Hockey 101: Advanced Lingo

Backchecking: Forwards in the attacking zone skate back to their own end to prevent opponent’s shots on goal.

Biscuit: A common term for a hockey puck.

Barn: A common term for an ice rink.

Barn Burner: A very intense game where the crowd becomes loud and boisterous.

Box: A defensive system (similar to the diamond) often used by teams on the penalty kill.

Breakout: The play used by the attacking team to move the puck out of its own zone and up the ice toward the opponent's goal.

Butterfly: A style of goaltending where the goalie tends to cover the lower half of the net with his or her leg pads.

Bucket: Slang term for a helmet.

Cherry Picking: When a player, generally a forward, hangs out by the red line while the play is in his/her team's defensive zone. The player is waiting for an outlet pass so that he can have a breakaway.

Changing on the Fly: When players from the bench substitute for players on the ice while the clock is running.

Coast to Coast: Refers to when a player carries the puck from deep in his own defensive zone, all the way to the opposing team’s goal.

Crashing the Net: A strategy in which a forward heads toward the opponent's net in hopes of deflecting a shot, banging a loose puck in, obstructing the goaltender's view, or simply creating mayhem that could lead to a scoring chance for his team.

Dangling: When a player uses great stickhandling moves to skate through the opposing team while maintaining possession of the puck.

Dump and Chase: A style of hockey where a team shoots the puck into one of the corners of the offensive zone and then pursues it.

Five-Hole: The hole between the goalie’s leg pads. If a player scores a goal and the puck went in between the goalie’s pads, the puck went through the five-hole.

Garbage Goal: A goal that takes little talent to score. Most such goals are scored from right in front of the net, often when the goaltender is out of position.

Headmanning: When a player passes the puck to a teammate who is ahead and typically closer to the opposing team's goal.

Howitzer: A very fast slap shot.

Laser: A hard, accurate shot.

Light the Lamp: To “light the lamp” is to score a goal. There is a goal judge positioned right behind the net who activates a red light when the puck crosses the goal line.

Natural Hat Trick: Scoring three goals in a row.

Neutral Zone Trap: A defensive ice-hockey strategy used by a team to prevent an opposing team from proceeding through the neutral zone (the area between both blue lines) by forcing turnovers in that area.

Odd-Man Rush: When one team races towards the opposing teams goalie with an extra player. Usually either a two-on-one or three-on-two into the offensive zone.

Pinch: Defensemen are usually positioned near the blue line in the offensive zone, but a "pinching" defenseman will leave his position and push further into the offensive zone in order to support the forwards and keep the puck in the zone.

Pipe: The pipe is the goal post. Also referred to as the "iron".

Point: A position just inside the blue line usually occupied by a defenseman when their team is in control of the puck in the offensive zone.

Poke Check: Trying to knock the puck away from an opponent by stabbing at it with the blade of the stick.

Pulling the Goalie: A team that is losing will sometimes take their own goalie off the ice and use another forward. This situation occurs most frequently near the end of the game when a team is behind and needs some emergency offense.

“The Room”: A hockey team's dressing room. It also loosely refers to a team's chemistry or aura that surrounds the team, or a team's camaraderie.

Saucer pass: An airborne pass from one player to another. It is called a saucer pass because the puck resembles a flying saucer in midair.

Shadow: When a player covers an opponent one-on-one everywhere on the ice in order to limit the effectiveness of his opponent.

Shinny: A pick-up game of hockey usually played on a frozen pond.

Shorty: A shorthanded goal.

Sieve: Slang term for a goalie that gives up a lot of goals and appears to have a lot of holes.

Sin Bin: Place a player goes after he is called for a penalty. Also simply known as the penalty box.

Slot: The prime scoring area up the middle of the ice, between the face-off circles in the attack zone.

Sniper: A player who is a pure goal scorer who is always able to find open space to get his shot off.

Stack the Pads: A save where the goaltender drops to one side and makes the save with her leg pads stacked on top of one another.

Standing on his Head: Phrase used when a goaltender is making outstanding saves. Often used when a goalie is carrying her team and giving them a chance to win a game they shouldn't win.

Sweater: Another word for a hockey jersey. Refers to the old school hockey jerseys that were thick and heavy, making them similar to a sweater.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Three tape-to-tape passes that lead to a goal. Tic-tac-toe goals are usually scored on odd-man rushes or power plays because opponents don't have enough defenders to break up passes.

Toe Drag: Dragging the puck along the ice with the end (toe) of the stick blade on the ice as opposed to the bottom edge.

Top Shelf: Placing a shot in the top quarter of the net.

Traffic: A lot of players gathered in one area, usually in front of the net.

Wholesale Change: When every player on a team goes to the bench for a line change at the same time.

Wraparound: A player skates behind the opposing goal and attempts to wrap the puck around the goal post and into the net.