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Hockey 101
Let's talk ice hockey...
1. THE ABSOLUTE BASICS
You're watching Manchester Storm.
The objective is simple:
We need to put the puck in the other team's net more times than they put it in ours.
There can be up to 6 players on the ice per team:
1 goalie
5 skaters, usually:
2 defence
3 forwards
Teams don't play the same five skaters for very long. Players typically jump on for around 30–60 seconds, then change while play is still happening.
This is called a line change.
So, if you see players suddenly sprinting to the bench while the game is still going, that's completely normal.
2. HOW LONG IS A GAME?
A normal game has:
3 × 20-minute periods
with breaks between them.
So:
1st period → break → 2nd period → break → 3rd period
The clock stops whenever play is stopped, which is why a 60-minute game takes considerably longer in reality.
3. UNDERSTAND THE RINK
The easiest way to think about the ice is:
Period 1
OUR NET | DEFENSIVE ZONE | NEUTRAL ZONE | OFFENSIVE ZONE | THEIR NET
Storm are attacking towards our net.
Period 2
THEIR NET | OFFENSIVE ZONE | NEUTRAL ZONE | DEFENSIVE ZONE | OUR NET
Storm are now attacking towards the opposite end.
Period 3
OUR NET | DEFENSIVE ZONE | NEUTRAL ZONE | OFFENSIVE ZONE | THEIR NET
The teams switch ends again, so Storm are attacking towards the same end they attacked in Period 1.
4. OFFSIDE
This is probably the rule that confuses new fans most.
Imagine the blue line is a doorway into the attacking zone.
The puck has to enter the doorway before the attacking player does.
If an attacking player's skates enter the attacking zone before the puck, it's offside.
The important bit is:
The position of the skates matters, not the stick.
Example:
The puck crosses the blue line first, followed by the Storm player.
Onside.
The Storm player crosses the blue line first, followed by the puck.
Offside.
When you see players suddenly stop attacking and the referee whistles near the blue line, offside is a prime suspect.
New-fan shortcut:
Puck first = onside.
Attacker first = offside.
5. ICING
Icing is essentially when a team under pressure shoots the puck from its own side of the ice all the way down the rink and it crosses the opponent's goal line without being touched, under the conditions where icing applies.
If icing is called:
Play stops.
The face-off comes back into the offending team's defensive zone.
Why does icing exist?
Otherwise, a team could constantly escape pressure simply by launching the puck down the ice.
New-fan shortcut:
Puck launched from your own end → travels all the way down → crosses the goal line → whistle = probably icing.
There are exceptions, so don't panic if you occasionally see a puck go all the way down the ice without an icing call.
6. FACE-OFFS
When play stops, the referee restarts it by dropping the puck.
That's a face-off.
Two players line up against each other and try to win possession for their team.
You'll see face-offs:
At centre ice
In the attacking zones
In the defensive zones
Where the play stopped often determines where the next face-off takes place.
New-fan tip:
Don't ignore the face-off location.
Where the referee drops the puck can tell you a lot about what just happened.
7. PENALTIES
A player commits an infraction, the referee calls a penalty, and the player goes to the penalty box.
Not all penalties are the same.
The two you'll hear most often are minor and major penalties.
Minor penalty | 2 minutes
The player goes to the penalty box and their team normally plays with one fewer skater.
This gives the opposition a power play.
Common examples include:
Tripping
Hooking
Holding
Interference
Slashing
Roughing
If the team on the power play scores, a standard minor penalty usually ends early.
Think: 2 minutes = normal penalty, can end early if the opposition scores.
Major penalty | 5 minutes
A major penalty means the player serves five minutes in the penalty box.
Unlike a standard minor penalty, a major penalty does not end just because the opposition scores. The full five minutes must be served.
Major penalties are generally associated with fighting.
Think: 5 minutes = serious penalty and the full penalty must be served.
8. POWER PLAY
A power play happens when one team has more skaters on the ice than the other because an opposing player is serving a penalty.
For example:
Storm: 5 skaters
Opposition: 4 skaters
Storm are on the power play.
The team with fewer players is short-handed.
Why power plays are exciting
You've suddenly got:
5 attackers vs 4 defenders
This creates more space around the goal.
