Un-Written Rules of Hockey

[Hipster 5]

Don't get me wrong here, i'm 100% satisfied with playing with ppl that dont play at such a high level. I actually enjoy playing with all levels of players..you learn better that way. i was more implicating that i h8 playing with ppl who just stand at center waiting for the pass and never play defense thats all.

I'm with you 100%. It takes all 5 guys to play winning hockey. If you are too tired to backcheck, get off. If you are too lazy to backcheck, play tennis.

cherry picking and stretch plays are only for specific situations like powerplays and last gasp comebacks.

[Hipster 5]

One unwritten rule I try to follow is if a guy is going full tilt to pick up a puck on the boards I will not touch him in that zone of a few stick lengths away from the boards, especially if he lacks balance or experience. In open ice, a little shove or jockeying for position is fine, but some of the worst and most tragic injuries I've seen in no-check come from just a little non-malicious push that knocks a guy off his edges or a stick tap to his skates that sends him crashing full speed into the boards.

[Hipster 5]

Onte unwritten rule should be no "cliques" which is just a two man version of puck hogging. We have these two guys who won't get on the ice unless they are both on the same team and playing forward together and THEN they will only pass to each other. I could be coming right down the slot with an open net and the guy would still pass it to his buddy behind the net for a give and go. Sheesh.

[LivHockey84 0]

Onte unwritten rule should be no "cliques" which is just a two man version of puck hogging. We have these two guys who won't get on the ice unless they are both on the same team and playing forward together and THEN they will only pass to each other. I could be coming right down the slot with an open net and the guy would still pass it to his buddy behind the net for a give and go. Sheesh.

yeah i see that alot

[Chadd 916]

Fo Sho...i love blocking shots @ drop-in...they just dont expect you to make that sort of an effort....lol

A couple years back I was playing in a fairly mellow pickup game and a kid shows up going balls-out every second he's on the ice. Cross checking in front of the net, hacking at sticks and throwing his body in front of shots. After about 20 minutes he attempts to block a shot and end s up taking out the shooter, an older guy that wasn't a great skater and couldn't avoid his sprawled out body sliding across the ice. End result is a guy riding in the ambulance with a broken leg and not being able to work for more than a month, just because one guy wanted to play "all-out".

[metalwinger13 1]

as i mentioned before when i play "all out" i juts bust as to keep up and get better. i will attempt to clear a "homer" in front of the net with a very slight push to let them know im there and to see if they move. i had one guy who started pushing back into me so i pushed him back even more and he got mad at me for trying to clear him from the net. i just try to play safe but also bust ass so i can get better.

[Wallzy41 9]

Giant Don't: If you get a newer guy who isn't secure on his skates and he gets a breakaway, don't play him full tilt and trip him and send him flying into the net AND the boards after the net. That having been said, I'm the victim in said situation. Could have been ugly, but ended up with a bruised chin, two huge bruises on the kneecaps, and some paint knocked off my face cage. Best part of it was: The kid who did it, completely spoiled out of his mind, doesn't even apologize, and then starts screaming at me for chipping the paint on his X:60 stick on my way to the ice after the trip.

[n3ss 0]

Fo Sho...i love blocking shots @ drop-in...they just dont expect you to make that sort of an effort....lol

A couple years back I was playing in a fairly mellow pickup game and a kid shows up going balls-out every second he's on the ice. Cross checking in front of the net, hacking at sticks and throwing his body in front of shots. After about 20 minutes he attempts to block a shot and end s up taking out the shooter, an older guy that wasn't a great skater and couldn't avoid his sprawled out body sliding across the ice. End result is a guy riding in the ambulance with a broken leg and not being able to work for more than a month, just because one guy wanted to play "all-out".

the guy you described isn't going all out, he's a douche bag. I think theres a slight difference between that and getting your moneys worth out of pickup. I skate hard at pickup but i'm in it for the workout.

[LivHockey84 0]

i had one guy who started pushing back into me so i pushed him back even more and he got mad at me for trying to clear him from the front of the net.

For what, this is part of hockey...if he don't like it, tell him to take up figure skating...thats no contact

[metalwinger13 1]

yea that guy is a bit of a douche. hell be rough but as soon as someone is a lil rough with him he gets all pissy.. so whatever. im just out there for fun and exercise really

[BrianMatthew19 0]

Onte unwritten rule should be no "cliques" which is just a two man version of puck hogging. We have these two guys who won't get on the ice unless they are both on the same team and playing forward together and THEN they will only pass to each other. I could be coming right down the slot with an open net and the guy would still pass it to his buddy behind the net for a give and go. Sheesh.

yeah i see that alot

I cant stand those people, then there are the guys who try to throw checks, and hack at your stick and take it too seriously.

