What makes hockey special

When I think back through the years I can recall multiple times when I really looked forward to a hockey event. I counted down the days until it got here. It was almost like an advent calendar at Christmas. You got closer and closer until the day arrived. The best part of it all was that because we love the game so much it never lets you down. Every time you go to a game or play hockey it is just what you dreamed it would be. It lives up to the hype and the excitement each time.

A perfect example of this anticipation would be the opening of the Penn State Nittany Lion ice hockey season and the first game in the new Pegula Ice Arena. This amazing state of the art facility will usher in a whole new era of college hockey in Pennsylvania. With PSU playing in the Big Ten it will open up a lot of eyes to the sports and it will get loads of well deserved attention.

I will be there. I have four tickets and plan on taking my wife and two of our kids. It will be a fun night just discovering the unreal arena I have read so much about.

Pegula have literally built this hockey complex which also includes a community rink for youth hockey for us. It sounds kind of silly but it is true. They have the best interest of hockey fans in this area in their minds and they want us to enjoy it. The arena itself is one of the best in the country. I am hearing that it rivals some NHL arenas in quality and will be the standard against which all other college hockey teams arenas get measured against.

The Nittany Lions huddle together before their game: photo by Derek Meluzio. Speaking of measuring yourself against college hockey teams, the product Penn State puts on the ice will be great also. Do not get me wrong, they are a young team with a young program, they will have struggles, but they will be competitive and they will surprise many people.

Thinking about how excited I am and how much I am looking forward to Friday night, I decided to look back on other hockey games that had the same effect on me as a fan in the past. First off I think of the Stanley Cup finals in I had two best friends growing up that were also huge hockey lovers. Me and my one buddy Shane were Flyers fans. Our other buddy Nathan rooted for the Oilers.

As you can imagine, was a big year for us. Game seven of the Stanley Cup finals was at the time, the biggest hockey moment we had experienced. We obviously were not there in person but watching on TV was huge.

Me and my Flyers buddy made a friendly wager with our other friend in the school library. I remember it like it was yesterday. I even think there was a handshake on the deal. We were convinced the Flyers were gonna win. The short time leading up to that game not sure how many but there weren't many days between game 6 and game 7 was crazy.

It started with the bet in the library, continued in the classroom and I am sure it kept going on the bus ride to and from school. We all know the outcome Here is one that all Hershey Bears fans will recall.

The Bob Hartley era was amazing for fans. It was an interesting time. It was when we had the heated rivalry with the Cornwall Aces and it was also around the time when things started going bad with the Flyers arganization.

It was the time when I pretty much changed from a Flyers fan who also attended Bears games to a full blown Hershey Bears fan. The Aces players became Bears and the Flyers got the Phantoms.

That season I talked about earlier was amazing. That year was filled with great moments and great games filled with excitement and anticipation. Ken Belanger railroaded J. Labbe from behind injuring the star goalie. There was plenty of anger towards Kentucky and towards Belanger himself with the fans and the team.

I remember Labbe saying in the newspapers that he was going to get revenge. Yes, there are whistles here and there, but the game picks right up again. Also if you watched any of the Stanley Cup finals games, you were able to see minutes of whistle free great fast hockey. No other sport can give you this. Football takes a 40 second break after every play, basketball the last 20 seconds of a game could take 15 minutes with all the timeouts, and baseball, we all know why baseball is slow.

Nothing gets you going like a teammate giving another teammate a buddy pass in the middle of the neutral zone, and a defenseman catching him clean in the chin with his shoulder. Football has more hitting yes, but hockey has some of the most explosive hits I have ever seen. Come the season opener this year the majority of hockey fans are already predicting if their team will be in the running for Lord Stanley's Cup in April.

Playoffs are a completely different type of hockey as well. It is quicker, harder hitting, and the atmosphere in the cities and arenas makes it some of the most exciting games to watch.

The top reason why this is No. It is just fun to watch all the young players and older ones growing jungles on their face. Plus I do the same thing, and finally this year I could actually say that I had a beard, it was great moment let me tell you when people actually acknowledged it as one too.

Who cares football, it does not beat a toe drag back through the skates to split the D, and score a goal. The primary responsibility of the defensemen two is to prevent the opposing team from having a good shot at the goal. The defensemen also attempt to gain possession of the puck and pass to teammates to initiate an offensive scoring opportunity. The primary responsibility of the forwards three: right wing, center and left wing is to score.

However, forwards also assist the defensemen by back-checking after their team has yielded control of the puck to the opposition. At higher levels of ice hockey competition, four officials — two referee identified by an orange arm band and two linesmen — are utilized. At the youth level, two officials — both of whom are referees — are common. The referee is the ultimate authority during the game and is primarily responsible for calling penalties and determining if goals have been legally scored.

The primary responsibilities of the linesmen include conducting face-offs and determining violations of offside and icing while assisting the referee in enforcing the rules of the game. Before and during all games and practices, check and monitor the playing area to ensure that:. Ontario Minor Hockey Association. The Game of Hockey.