The team on the power play will try to:
Move the puck quickly
Create passing lanes
Move defenders around
Screen the goalie
Create shooting opportunities
So when you hear:
"Storm power play!"
you should immediately start paying attention.
9. PENALTY KILL
A penalty kill, often shortened to PK, is what happens when your team is playing short-handed because one of your players has been sent to the penalty box.
For example:
Storm player gets a 2-minute penalty.
Storm are down to 4 skaters.
The opposition has a power play.
Storm are on the penalty kill.
The aim is to prevent the opposition from scoring until the penalty expires.
Penalty killers will usually focus on:
Blocking passing lanes
Getting sticks in the way of shots and passes
Clearing the puck down the ice
Protecting the area around their goalie
Attacking when they win possession
A good penalty kill isn't just about surviving.
If Storm win the puck and get it down the ice, they can force the opposition to retreat and potentially create a short-handed scoring chance.
If Storm kill off the entire penalty without conceding, that's a successful penalty kill.
10. DELAYED PENALTIES
This is an important one for new fans.
Sometimes the referee sees an infraction but doesn't blow the whistle immediately.
Instead, they raise their arm and allow play to continue.
Why?
Because the team that was fouled currently has possession.
The referee waits until the offending team gains possession before stopping play.
This gives the non-offending team an opportunity to keep attacking.
You may see:
Storm attacking → referee's arm goes up → Storm keep attacking → Storm pull the goalie → extra Storm skater → opposition touches the puck → whistle.
That is a delayed penalty.
New-fan shortcut:
Referee's arm goes up = a penalty is coming, but play isn't stopping yet.
11. ROUGHING
Roughing is a penalty for unnecessary physical contact with an opponent, such as punching, shoving or striking when a normal battle for the puck has gone too far.
It is commonly a 2-minute minor penalty, although more serious incidents can result in additional or more severe penalties.
For example:
Two players are battling along the boards.
One gives the other an unnecessary punch.
The referee calls:
"Roughing."
If only one player is penalised, that team plays short-handed and the opposition gets a power play.
If players from both teams are penalised during the same incident, the penalties can be coincidental.
12. FIGHTING AND COINCIDENTAL PENALTIES
Hockey can get physical, but don't assume every bit of contact is a penalty.
Checking is a legitimate part of hockey.
Players use physical contact to separate opponents from the puck and create space.
However, not every hit is legal. Things such as dangerous contact, charging, boarding or illegal contact to the head can result in penalties.
Roughing vs fighting
Roughing is a physical altercation that doesn't reach the level of a fight and commonly results in a 2-minute minor penalty.
Fighting involves players actually engaging in a fight and commonly results in 5-minute major penalties.
Coincidental penalties
Sometimes both teams receive penalties on the same play.
These are known as coincidental penalties.
A common example is fighting.
For example:
Storm player: 5-minute major
Opposition player: 5-minute major
The players serve their penalties, but because the penalties are coincidental, the teams can usually continue playing at full strength.
This is different from a major penalty where only one team is penalised.
In that situation, the opposing team can receive a 5-minute power play.
Easy way to remember
One team penalised → advantage to the other team.
Both teams penalised equally → penalties can cancel out for on-ice strength.
13. THE CREASE
You'll notice a coloured area immediately in front of each goal.
That's the crease.
It's the goalie's protected area, and there are rules governing what attacking players can do around and inside it.
When Storm are attacking, watch how players battle for position around the crease.
That's where you'll often see:
Screens
Rebounds
Deflections
Scrambles
Players battling for position
This is also where things can get very chaotic very quickly.
14. THE GOALIE
The goalie is the team's final line of defence.
They're wearing significantly more equipment than everyone else because they're stopping a puck travelling at serious speed.
A few useful terms:
Save
When the goalie stops a shot that would otherwise have gone into the net.
Rebound
The goalie stops a shot, but the puck remains loose instead of being cleanly caught or controlled.
This can create another scoring opportunity.
Shot on goal
A shot that would have gone into the net if the goalie hadn't stopped it.
A shot that goes wide or is blocked by another player isn't counted as a shot on goal.
15. THE EMPTY NET
A team that's losing late in the game can pull its goalie and put another skater on.
That gives them an extra attacking player.
