Hockey is played by men and women of all ages. It is one of the most popular sports in North America. The game involves four main skills: stickhandling, skating, passing, and shooting. These skills are generally learned at a young age, and therefore the average well-trained hockey player constantly works to enhance and refine his or her hockey skills. Body size isn’t a determining factor in being a successful and skilled hockey player.
Stick handling is the process of controlling the puck while you possess it and then utilizing your body’s movements to put the puck into the scoring zone. Skating is the action of moving from side to side, forwards, backwards, and to both sides of the ice quickly. Passing is the action of distributing the puck from one position to another quickly and accurately. Shooting is the release of the puck from either your stick or shooting blade.
In hockey, there is usually a “zonal” or “qualifying” time during the game in which the team playing on the attacking team has the “offensive” zone (the front of the net, blue line) to attack and the other team has the ” defensive “zone” (blue line). Usually the attacking team will try to score a goal using these two zones. The attacking team’s main goal is to create scoring opportunities for scoring opportunities with their breakout players (such as wings), for scoring opportunities with the puck possession (offensemen) and for “goals” or points scored by the defense. The defensive zone is used to prevent the other team from scoring a goal.
An offensive player makes a “natural” play toward the end of the offensive zone that “attracts” a “goaltender” (usually a center or defenseman) into “making a save”. This saves the attacking group of players (that had been skating in the offensive zone with the puck) so that the defensive group can have a “load” of defenders ready to clear the “goaltender” if the attacking group should get “shot” from the “defense”. The “save” is usually enough for the team scoring opportunity.
“But what if we do get shot from the “defense”? What if our “goaltender” (center or defenseman) doesn’t “get” the “shot” and the other team scores a goal and take the lead? Then what do you do? You lose! So if you are going to be in an offensive zone to “load up” at the bottom of the goal line, you must skate up to the “offensive” zone “zone” before the other team gets “shot” on you.
So, to summarize: In hockey, you play as an offensive player when you skate up the ice toward the “offensive” zone (the “opposing” team’s end of the ice) before the puck goes “to” you (the “opposing” goaltender). In hockey, you play as a defensive player when you skate up the ice toward the “defense” zone (the end of the ice opposite the “opposing” team). When you’re playing defense, you want to be as “covered” as possible (or “not covered”) by the other team’s blue line. When you’re playing offense, you want to be as “open” as possible (or “not open”) to generate ” scoring opportunities “on” the “other” team.