Impress your friends - talk like a hockey player Apr 24 '04 (Updated Oct 05 '05)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Books Irene Hunt - The Lottery Rose: A Novel From $6 John Steinbeck - East Of Eden From $7 The Bottom Line The confounding language of the sport of hockey deciphered here for your increased enjoyment of the game. What the heck is icing? How do you know what offsides is all about? Why are the commentators always talking about biscuits? Are they hungry? The goal of this article is to help people with minimal hockey exposure to understand the game’s complicated terms. In essentially the form of a glossary, it will touch on much of the official terminology, but will also address many slang and offer some examples of their usage so you too can talk like a hockey player. Some obvious terms were omitted . . . because well, they were obvious. Glossary of Hockey Terms Attack Zone (noun) - The other team’s end of the ice, inside the blue line. Backstop - 1. (noun) – The Goal. 2. (noun) – The Goalie Biscuit (slang/noun) – The puck. Pavol Demitra just top shelfed the biscuit but Rick DiPietro stoned him cold! Blue Line (noun) – The center ice border of each attack zone is marked with a blue line, the first lines from the center red line. The blue line must be painted higher than normal. The Red Wings keep tripping over it. Blueliner (slang/noun) – A defenseman (the blue line is where the defensemen normally play while in the attack zone). Boarding (verb) - Unceremoniously planting an opposing player’s face into the glass. This is only a penalty if the hit comes on the back of an unprotected player. Branch (noun) – A hockey stick. Jason Allison just tripped over his own branch trying to dangle through the Carolina defense. Butt Ending (verb) - While it is legal in most cases to ram another player with your backside, poking him with the butt end of your stick is a penalty. That pylon just butt ended me and nearly ruptured my spleen! Butterfly (noun) - A goalie technique in which they drop with their knees together and feet spread as far apart as possible to take away the lowest portion of the net. Change on the Fly (verb or noun) also similar Line Change (noun) - Substituting players while the puck is still in play. Hockey is the only major sport where substitutions are allowed during play. They change on the fly and get caught with too many men on the ice. or That was a fatal time to change on the fly and the reason they gave up the odd man rush Cherry Picker (slang/noun) – A one-way player who simply waits for a pass near center in the hopes of getting a breakaway instead of helping on defense. He’s a no talent cherry picker who gets all his scoring chances by waiting outside the blue line for a breakaway. Circles (noun) – The two face off circles in each attack zone. Crease (noun) – The blue painted section directly in front of the net. Cross Checking 1. (noun) - A penalty for hitting an offensive player with the stick held horizontally in both hands. This simple act is not a penalty unless accompanied by an arm thrust, the hitter leaving their feet, or intent to injure is apparent. 2. (verb) the act of crosschecking. Dangle (slang/verb) – An offensive move where a player demonstrates outstanding puck control by making a huge move with the puck, often dragging it wide of the goalie with only one hand on the stick. Also Dangler (noun) - a person who can dangle. Defensive Zone (noun) - Your own end of the ice inside the blue line. Deke - 1. (noun) - A move to fool another player, often precluded by a head fake. Wow, what a deke, he made Chris Pronger look like a pylon 2. (verb) to make a move to fool another player. Also deked He deked (verb) - Chris Chelios right out of his skates and top shelfed the biscuit. Delayed Offsides (noun) - The puck is in the attack zone, but hasn’t been touched by the offensive team. The referee will raise his arm and call offsides only if the offensive team plays the puck before it leaves the zone. Delayed Penalty (noun) - When a penalty is called, play does not stop until the penalized team plays the puck. This enables the other team to pull their goalie and put an extra attacker on the ice. As soon as the offending team touches the puck the clock stops and the penalty time will start with the next face off. The referee has his arm up. Is it a delayed penalty a delayed offsides or is he checking that his deodorant is still working? Dive/Diving - 1. (verb) - Embellishing an opposing player’s actions in hopes of causing them to be penalized. 