[BrianMatthew19 0]

you're required to have everything gear wise but shoulder pads here. required to have a cage or shield as well.

Never heard of the cage rule...all though we might need it. Last year, we had a guy get cut on the chin with a stick, three days before his wedding. 6 stitches, and my uncle who runs the game got an "unpleasant" email from the bride to be. The groom has never been seen without a cage since. :D

I have a theory that 1 out of every 8 guys over the age of 18 who wear a full cage or full face shield at hockey have had some horrible injury to the face. I figure only about 12% of the population has the foresight to prevent the horrible injury. Everyone in a visor just hasn't had it happen yet.

I've worn a cage my whole life. I've heard too many stories, they usually don't end well either.

Don't yell for the puck if you're not open. You know the type. The guy who calls for the puck regardless if the pass makes good sense or not. Everybody wants the puck, but it does your team no good to distract the puck carrier's eyes away from legitimate options when there's always that one guy that thinks he's open, even though he usually isn't.

mostly just don't call for the puck. 70% of the time if you deserve it and are in position to do something with it you'll probably get it.

don't be the guy who "knows" he's better then you and just follows close by trying to persuade you to get him the puck.

[LivHockey84 0]

Yeah, shadows.....lol I'll tell you this i'll sit there all night and just make strong breakout passes that are crisp and rewarding before i go flying around all but begging ppl to pass me the puck.

[zebra_steve 11]

Know YOUR ability level and know the difference between a check and body contact....

Couple years ago a wanna be weekend warrior - as in never played real live organized hockey with coaches and referees and stuff - comes back to the bench vowing to "F*** UP" the other sides best D-man. Said the guy "took him out"! This D-man had obvious played at a higher level (later found out he skated JR A north of the border). He had on shins, sweats, elbows, gloves and a bucket - no cage or shield and looked to be all of maybe 5'9" and 160#. The wannabe warrior had full gear including Donzis shoulders, and a full cage. Now here's the thing...... the Weekend Warrior was carying the puck with his head down and skated into the chest of the D-man and bounced off.... He then spent the rest of the session trying to run him and couldn't catch him... this D-man and I spent the session bumping, banging, and leaning all over each other.. and laughing our asses off when we went sliding into the corner when he got under me as I made an outside move and tried to turn the corner on him. We would up sitting around talking over beer afterwards.... He said it was nice to play against someone that understood the difference between checking and contact and that he hardly came out for pick up any more 'cuz too many new guys had no clue and the last thing he wanted was to have to fight someone because of their ignorance.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

I think that's what leads to guys getting so worked up in rec league. I've seen guys get bumped into the boards and totally flip out. Like chasing-a-guy-up-the-ice flip out. To them, because they never played check hockey, it probably felt like a rough hit. But if they could see it from the outside, they'd realize it was hardly a bump, let alone a check. I let most rec league contact go because I know in "real" hockey, it would've been a 1 on the Richter scale. I love playing against people that can take and give bumps, and not take it personal. It's ridiculous when you bump into a guy, and he tries to take your feet out from under you with his stick.

[zebra_steve 11]

Yeah, I agree... yhat little bump no way anything worth a penalty, but is usually the cause of many a fight or brawl. That's probably why I play maybe three times a year - two for fun and one really intense and serious..... can you imagine a tournament with 5 or 6 teams of referees playing agianst each other? Gets really competative and intense..... and I know that all of these guys have played somewhere sometime often at a pretty high level. And we still end up brawling....

[RadioGaGa 162]

The best example for anyone who still isn't sure which is which is Womens hockey.

There is no Body CHECKING allowed.

But body CONTACT is.

[cdoug55 0]

Here's a good story from today. So I took my friend who is just getting into hockey to a Stick and Puck. Typical session of just a bunch of people skating around and shooting on net. So, like everyone else I am not wearing any pads except for my helmet and gloves. Im at the net fishing pucks out for everyone, now my general understanding is that if someone is doing this you just hold up for a second. Instead, this freaking guy (who just took slapshots for an hour and half - probably to show off to the kids) winds up an rips one and hits me square in the chest. Of course I instantly scream a nice profane word and look to see who did it. When I see this guy skating to me I think to myself "of course". He comes up to me and says "oh sorry, I thought you were cutting a different way". I just told him dont worry about it and went on skating around. Now I'm sitting here pretty much unable to twist or stretch without it freaking totally killing me. The best part is maybe 10 minutes after that I'm with a little kid in front of the net again fishing pucks out and this same guy comes in takes a snap shot whihc goes right in between our heads and hits the cross bar. We both sort of jumped out of the way and look at each other thinking "what is this guys deal".

