Archive for September, 2009
Hockey 101 – Hooking (Rule 55)
Hooking, broken down is … “Impeding the progress of another player by “hooking” them with the blade of your stick.” I could stop there – however, this is another one of those “interpretation” rules. Its up to the on ice official if a player has impeded another player by hooking them with the blade of his stick. I have had this called on me quite a few times in error (Looking at you Highfield!) In my defense, I believe there IS a difference in “impeding” and “manipulating the play” – allow me to explain!
If I were to take my stick and use it as a “hook” to either slow down the player with the puck or maneuver the player with the puck, then I would happily pat the referee on the shoulder and commend him for making a good call on the ice while I skate over to the penalty box. HOWEVER, if I am attempting to gain control of the puck and my stick “accidentally” touches the other player then why should I be punished? I am only trying to play a good and honest game of Hockey … and with that … the Persecuted Rests!
Now – back to hooking! A hooking call can also be called if a player uses the shaft of the stick above the upper hand to hold or hook the opponent. A good rule of thumb is if you take your stick off of the ice and use it as a tool to help you gain control over an opponent you will get a whistle. As with any of these “soft penalties” there is room for interpretation … is the blade of your stick pointing down or up, is the shaft between the opponents’ body and stick, you also need to be aware of the other player and his ability to project a non-penalty and make the ref think differently. Like when you are attempting to gain control of the puck and your stick “accidentally” gets caught under the opponents arm and they clamp down on your stick so you get called for hooking … yea, it has happened before – but I am not bitter!
Most of these “soft penalties” (Holding, Hooking, Interference and Tripping) are all dependent on the position of the ref, the angle of infraction and the ability of one player to sell it! The season starts on October 1 … check out a game or two and see if you can spot the penalty or the Oscar winning performance.
Hockey 101 – Tripping (Rule 57)
So there you are, on the edge of your couch … yelling at Patrick Marleau skating the puck up the boards – he dekes right, he dekes left (usually by now the puck has been stolen and the other team has a 3 on 1 breakaway … but in this instance … ) Patrick is up the ice and *boom* he is down! *said in my best John Madden voice* – whistle blows, the play is stopped!
I consider tripping to be one of the “soft” penalties in hockey … soft meaning the calls can be interpreted on the ice and the ref’s have to make a split second decision. According the the NHL Rule Book, Tripping is defined as:
“A player or goalkeeper shall not place the stick, knee, foot, arm, hand or elbow in such a manner that causes his opponent to trip or fall.
Accidental trips which occur simultaneously with a completed play will not be penalized. Accidental trips occurring simultaneously with or after a stoppage of play will not be penalized.
If, in the opinion of the Referee, a player makes contact with the puck first and subsequently trips the opponent in so doing, no penalty shall be assessed.
A minor penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who shall place his stick or any portion of his body in such a manner that it shall cause his opponent to trip and fall.”
The reason this rule is in place is to give players a “reasonable scoring opportunity.” You will see many tripping instances when an offensive player carries the puck into the neutral or attacking zone and beats the defensemen towards the goal. The defensemen (not wanting to look like he just had his lunch fed to him) will then try to “gain possession of the puck” in a way that trips the player with “Control of the puck.” In the NHL rule book – “Control of the puck” means the act of propelling the puck with the stick, hand or feet. If while it is being propelled, the puck is touched by another player or his equipment, or hits the goal or goes free, the player shall no longer be considered to be “in control of the puck”.
Bottom line is … if you do not have the puck and you are trying to keep the attacking player in front of you. Make sure you hit the puck first before you take out the guy with the puck!
We also have the Penalty Shot to watch out for – According to the NHL Rule Book:
“When a player, in the neutral or attacking zone, in control of the puck (or who could have obtained possession and control of the puck) and having no other opponent to pass than the goalkeeper, is tripped or otherwise fouled from behind, thus preventing a reasonable scoring opportunity, a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending side. Nevertheless, the Referee shall not stop play until the attacking side has lost possession of the puck to the defending side.
In order for a penalty shot to be awarded for a player being fouled from behind, the following four (4) criteria must have been met:
(i) The infraction must have taken place in the neutral or attacking zone (i.e. over the puck carrier’s own blue line).
(ii) The infraction must have been committed from behind.
