Ice Hockey is believed to have begun during the Middle Ages, when northern Europeans played games on makeshift ice skates. The French explorers who watched the Indians, who would also play this stick and ball game, called it "hoquet". Before beginning to play hockey you must know the rules of the game. A hockey team consists of a goal tender, two defenders, and three forwards ( a center and two wings ). Hockey is played in three twenty-minute periods. The team that hits the most pucks into the opponent's goal wins. The game is played in an ice-covered rink shaped like a rectangle. Wooden walls about three or four feet high surround the rink. At each end is a cage, or goal which the players try to hit the puck into. They hit the pucks with wooden or graphite sticks with curved ends. The puck is a disc-like object made of black rubber. In order to begin the game each player must be appropriately dressed. A hockey uniform consists of a series of pads and a helmet to protect you from the lighting fast pucks, the rock hard ice floor and of Course the aggressive players. The helmet is the most important thing to wear. It protects your head in case of a direct impact like airbags protect your head from hitting the dash in a car. There are many brands and sizes to choose from. The most reliable and well known is a company called "Bauer." The size usually depends on the shape and measurements of your head. The next important piece of gear is the hip pad. This protects your tailbone and lower abdomen. The pad slips over Jonathan Endicott Pg 2your hips and comes in sizes according to waist measurements. Knee pads come next. You place these over your knees and ankles. The pads come in measurements of length from your knees to your ankles. The third to the last pad is called the shoulder pad. This pad fits over your head. It protects the chest shoulder and back. The size is determined by the width of your shoulders. The second...
