Despite the official data, according to which the Canadian city of Montreal is the origin of hockey, there are many versions of the origin of this sport. For example, back in the sixteenth century in Holland, people were fond of a game very similar to modern hockey: the action took place on ice, where players used balls or clubs to defeat an opponent. In ancient Japan, there was some semblance of this game, but on the grass and with the ball. Later this idea was borrowed by the British, who were able to improve this sport: write the rules, create the official national Field Hockey Association. The popularity of this game in other countries has reached tremendous proportions. In England, field hockey is still developed.
Hockey in Canada
The first ice hockey game was held in Montreal at the Victoria rink. According to local newspapers, two teams took part in it, each of which had nine people. The players were wearing a baseball uniform and used a wooden puck. The match took place, however, the first rules were invented only in 1877 by students of the University of Montreal. The popularity of Canadian ice hockey was growing, and already in 1883 the game was officially demonstrated at the Montreal Winter Carnival. Since then, it has been an integral attribute of sporting events in the country.
In 1885, the Amateur Hockey Association was founded. The publication of official rules, authored by Canadian R. Smith, dates back to 1886. Since then, they have not changed much. In the same year, the first meeting took place between the Canadian national hockey team and the English. The first world championship took place a little later - in 1890 in Ontario. The game became more and more popular every year, which allowed the Governor-General of Canada Frederick Arthur Stanley in 1893 to purchase an inexpensive cup for rewarding the winners in matches - this trophy remains a valuable award to hockey players to this day.
The rules and attributes of the game gradually changed. So, at the gates in 1900 a net appeared in order to accurately determine whether a goal was scored; the right to resolve frequent conflicts between hockey players was granted to the judges; the referee's metal whistle was replaced with a plastic one; a throw-in was introduced.
A professional Canadian hockey team was created in 1904. Prior to this, seven players in each team were supposed to be on the field, but the rules changed - a six by six system appeared. Canadian hockey developed rapidly. However, until 1910 it remained only an amateur game. In 1899, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League was founded, which became the prototype of the famous National Hockey League, which appeared in 1917. In the same year, the world's first indoor ice rink with artificial ice was created as a coating.
Such a rapid development of Canadian ice hockey aroused interest in other countries, and Congress was held on May 15-16, 1910 in Paris. By his decision, the International Ice Hockey Federation was founded, which initially consisted of only four countries - Belgium, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Since then, hockey began to spread throughout the world. However, Canadian hockey players were ahead of everyone in this sport: already at the 1920 Olympics, they won. The triumph of the Canadian national team continued until 1936, when Great Britain became the Olympic champion.
From 1920 to 1963 the Canadian team managed to win 25 gold medals: 19 at the world championships and 6 at the Olympic Games. However, the triumph was overshadowed by the fact that the Canadian team began to appear worthy competitors - Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, over the next twenty years, the USSR national team was the strongest team in world hockey, whose hegemony continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union. After that, Canadian hockey returned to the leading position.
Victories and defeats
Canada suffered the biggest defeat in the game with the USSR national team: the meeting in Austria on April 24, 1977 ended with a score of 1:11. But the biggest victory Canadian hockey players won in a match with Denmark at the World Championships in Stockholm on February 12, 1949 with a score of 47: 0.
Allan Cup
In addition to the Stanley Cup, there is another award that is not intended for professionals, but for fans - the Allan Cup, which was coined in 1908 by Montague Allan, a hockey fan. Its owners were given the opportunity to represent the country in international competitions - world championships and the Olympic Games. The last amateur team to win the World Cup in 1961 was the Trail Smokey Iters Club.
Standard site sizes
- A standard hockey court, or box, as it is called, must correspond to the following dimensions: 60 by 30 meters or 56 by 26 meters with a radius of curvature of 7.5 meters.
- The smaller the size of the site, the more shots on goal, the number of power attacks increases.
- Otherwise, the emphasis is on tactics, combinational capabilities of the team - for this very reason, international venues are large in size.
- The side height varies from 1.17 to 1.22 meters or from 1.02 to 1.22 meters, according to the rules of the National Hockey League.
Feature of the Canadian Hockey Field
It should be noted that in Canada, the pitches have a different size: 60.9 by 25.9 meters, which allows Canadian hockey players to combine both power techniques and strategic combinations. The area of such a field is 1579.5 m 2 , in contrast to the European one, the size of which is 1800 m 2 .
Game duration
The duration of the game is three game periods of twenty minutes, each of which completes a fifteen-minute break. Previously, if the teams scored the same number of goals in the goal, a draw of the match was recorded. The referee was left to count the time - this has been preserved to this day. However, soon the draw ceased to suit both hockey players and fans. Then it was decided to add extra time (overtime) to the main time. If no team scores a goal in overtime, the shoot-outs decide (a series of shoot-offs): each team is given three attempts - the winner is the one who can take this opportunity and throw the puck into the opponent’s goal. As a rule, the overtime is 20 minutes - the game takes place in a four-on-four system. The match can be stopped by decision of the referee, coach and team members.
Equipment
The main components of hockey equipment are:
- thermal underwear, tight-fitting body and keeping it warm;
- a helmet to protect the head;
- gaiters and shields in order to prevent injury when the puck hits the leg;
- panties and shell covering the inguinal region;
- a stick with which hockey players move the puck, which is a rubber disk weighing 156-170 grams;
- elbow pads for hands;
- a sweater with the name of the team or club (each team has its own distinctive sign and colors: for example, Canadian hockey players in the outfit are dominated by red, white and black, and a maple leaf is taken as a symbol, for which the team received the nickname “maple leaves” );
- gaiters acting as gloves for a hockey player; for the goalkeeper are the so-called "blockers";
- shoulder pad to protect the chest, shoulders and spine;
- a mouth guard is used to protect teeth; the helmet also has a mesh or plastic visor for even greater safety.
Command structure
The Canadian hockey coach today is Bill Peters, who already held this position in 2016 and prepared the team to win the World Cup. The national team includes only players from the National Hockey League.
The composition of the Canadian hockey team for 2018 includes three goalkeepers: Curtis Mackilleni, Darcy Kumper, Michael DiPietro; seven defenders: Aaron Ekblad, Colton Paraiko, Joel Edmundson, Darnell Ners, Ryan Pulock, Tom Shabo, Ryan Murray. Also included are thirteen forwards. The average age of team players is 24 years. The national team is managed by the Canada Hockey Federation.