neutral zone
- the other team’s defensive zone, which is the attacking zone for the opposing team
A red centre line runs across the middle of the rink.
There is a goal at each end of the rink.
The standard IIHF goal is approximately:
1.83 m wide
1.22 m high
In front of each goal is a marked area known as the goal crease.
The rink markings are especially important for understanding two basic hockey rules: offside and icing.
What Is a Hockey Puck?
Instead of a ball, ice hockey is played with a puck.
A hockey puck is a flat, round disc made of vulcanized rubber.
An official puck is approximately:
- 7.6 cm in diameter
- 2.5 cm thick
- 156–170 g in weight
Pucks are usually chilled before games so that they bounce less and are easier to control on the ice.
Players pass the puck to teammates, carry it with their sticks and shoot it toward the goal.
How Many Players Are on the Ice?
When both teams are at full strength, each team normally has six players on the ice:
- three forwards
- two defencemen
- one goaltender
This means there are normally 12 players on the ice when both teams are at full strength.
However, the players on the ice change constantly.
Hockey players regularly substitute for one another, and substitutions can often happen while play is still continuing. This is commonly called changing on the fly.
A team may also temporarily have fewer skaters on the ice because of a penalty.
You can learn more about what each player does in Ice Hockey Positions Explained.
Ice Hockey Equipment
Ice hockey is a fast and physical sport, so players wear a large amount of protective equipment.
A typical skater’s equipment includes:
- skates
- a hockey stick
- a helmet
- shoulder and chest protection
- elbow pads
- protective pants
- shin guards
- gloves
- hockey socks and a jersey
- required neck protection in IIHF competition
Goaltenders wear specialized protective equipment, including a goalie mask, large leg pads, chest and arm protection, a catching glove, a blocker and a special goalie stick.
How Does an Ice Hockey Game Start?
An ice hockey game begins with a face-off at centre ice.
Two opposing players line up across from each other, and an official drops the puck between their sticks.
The players then try to gain possession of the puck and play begins.
Face-offs are not only used at the beginning of a game.
They are also used to restart play:
- after a goal
- at the beginning of a new period
- after most stoppages in play
The location of the face-off depends on why play was stopped.
This means the face-off is one of the main ways play starts or restarts in ice hockey.
How Long Does an Ice Hockey Game Last?
A standard ice hockey game consists of three periods of 20 minutes.
That gives a total of 60 minutes of regulation playing time.
However, a hockey game takes much longer than one hour in real time.
This is because ice hockey uses a stopped clock.
Whenever the officials stop play, the game clock also stops.
For example, the clock does not continue running after the whistle, during most stoppages, after the puck leaves the playing area or after a goal.
As a result, a 20-minute period takes considerably longer than 20 real-world minutes.
There are intermissions between periods, during which the players rest and the ice is usually resurfaced.
When Is the Puck in Play?
Unlike a football field, an ice hockey rink is surrounded by boards.
This means the puck can hit the boards and bounce back into play without the game stopping.
Play may be stopped, for example, when:
- the puck leaves the playing surface
- an official calls a penalty or another violation
- the goaltender freezes the puck and the referee stops play
- a goal is scored
- offside is called
- icing is called
After the whistle, the puck is out of play until the next restart.
If the puck simply hits the boards, glass or goal frame and stays on the playing surface, play will usually continue.
What Is a Goal in Ice Hockey?
A goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided the play meets the rules.
Once a goal is awarded, one goal is added to the scoring team’s total.
Play then restarts with a face-off at centre ice.
However, not every puck that enters the net necessarily counts as a goal.
A goal may be disallowed if, for example, the attacking team committed an offence before the puck entered the net or the puck was directed into the goal in an illegal way.
At higher levels of hockey, officials may use video review for certain difficult situations.
Player Substitutions
One of the most distinctive features of ice hockey is the frequency of substitutions.
Skaters usually stay on the ice for relatively short periods known as shifts, then return to the bench while teammates replace them.
A substitution can happen during a stoppage or while play is still continuing.
This is known as changing on the fly.
Players must follow the rules when entering and leaving the ice.
If a team has too many players on the ice at the same time, it may receive a penalty for too many players on the ice.
What Is Offside in Ice Hockey?
Offside in ice hockey is connected to the blue line at the attacking zone.
The simplest way to understand it is:
The puck must enter the attacking zone before the attacking players.
If an attacking player crosses the blue line into the offensive zone before the puck enters the zone, offside may be called.
The official then stops play and the game restarts with a face-off.
For example:
a player carrying the puck approaches the blue line → a teammate has already crossed fully into the attacking zone → the puck then enters the zone.
This can result in an offside call.
Like football offside, hockey offside is much easier to understand with a diagram or animation.
What Is Icing?
Icing is another fundamental rule in ice hockey.
In simple terms, icing may occur when a player shoots or sends the puck from their own side of the centre red line all the way down the rink so that it crosses the opposing goal line without being touched, provided no exception applies.
When icing is called, play stops and the next face-off is usually held in the defensive zone of the team that iced the puck.
The purpose of the rule is to stop teams from constantly relieving pressure by simply shooting the puck all the way down the rink.
There are important exceptions.
For example, under international rules, a team playing shorthanded because of a penalty is generally allowed to shoot the puck down the ice without being called for icing.
For a beginner, the easiest way to remember the difference is:
Offside is about entering the attacking zone through the blue line.
Icing is about sending the puck too far down the rink from your own side.
Body Checking and Fouls
Physical contact is a normal part of ice hockey.
A player may legally use their body in certain situations to separate an opponent from the puck.