2. (noun) a two-minute penalty under the umbrella of unsportsmanlike conduct for diving. Aw, come on! They’re giving the penalty to Forsburg? The only way Iginla’s dive could be more obvious was if there were five guys holding up scorecards! End to End also Coast to Coast- A solo scoring chance that starts deep in a player’s own zone. Ron Francis is too stone handed to go end to end, why wont he pass the Biscuit? Enforcer - The big guy who is responsible for non-official reactions to big hits. The enforcer protects marquee players generally by picking fights. Of course Peter Worrell cannot skate, he’s the team’s enforcer, not a dangler. Face Wash 1. (slang/noun) - Rubbing sweaty, foul smelling hockey gloves over an opponent’s face. Patrik Elias got himself a little face wash after trying to give Peter Nedved a wedgie. Fan (verb) - Not the people watching the game, this refers to missing a shot. Alexei Zhamnov might need a longer stick; he just fanned on that puck. Fisticuffs (noun) - Fancy hockey terminology for a fistfight. Five-hole (noun) – the space between the goalie’s legs. There are four other holes, two over the shoulders, and two under the arms, but these are rarely mentioned. Goal line (noun) – The line the puck must cross to be considered a goal. This line extends the width of the entire rink. Gordy Howe Hat Trick (noun) - A goal, assist and fight in one game. Donald Brashear just got beaten up badly and is going to the sin bin but with the goal and assist he scored earlier, he’ll be pleased to know that he has the Gordy Howe Hat Trick tonight. Hack 1. (verb) – To chop another player’s stick. 2. (noun) – A player with little skill who is overly physical, possibly dangerous to others. The press loves this rookie, but I think he’s just a hack. Hand Pass - 1. (noun) - Moving the puck to another player with a hand. Legal in the defensive zone, this results in a whistle anywhere else on the ice. 2. (verb) the action of making a pass with the hand instead of the stick. That’s a hand pass, but it’s OK in their own zone. Hat trick (noun) - Scoring three goals in a game. Head Hunter (slang/noun) – A hard shooting forward who tends to hit the goalie in the head. The head hunters are out today – poor Andrew Raycroft might have multiple concussions before this one ends. High Stick - 1. Knocking the puck down with a stick higher than four feet results in a whistle. 2. Knocking an opposing player in the head or shoulders with a high stick results in a penalty. Hooking – 1. (noun) Penalty for holding a player with the stick to visibly slow them down. Little Bo Peep gets called for hooking all the time. 2. Hooked (verb) - The act of hooking a player. That guy hooked Sergei Federov so badly he ended up skating towards his own net. Icing - 1. (noun) - A pass that comes from one side of center to beyond the offensive goal line without being touched. This results in a whistle and faceoff in the opposite end. 2. Ice (verb) – The act of icing the puck. They really need to ice the puck here to get a whistle and a line change. Three of their players already collapsed from exhaustion. Laser (slang/noun) – A very hard and extremely accurate shot. Evgeni Nabokov didn’t have a chance on that laser even if he wasn’t stopping to take a drink of water. Lit up (slang/verb) - Scored a large number of goals on the keeper. From the goal lamp behind the goal which the goal judge turns on after a goal is scored. Wow the Predators really lit up that hack Dominik Hasek today. Maybe he should retire and play beach hockey. Light the Lamp (slang/verb) – Act of scoring a goal. Similar to Lit up Lumber (slang/noun) – A hockey stick. Natural Hat Trick (noun) - Scoring three consecutive goals in a single game. Odd Man Rush (noun) – When the other team enters the zone with players outnumbering the offense. In example, two offensive players attacking with only one defensive player and the goalie between them and the net. Offsides (noun) - Entering the offensive zone before the puck. One Time - 1. (adjective) – Used to describe pass or shot made without attempting to control the puck first. That One Time pass was the key to that goal 2.One Timer (noun) – A shot made without settling a moving pass. Paddle (noun) – The wide portion of a goalie stick above the blade that is unique to goalie sticks. Paddle Down (adjective) – A save technique normally used in close where the goalie lays their stick on flat the ice to block low shots. What a paddle down save on the wraparound! Picking the Corners – Accurate