So, I don't know correct me if I am wrong, but my impression is that if someone is in front collecting the pucks you sort of take a second break instead of winding up and letting one go. He probably sent a couple other shots close to people throughout the morning, but of course I was the lucky one that got tagged hahaha.

[Phantom 19]

That guy sounds like a complete and utter tool, cdoug. It's not just a common courtesy thing, it's a safety issue. As a goalie, if I'm at a stick and puck session and have to clear some pucks out of the net and someone shoots on goal with my back turned, I get pretty pissed.

[cdoug55 0]

Yeah, not to sound like a total wimp, but I'm hurting like hell hahahaha. You know if it was a full open hockey session and I was wearing full pads I wouldnt mind much, but this dude knew no one out there was wearing pads. The worst part is there were little kids roaming around. If it hit me in the chest then it would have certainly hit a kid in the head. Just not cool at all. I just didn't want to start an argument, so I just let it slide, but I should have told the guy off.

[RadioGaGa 162]

We should print, bind and sell copies this thread...then all the "unwritten" rules...would be written.

[zebra_steve 11]

The best example for anyone who still isn't sure which is which is Womens hockey.

There is no Body CHECKING allowed.

But body CONTACT is.

Yeah, most folks are absolutely shocked at just how much body contact is actually allowed under the rules..... Kinda why I hate it when I see other schedulers assigning kids to officiale mite and squirt games. They can barely get icing and offsides correct and they're expected to decide if the kids ran into each other or if it was intentional... add to that, the parents and coaches scream for a penalty every time they bump together.....

But I digress... the rules for this are written.... and mis-understood.

[chk hrd 164]

The best example for anyone who still isn't sure which is which is Womens hockey.

There is no Body CHECKING allowed.

But body CONTACT is.

Yeah, most folks are absolutely shocked at just how much body contact is actually allowed under the rules..... Kinda why I hate it when I see other schedulers assigning kids to officiale mite and squirt games. They can barely get icing and offsides correct and they're expected to decide if the kids ran into each other or if it was intentional... add to that, the parents and coaches scream for a penalty every time they bump together.....

But I digress... the rules for this are written.... and mis-understood.

thats why you have to pair a QUALIFIED veteran ref with a new ref regardless if they are kids or not. The kid has to learn sometime and I would rather a ref learn correctly on a mite or squirt game than a rookie adult learning in a checking PeeWee or Bantam game. You should also have to have a few seasons under your belt before reffing an adult game.

[syko_hockey 0]

Last year in Pee wees we had a 14 yr old reffing with a 17 yr old. terrible game

[Leafsrule16 5]

The best example for anyone who still isn't sure which is which is Womens hockey.

There is no Body CHECKING allowed.

But body CONTACT is.

Yeah, most folks are absolutely shocked at just how much body contact is actually allowed under the rules..... Kinda why I hate it when I see other schedulers assigning kids to officiale mite and squirt games. They can barely get icing and offsides correct and they're expected to decide if the kids ran into each other or if it was intentional... add to that, the parents and coaches scream for a penalty every time they bump together.....

But I digress... the rules for this are written.... and mis-understood.

This drives me insane. I've been refereeing for a few years and handle some bantam aaa games and what not on occasion, yet no games get to me more then atom or even younger house league games. Not only do kids run into each other especially at that level where they all have there heads down, they all fall for no reason even when there alone. There was an indecent where a kid was going up the ice with the puck and one guy had his back completely turned, the kid with the puck ran into the other guy and got injured , i didnt call it i just blew the whistle because he was laying on the ice injured obviously. I went over and helped him to the bench and he went back and sat on the bench, shortly after that there's 4 parents leaning over the glass yelling at me to call it. I simply turned around and said "Call what, an accident?". Needless to say, the coach got in my face as well so I kicked him out. I cant stand when coaches and what not who are sometimes 10x as far away as me think that they can call the game .. If they want to, I'd loan them my jersey and whistle. I'd like to see any 300 pound house league hero coach living the dream through his coach try and do a better job. Once the age groups get older, some of the stuff is a lot easier to tell.

I can see where people complain about younger officials though, There were a few officials I worked with that simply wernt up to the level of doing games yet to be honest. The nets were in one of the benches, and the other guy woudlnt help me because it was "The Zamboni drivers job". I simply said "Okay, go skate around , but if you want this game to start on time you'll help me".