A properly executed body check can therefore be legal.
However, not every hit is allowed.
An official may call a penalty for actions such as:
- tripping
- hooking
- slashing
- holding
- illegal or dangerous body checking
- boarding
- dangerous contact to the head or neck
- other illegal actions
The rules for body checking may also vary by age group and competition category.
For a beginner, the main thing to understand is that hockey allows physical contact, but dangerous or illegal contact is penalized.
What Is a Penalty?
For many rule violations, a player receives a penalty.
The player must leave the ice and spend a certain amount of time in the penalty box.
The most common penalty is a two-minute minor penalty.
There are also other types of penalties, including:
- double-minor penalties
- major penalties
- misconduct penalties
- game misconduct penalties
- other penalties depending on the offence
The most important thing for a beginner to understand is that a penalty often reduces the number of skaters a team has on the ice and gives the opposing team a numerical advantage.
What Are Power Play and Penalty Kill?
When one team has a player serving a penalty and the opposing team has more skaters on the ice, the team with the extra player is on a power play.
The team with fewer players is shorthanded and is said to be on the penalty kill.
For example:
one team has five skaters, while the other team has only four because a player has been penalized.
The first team is therefore playing 5-on-4 and has an attacking advantage.
The shorthanded team’s main objective is to prevent a goal until the penalty expires.
With a standard two-minute minor penalty, a power-play goal will usually end the relevant penalty early.
Power plays and penalty kills are among the most important tactical situations in ice hockey.
What Is a Delayed Penalty?
Sometimes an official sees an offence but does not stop play immediately.
If the team that was fouled still has possession of the puck, the official may raise an arm to signal a delayed penalty.
Play continues until the offending team gains control of the puck.
The whistle is then blown and the penalty is assessed.
In this situation, the team that will receive the power play often removes its goaltender and sends out an extra skater because play will stop as soon as the offending team gains control of the puck.
What Is a Penalty Shot?
In certain situations, instead of an ordinary penalty, the referee may award a penalty shot.
A penalty shot is designed to restore a clear scoring opportunity that was illegally taken away by the opposing team.
During a penalty shot, the attacking player takes control of the puck and skates in alone against the goaltender.
The other players do not take part in the attempt.
The player tries to beat the goaltender and score.
Once the attempt is completed, the player cannot simply take another normal rebound shot.
A penalty shot during the game should not be confused with a shootout, which may be used after the game to determine a winner.
What Happens After Play Stops?
Football has throw-ins, corner kicks, goal kicks and free kicks.
Ice hockey works differently.
The main way to restart the game after a stoppage is a face-off.
An official puts the puck back into play at one of the designated face-off spots on the rink.
The location depends on why play was stopped.
For example:
- after a goal, the face-off is held at centre ice
- after icing, the face-off is generally held in the offending team’s defensive zone
- after other stoppages, the appropriate face-off spot is chosen according to the rules
Ice hockey therefore does not have a direct equivalent of football’s set pieces.
The closest equivalent is a structured face-off and the play that develops immediately afterward.
Can Players Play the Puck Without Their Stick?
Players mainly control the puck with their sticks, but touching the puck with another part of the body is not automatically illegal.
A player may, for example, stop or redirect the puck with a skate in certain situations.
However, there are restrictions on how a puck may be deliberately directed into the goal.
There are also rules against playing the puck with a high stick in certain situations.
For a beginner, the most important point is:
Touching the puck with a skate is not automatically a violation.
What Does Pulling the Goaltender Mean?
A team is allowed to replace its goaltender with an extra skater.
This is most commonly done near the end of a game when the team is losing and urgently needs a goal.
For example, instead of:
5 skaters + 1 goaltender
the team can play with:
6 skaters + an empty net
This gives the team an extra attacking player but creates a major risk because the opposing team can score into the empty net.
Teams also commonly pull the goaltender during a delayed penalty against the opposing team.
How Is the Winner Decided?
After three periods, the team with more goals wins.
For example:
4–2 — the first team wins.
However, unlike in many football competitions, ice hockey tournaments often require a winner even if the score is tied after regulation.
In that case, the game may go to overtime.
The exact overtime format depends on the competition.
Its length and number of players on the ice may differ between league games, group-stage games, playoff games and finals.
Overtime commonly uses a sudden-death format, meaning the first team to score wins immediately.
If overtime does not produce a winner and the competition rules require one, the game may proceed to a shootout.
Players take turns trying to score one-on-one against the opposing goaltender until one team gains the required advantage.
The exact overtime and shootout rules depend on the league or tournament, so they are not identical across all ice hockey competitions.
The Most Important Things to Remember
To start watching ice hockey and understand what is happening, you only need to remember a few basic ideas.
Two teams try to shoot the puck into each other’s goal.
At full strength, each team normally has five skaters and one goaltender on the ice.
A standard game consists of three 20-minute periods of stopped-clock playing time.
Players can substitute while play is still continuing.
After most stoppages, the game restarts with a face-off.
If attacking players enter the offensive zone before the puck, offside may be called.
If a team shoots the puck too far down the rink from its own side, icing may be called.
Players receive penalties for rule violations and may have to leave the ice temporarily. This gives the opposing team a power play.
If the score is tied after regulation, the method used to determine the winner depends on the competition and may include overtime followed by a shootout.
These basic rules are enough to watch an ice hockey game and understand most of the reasons why the officials stop play, why the number of players on the ice changes and why play restarts from different parts of the rink.
What to Learn Next:
→ Ice Hockey Positions Explained
→ Essential Ice Hockey Terms