Goal (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to (see also own goal). Typically, a player on the team attempting to score shoots the puck with his/her stick towards the goal net opening, and a player on the opposing team called a goaltender tries to block the shot to prevent a goal from being scored against his/her team.

The term goal may also refer to the structure in which goals are scored. The ice hockey goal is rectangular in shape; the front frame of the goal is made of steel tube painted red and consists of two vertical goalposts and a horizontal crossbar. A net is attached to the back of the frame to catch pucks that enter the goal and also to prevent pucks from entering it from behind. The entire goal is considered an inbounds area of the playing surface, and it is legal to play the puck behind the goal. Under NHL rules, the opening of the goal is 72 inches (180 cm) wide by 48 inches (120 cm) tall, and the footprint of the goal is 44 inches (110 cm) deep.

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Method of scoring

The object of the game of hockey is to score more goals than the opposing team. Goaltenders and defencemen are concerned primarily with keeping the other team from scoring a goal, while forwards are primarily concerned with scoring goals on the other team. Forwards, of course, have to be defensively responsible and defencemen also need to press offensively, and it is not unknown for goalies to attempt to position the puck for a counterattack, or even attempt to shoot against an unguarded net.

For a goal to be scored, the puck must entirely cross the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar of the goal frame. A goal does not count if it is sent into the goal from a stick raised above the height of the crossbar. A goal also does not count if the puck is directed, batted or thrown into the net by an attacking player other than with a stick. Angling one's skate is allowed. A goal that is accidentally redirected off a player does count, but if it enters the net directly after touching an official, it does not count. If the goalie is impeded from preventing the goal by an attacking player, the goal does not count. A goal can also be disallowed if the scoring team had too many men on ice at the time of the goal or if it was scored with a broken stick.

In many leagues, a goal does not count if a player from the attacking team has a skate or stick in the goal crease before the puck. The NHL abolished this rule after the disputed triple-overtime goal in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars scored the series-clinching goal against the Buffalo Sabres. On video replay, it was clear that Hull's skate was in the crease prior to the puck.

Credit for goals and assists

Typically, the last player on the goal-scoring team to touch the puck before it goes into the net is credited with scoring that goal. Zero, one, or two other players on the goal-scoring team may also credited with an assist for helping their teammate to score the goal. If another player on the goal-scoring team touched the puck to help score the goal before the goal-scoring player touched it without an opposing player intervening (touching the puck in between), then that player gets an assist. If yet another player on the goal-scoring team also touched the puck before that without an opposing player intervening, then that player also gets an assist.[1]

For a hockey player, a goal or an assist credited to him/her is also considered a point; thus the number of goals scored by that player plus the number of assists for him/her equals the number of points for that player. Usually on a hockey team, forwards score the most goals and get the most points, although defensemen can score goals and often get assists. In professional play, goaltenders only occasionally get an assist, and only very rarely score a goal when the opposite net is empty (without a goaltender).

Scoring statistics

The number of goals scored is a closely watched statistic. Each year the Rocket Richard Trophy is presented to the NHL player to have scored the most goals. The trophy is named after Maurice Richard, the first player to score 50 goals in a season, at a time when the NHL regular season was only 50 games (compared to 82 today). The player to have scored the most goals in an NHL season is Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky is also the fastest to 50 goals; during his record-setting 1981–82 season, in which he finished with 92 goals, he scored his 50th goal in the Edmonton Oilers' 39th game of the season.

The overall amount of goal scoring is also closely watched. In recent years, goal scoring has decreased. Many believe the game is less entertaining because of this, and blame the change on the increasing size of goaltending equipment and the advent of defensive systems such as the neutral zone trap. Fans of defensive hockey counter by saying the high scoring of the 1980s was an anomaly, and this shift represents a return to the norm. For the 2004-05 American Hockey League season, four major rule changes were made that were intended to increase the scoring in games and make it more popular among casual fans -- (1) increasing the size of the attack zones by narrowing the neutral zone two feet each side and thus moving the goal line back two feet, (2) restrictions on the goaltender playing the puck, (3) permitting offside players to negate the penalty by "tagging up" with the blue line, and (4) changing the offside rule by permitting passes which cross the center line and one blue line (but not between both blue lines in certain restrictions). The AHL rules were slightly modified and adopted in the NHL and ECHL for 2005-06, when the NHL returned after the lockout.

Types of goals

There are a number of different types of goals for which separate statistics are kept, but all count equally:

Related terms

The goal judge is an official positioned off ice behind each goal for the specific purpose of indicating when the puck has crossed the goal line and entered the goal. For arenas so equipped, the goal judge turns on a red light behind the goal when he sees the puck cross the goal line. As in all matters, however, the referee retains final authority and can override the opinion of the goal judge.

If a hockey player is last to touch the puck before it enters his own team's net — which in football (soccer) is called an own goal — credit for the goal goes to the last player on the scoring team to have touched the puck.

Other phrases include a garbage goal, for a goal scored more as the result of luck or opportunism than skill, and a breakaway goal for a goal scored when a player has gotten behind the defenders to face the goaltender alone.

The two teammates of the scorer who last touched the puck before him, provided that no opponent touched it in between, are each credited with an assist. Assists and goals count equally to comprise a player's statistical scoring total.

When a player scores three goals in a game it is known as a hat trick. If he scores his goals consecutively, it becomes known as a natural hat trick. A Gordie Howe hat trick occurs when a player scores a goal, gets an assist, and gets in a fight.

Any puck heading towards the net is counted as a shot. When the goalie prevents the shot from entering the net, he is credited with a save. Shots resulting in saves by the goaltender or goals scored are considered shots on goal (or shots on net). A shot which is blocked by an opposing player before it reaches the goalie is not considered a shot on net. Also, if the puck is deflected wide of the net by another player (regardless of team) it is not counted as a shot on net.

Goal Horn

Ice hockey is one of the few sports along with box lacrosse or indoor soccer in which an air horn, car horn, train horn, foghorn, or siren is used for a goal. In every NHL arena, the horn blares after each home team goal. This has been a trend since the 1990s. The only exception to this rule is during the NHL All-Star Game, where the role of that sound is expanded to cover every goal scored, and that the horn only sounds once. The horns are different depending on the teams, some even have sound effects such as an alarm or the foghorn of a ship, or both combined, for the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks. Hockey fans have said that the loudest goal horn belongs to the Anaheim Ducks, who have a very loud fog horn with high bass, or the Philadelphia Flyers, who have a very loud train horn. Along with the horn, it is accompanied by a goal song. Most arenas play sections of the song where the crowd can "sing" along or repeat. The two classic goal songs are "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation (its "Sport Chant Stadium Remix" arrangement is used by the Boston Bruins) and "Rock & Roll Part 2 " by Gary Glitter. Although, some teams have songs that are original to them, like the now-defunct Hartford Whalers' famous "Brass Bonanza", "Bro Hymn" by Pennywise (originally used by Anaheim and later adopted by Philadelphia and NY Islanders), "Crowd Chant" by Joe Satriani (Minnesota, Phoenix, Columbus), "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis (Chicago), "Holiday" by Green Day (Vancouver), "Vertigo" by U2 (Montreal), and "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw (Nashville).

See also

References

  1. ^ Hockey - NHL Stats Explained

External links