Ice Hockey

Hockey is a sport in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck (small hard round disc shaped object), into the opponent's net or goal, using a customized stick. There are many versions of hockey but ice hockey (referred to simply as hockey in Canada and the United States) is the most popular sports in Northern regions like ours that is sufficiently cold enough for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover.

Ice hockey is played on ice with a small, 7 to 9 ounce rubber disc known as the puck. It is one of our four major North American professional sports, represented by the National Hockey League (NHL) at the highest level. Only six of the thirty NHL franchises are based in Canada, but Canadians currently outnumber Americans in the league by a ratio of almost three to one, and about thirty percent of the league's players are non-North Americans.

Other prominent nations known for ice hockey other then Canada and the United States are the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, & Sweden. And although there are 64 total members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, these seven nations have dominated ice hockey. For example of the sixty medals awarded in men's competition at the Olympic level from 1920 on, only six of them have not gone to one of the dominant countries.

Ice hockey sticks have a long blade that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can be curved either way as to help a left or right handed player gain an advantage. Having the stick curved gives a player superior puck control over no curve in the blade. The blade on a hockey stick can have a forward or backward twist depending on the players preference. A blade with a forward twist (where the toe, or front of the stick angles back) can allow the player to achieve greater height and accuracy in wrist shots, but deprives them from a strong backhand or slap shot. A twist were the toe of the blade curves down, allows more accurate slap and backhand shots, but makes it harder for the player to achieve height in the wrist shot. The player depending on preference will find a balance of the two.

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