shooting to the hardest portions of the net for the goalie to cover, the upper and lower corners of the net. Point (noun) - The upper corners of the zone nearest the blue line. Poke Check (noun or verb) - Knocking the puck away from an opposing player with the stick. Rob Blake’s poke check saved the shot on the open net and broke up the Detroit 5 on 1. Postage Stamp (slang/noun) – An amazingly accurate shot to the upper right corner of the net. Pylon (slang/noun) - A player lacking skill, a slow skater who is easy to go around. It’s a wonder we aren’t getting beat worse with the pylons we have for defensemen. Ripple the Mesh - (slang/verb) – The act of scoring a goal (from the visible movement of the net) He ripples the mesh with a postage stamp! Too bad it was his own goalie he beat. Saucer Pass (noun)- An aerial pass with good spin that flies like a Frisbee. Screen - 1. (noun) – Players in front of the goalie who visually shield him from incoming shots. The only way they ever score on me is by using the screen. 2. (verb) The act of screening the goalie’s view. I hope they don’t screen Potvin today like they did last game when he was lit up. Short Side (noun) - The side of the goal closest to the shooter. Sin Bin (slang/noun) - The penalty box. He got two minutes in the sin bin for spitting his chew on the ice. I knew crossing over from baseball to hockey would be tough for this kid.. Slew Foot (slang/verb) - Tripping a player by kicking their foot out from behind. That hack Ed Belfour slew footed me again. I think he’s still mad that I found out he had gin in his “water” bottle. Slot (noun) – The area between the face off circles above the goalie’s crease. Snapshot (noun) - An abbreviated slapshot. This is a hard and fairly accurate shot. Sniper (slang) – A player with an outstandingly accurate shot Slapper(slang) or Slapshot (formal/noun) - The hardest shot in the game, resulting from a near golf style windup. Slashing 1. (verb) - Hitting another player with the stick. 2. (noun) The penalty for hitting another player with the stick. Stack the Pads (verb) – A save technique where the goalie drops to one side, using their legs pads to make the save. Stone Hands (slang/noun) – The state of a lack of ability in handling, carrying, and or receiving the puck, also a player lacking puck handling skill. Stoned (verb) – Despite the obvious sounding references, this has nothing to do with anything you would smoke. Instead, it is slang for a great save. Cujo really stoned that guy's short side attempt, but who the opposing backstop is going to get a penalty for crossing center to take that shot anyway. (from the more traditional “stopped stone cold”) Top Shelf - 1. (verb) A shot to the high part of the goal. 2. (noun) the top part of the goal. Twig (slang/noun) – A hockey stick. He snapped his twig like a . . . twig. Wrap Around - (noun or verb) A shot coming from a player moving out from behind the net. Wrister (slang) or Wrist shot (proper/noun) - The shot with the quickest release. Generally the lowest velocity of the three shot types, but capable of fooling goalies as it requires the least preparation. Zone - 1. (noun) – This refers to either end of the ice from beyond the blue line. It can be either the offensive or defensive zone. 2. (rare/verb) – request to clear the puck from the defensive zone by whatever means possible. Zone, zone guys, we need a line change. There are numerous other words that hockey players use. They are short, generally about four letters long and you probably know most of them, so I left them out. Hopefully this article has helped you further not only your understanding of hockey, but increased your ability to colorfully describe the events of the game to friends and coworkers. This list is far from complete I am sure, feel free to email me any omitted gems and I will be glad to email you their meaning. Heck, if it’s good hockey slang, I might feel the need to add it to the article. Until next time, may the headhunters snipe someone else’s backstop and may all your slappers find the short side, ripple the mesh and light the lamp. Oh yeah, my apologies to all the players and teams that I used as examples . . . well all of them except Dominik Hasek who has earned my ire as the most irate, illogical goaltender ever to play the game. A word of advice to Dominik, Ron Hextall is the ultimate “Bad Boy” goalie. You cannot earn his title by being a whiner. © Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited

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