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A Guide For Watching Hockey Part 2

© Jeff Justiz

Now that I've talked about everything around the game, it's time to talk about during the game. First off, a rule in the NHL. Unless it's a special game, or a team is wearing their "3rd jersey," the home team will always wear white and the visiting team will always wear a dark colour. I was going to use Tampa Bay and Los Angeles as an example, but L.A. changed their uniforms this season.

Don't watch the same player throughout the game. You might be tempted to watch Wayne Gretzky's or Paul Kariya's every move, but don't. There are other things happening, and you never know when that player will play hurt and not give you a great performance. However, if they are healthy and in great shape, you might want to watch their every move to learn how to play the game, or watch for tendancies they have so you can predict the play before it happens.

If you are at the game, here is a warning that they always announce: ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND WATCH OUT FOR FLYING PUCKS!!! In baseball they say this. I was at Fenway Park in Boston for a game against the Toronto Blue Jays 2 years ago. A foul ball was sent screaming into the third base stands. 5-10 minutes later the person was wheeled out on a stretcher. If you are sitting behind the net or in the corners for a game, you'll notice the glass is higher. Still, watch out for those flying pucks. Guys like Al Iafrate and Mike Modano have been known to hit shots around 100 mph. If it misses the glass, it could kill somebody. If it hits the glass, and you're right behind the glass, it's rare, but the glass has been known to break. Just ask Janet Jones, Wayne Gretzky's wife. One night she came to watch a game, but left halfway through in an ambulance.

When the end of the game comes, and the game is close, teams must pull out all the stops to win. When a team is on the powerplay, or when it's late, instead of using two defencemen, they'll use one and put a forward to play defence. The reason is because forwards are always thinking about scoring, and the better skaters get put on forward. So, by doing this, they technically have 4 forwards on the ice. If the team is losing, like I said in the last article, they'll pull their goalie. That way they have 4 forwards and 2 defence. It gives them a powerplay. If a team is shorthanded, you see one of hockey's rare formations; the box. To keep the other team from scoring, the 4 players on the ice form a big box in their own zone. That way, a man is covering all 4 corners of their zone. No one stays in the middle because the purpose is to keep the other team out of the middle. If someone gets in, they become the goalie's responsibility or the defenceman whose side the puck is not on.

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