N & I developed the idea for a hockey website for girls mid-way through the 2010-2011 season. We started to grow tired of all the hockey fouls we saw our fellow puck bunnies committing and quickly noticed how little so many hockey fans know about the game. We've both spent the last 10 years of our life living in the world of hockey and while we won't claim to be experts (at all really, neither of us has every played), we definitely have experienced a lot around the rink. To slowly build up the Girls Guide (GG) post tab on the website, we're going to start posting little tid-bits about the game on game days.
Advice for the Ladies:
- Always have fun...
- ... But remember keep in classy. As much as we joke about being Puck Bunnies, there's a definite line between cute hockey fan girl and a slutty bunny.
- Team colors are a must! Don't be embarrassed to support your team- but feel free to tone in down to a scarf depending on where you are.
Girls Guide to Hockey Lingo:
- Apples
- assists; almost exclusively used in the plural.
- Bag Skate
- A team practice made of repetitive, strenuous skating drills and sprints, usually without pucks
- Beauty
- A player who teammates enjoy being around; someone who is hilarious and well-liked by his teammates. Can also be used to describe a situation, like a 'beautiful' play. Turns the adjective 'beautiful' into a noun.
- Breakaway
- When a player gets possession of the puck and there are no defenders between them and the goalie
- Five Hole
- The five hole is the fifth and final area is between the goalie's leg pads and skates. This area is protected by the blade of the stick at all times, and is closed up by the upper leg pads when the goalie is in the butterfly position.
- Hat Trick
- Scoring a hat trick (hattie) means a player has scored 3 goals in a goal.
- Mitts
- Gloves- the things that protect their hands
- Muck It Up
- 2 players going one-on-one over a puck near the boards.
- Natural Hat Trick
- Scoring 3 goals in a row- meaning a hat trick in which another player doesn't score in between getting the goals.
- Pracy
- Practice... you know the thing the do to get ready for games. Yes, practice was too long so it needed to be shortened to pracy. Better for tweeting I guess.
- Puck Bunny
- A Puck Bunny is an upstanding young lady who enjoys the game of hockey and appreciates those who play in in the manner that it was intended to be played. (I love this definition!)
- Roof
- Top Shelf where Grandma keeps the cookies (the top part of the net). It's normally used when someone scores a goal by putting the puck in the top portion of the net.
- Scrum
- An incident in front of the net involving pushing and shoving by both teams.
Girls Guide to Calls:
- Boarding
- Boarding is when an opponent is pushed violently while the player is facing the boards. The opponent is in a vulnerable position (normally a few feet away from the boards and either off balance or unknowing of the hitter's position). As of late, boarding is often associated with Rule 48 (head shots) because of the relation of the head and the boards.
- Cross Check
- This is when an opponent is hit with the stick when it is held with two hands and no part of the stick is on the ice.
- Elbowing
- The act of hitting an opponent with the elbow. Most of the time, this is called when players go for their oppenent’s head. Pretty cut and dry.
- Goalie Interference
- This occurs when a player is in the goal crease when a goalie is also establishing his position in the same area.
- High Sticking
- High sticking is the act of touching an opponent with the stick above shoulder level. If there’s blood drawn, normally called as a double minor. Depending how serious the injury is a double minor, major, or match penalty can be called.
- Holding
- Holding is one of the ambiguous penalties in hockey because many things constitute holding; luckily it's not commonly called. In general, it is using a free hand to prevent an opponent from moving. Most calls involve grabbing and holding an opponent's stick, but it is also called when a player takes their opponents stick.
- Interference
- The act of impeding the motion of another player when they're not in possession of the puck. See the Dec 4,2011 post for more information because it's a long explanation!
- Kneeing
- When a player leads with their knee (and sometimes extending his leg) in order to come in contact with their opponent. This can be assessed as a minor or major penalty depending on the severity (major penalties are given with a game misconduct as well).
- Slashing
- The act of swinging a stick at an opponent, likely to try to prevent an opponent from moving down the ice. No contact is required under new standards and it can be called as a minor or major penalty. It's generally called if the stick goes above the waist, but not if it just hits the opponent in the shin. Often breaks the stick of an opponent.
- Too Many Men on the Ice
- This penalty is the result of an unsuccessful line change and is when more players are on the ice for a team (normally 5 plus goalie) than is legal. It's a bench penalty and the person serving it is normally arbitrary.
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