(iii) The player in possession and control (or, in the judgment of the Referee, the player clearly would have obtained possession and control of the puck) must have been denied a reasonable chance to score. The fact that he got a shot off does not automatically eliminate this play from the penalty shot consideration criteria. If the foul was from behind and he was denied a “more” reasonable scoring opportunity due to the foul, then the penalty shot should be awarded.
(iv) The player in possession and control (or, in the judgment of the Referee, the player clearly would have obtained possession and control) must have had no opposing player between himself and the goalkeeper.”
As always – I hope this helps … if you have anything to add to the post please, feel free to leave a comment below (Bill Highfield)!
Hey NHL is this The Year Of The NEW Fan?
Last year there were a few times on the Deke we would talk about new fans and what it will take the NHL to attract and retain new fans to the sport. My friend Danielle and I were talking the other day and I asked if she would like to watch hockey this year and blog about her experience – learning the game, teams, players … the passion! I asked her to send me a little bio that I could use to introduce her to the Deke family. Please, everyone, welcome my good buddy Danni to the Deke!
So, I decided this would be the year I would like to learn more about hockey. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s a sport I think I might just enjoy. I mean you have the ice, the skates, the puck and last but not least the cute guys (or girls) all padded up, ready to fight to make the goal. Besides, my good buddy Bill seems to bleed hockey from his veins, so it’s got to be good, right?
First let me stop real quick and give you some info on me… I’m Danielle, I’m married to a great guy who puts up with my randomness and serves as my daily comic relief. I have two great kids, Stephan who is 20 and Sophia who is 6 (and queen of this castle). I live in central Arkansas and work for adoption services, which is a passion of mine. I love music, movies, photography, travel and maybe by the end of this season, hockey!
As far as sports go, I don’t know much about them. Growing up my mom always ruled the household and she hates sports. If dad wanted to watch a football game he’d go sit and watch it on the little T.V. in the kitchen. Once they took me to a softball game and I got to be the “batter girl”. I remember being more concerned and proud about my new perm and Panama Jack tee-shirt, then paying attention to what was going on in the game. Then around the age of 11, I decided I wanted to play softball because my cousins and friends were all playing. I begged my parents to let me join our community’s girl’s team. Let’s just say that I spent that season waaay out in right field and keeping the bench warm.
When I got married my husband introduced me to college football, specifically Arkansas Razorback football. At first, I was a little nonplussed at the giddy excitement that would glint in his eyes and the goose bumps that would pop up on his arm when he’d talk about the start of the season. Then he took me to a game and I could finally understand some of the excitement. Now I will gladly watch a game with him and can actually share in the excitement.
So, back to hockey, this year I hope to learn how to follow what is going on in a game, find a team I can root for and just see if by the end of the season I can call myself a hockey fan.
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of a Cup
Over the past 2 months my life has been completely turned upside down. Hockey is in its transitional phase, my own personal hockey play has been put on hold and my weekly podcast (The Weekly Deke) has been handed over to Schrembs. My routine was normal and consistent – Monday nights I play hockey, Tuesday nights I talk about hockey on The Weekly Deke and Wed – Sunday I watch, read, blog, dream, discuss at length and argue the many amazing opinions that surround this incredible sport.
On August 8th I drove from Celebration, Florida to Brewton, Alabama to pack up my 17 year olds clothes and boxes to move him into my house (well the condo Dawn and I live). Tyler wanted to spend his junior and senior year with me … get to know me … build a relationship with me. This was my dream coming true – I have always wanted my boys to show an interest in living with me at some point and building a stronger relationship together. It has finally happened, you know that saying “Be careful for what you wish for.”
What does this have to do with hockey and why am I venting about this on a hockey blog … well, with all the preparation and planning and everything else that goes into moving a 17 year old young man into your house, something had to suffer. The Deke was the first to be set aside – put up on the shelf to collect dust and become stagnant. It is my fault – and I am now pulling it back down and will be putting some thought into the content that gets posted.
I don’t think I need to recap what has been going on in the NHL (from my limited understanding) – San Jose is cleaning house and freeing up cap space for something to happen. Tampa has one guy driving the bus now, plus, they just added Alex Tanguay. I remember back in ‘99 when Alex was part of that amazing Colorado team with Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, Drury, Deadmarsh, Yelle, Ray Borque “cause he wanted to win the cup!” ROY in the net and of course Ozolinsh. I am looking forward to seeing what Alex brings with him to Tampa … I can not wait.
I hope everyone has had an enjoyable and relaxing off season – this is going to be an awesome October watching hockey and sharing it with Tyler and Dawn … and of course all of you!