For example:
5 skaters + no goalie
instead of:
5 skaters + goalie
There's nobody protecting the net, though.
The opponent can therefore win the puck and shoot into the empty net.
This is why the final few minutes of a close game can become absolutely frantic.
New-fan shortcut:
Goalie disappears = we're probably desperate and trying to score.
16 . WHAT HAPPENS IF IT'S TIED?
For Elite League regular-season games, if the game is tied after regulation, it goes to:
3-on-3 sudden-death overtime.
The overtime period lasts 5 minutes.
The first team to score wins.
If the game is still tied after overtime, it goes to a shootout.
The shootout consists of individual attempts against the goalie, with the initial five rounds
forming a best-of-five. If the teams are still tied after those five rounds, it continues in sudden death until there is a winner.
17. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE EIHL?
The Motorpoint Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) is the highest level of ice hockey competition in the UK.
There are currently 10 teams:
Manchester Storm
Sheffield Steelers
Nottingham Panthers
Belfast Giants
Cardiff Devils
Dundee Stars
Fife Flyers
Coventry Blaze
Guildford Flames
Glasgow Clan
There are three major competitions you'll hear about:
League
The regular-season competition.
The team finishing with the most points after the season becomes the League Champion.
Challenge Cup
A separate cup competition played during the season.
Its group-stage format is separate from the regular league.
Playoffs
The postseason competition.
For 2026/27, the teams finishing 1st–8th in the regular season qualify for the playoffs. The quarter-finals are played over two legs, followed by the Playoff Finals Weekend.
So a team can have:
· League success
· Challenge Cup success
· Playoff success
They are separate competitions.
18. WHAT SHOULD I ACTUALLY WATCH FOR?
Forget trying to understand every rule immediately.
At your first game, watch these things.
1. Who has the puck?
Sounds obvious, but hockey moves incredibly quickly.
Follow the puck first.
2. What are the players without the puck doing?
This is where hockey becomes really interesting.
Players are constantly:
Creating passing lanes
Blocking shots
Screening the goalie
Defending space
Making runs towards goal
Trying to create rebounds
Covering opposing players
Don't just watch the person carrying the puck.
3. Watch the blue line
When Storm enter the attacking zone, watch the puck and the players' skates.
You'll understand offside surprisingly quickly.
4. Watch the benches
When players fly off and new players jump on: Line change.
Once you notice it, you'll see it happening constantly.
5. Watch the referee
The referee is giving you clues about what's happening.
Arm goes up → delayed penalty.
Whistle near the blue line → possibly offside.
Whistle after a puck goes all the way down → possibly icing.
Player heads to the box → penalty.
6. Watch what happens after a whistle
Don't tune out.
Look at where the next face-off is happening.
That tells you a lot about why play stopped.
19. YOUR FIRST-GAME HOCKEY VOCABULARY
Puck
The object players are trying to score with
Face-off
Restart where the referee drops the puck
Offside
An attacking player enters the zone before the puck
Icing
The puck is shot down the ice and crosses the goal line under conditions where icing is called
Power play
Your team has more skaters because an opponent is serving a penalty
Penalty kill / PK
Your team is defending while short-handed
Short-handed
Playing with fewer skaters because of a penalty
Minor
Usually a 2-minute penalty
Major
Usually a 5-minute penalty
Penalty box
Where penalised players serve their penalties
Delayed penalty
The referee signals a penalty but allows play to continue
Roughing
Unnecessary physical contact, commonly resulting in a minor penalty
Crease
Area immediately in front of the goal
Line change
Players swap during play
Breakaway
An attacker gets a clear scoring chance, often one-on-one with the goalie
Rebound
The goalie stops a shot but the puck remains loose
Assist
A player credited with helping create a goal
Shot on goal
A shot that would have gone into the net if not stopped
Save
The goalie stops a shot on goal
Power-play goal
A goal scored while on the power play
Short-handed goal
A goal scored while short-handed
Empty net
The goalie has been pulled for an extra skater
Hat trick
One player scores three goals
Overtime
Extra time after a tied regulation game
Shootout
Individual attempts against the goalie to decide a tied game
Ultimately, you’re our 7th on the ice so GET LOUD and most importantly enjoy the game!
