Drop the puck, it's HOCKEY TIME!

[LollipopViolet]

So, now that the NHL playoffs are over, I find myself hockey-less til September, when I can start filming Manchester Phoenix games again.

Any other hockey lovers out there who want to talk about the sport, fave memories etc, are welcome. Oh, and someone who can explain the offside rule to me so I understand would be good

I'm a hockey fan. I used to go see Peterborough Pirates/Phantoms every week, till we moved house. DH and I have been watching the Stanley Cup too.

The offside rule (lets see if I can explain it!). The puck has to cross the blue line into the attacking third before the attacking player does. If the puck comes out of the third, then the attacking player(s) has to skate out and back in again. Does that help?

Ah, I get it! I think....lol. I've got to say, we live in the wrong country for this game! I've had to live with just watching Five's game of the week, although they did up the ante come final time.

Saw something that made me go "ow!" in one Stanley Cup game, think it was the final actually. Anyway, Johan Franzen was trying to negate an icing call, lost an edge and went crashing into the end boards. And don't get me started on the Zetterbergy/Malkin fight a few games back...

It helps watching a live game and being surrounded by people shouting OFFSIDE!!! and seeing the linesman's arm go up!

I went to see Manchester in their first season, when they were called Storm.

Ah cool! Unfortunately, being visually impaired REALLY doesn't help with this game!

Basically one of my lecturers is the Phoenix Match Night Entertainment director, so us students get loads of experience. And it's even harder to see the linesmen when you're operating a crowd facing camera from the top of the stands :O

I sort of get icing, just not how it can be one second, then the next, it's not...

Having said that, I'd love to have a go lol

I think there is a difference between UK rules and NHL rules on icing, I'm a bit rusty, but my understanding is:

If the same number of players are on the ice (ie there's no-one in the sin bin) and a defending player hits the puck so it crosses two lines (so blue and red), then that is icing. If there they are "short-handed", ie one less player it doesn't count. Unless its a shot on goal, and on target, then its not icing either. In the NHL they can ice the puck down the ice so long as one of their players gets it, if a defender gets it, then its icing.

Peterborough's rink is small, and DH and I used to sit on the blue line (not literally!), 3 rows back, so it was easy to see (and abuse the linesmen!)

Oh but you'd never abuse some poor linesman would you? Although I swear some of the NHL ones do make some daft calls...

The position I film from is right above centre ice, so I can see the whole rink (new Altrincham Ice Dome).

Of course not! I used to say "excuse me linesman old chap, I think that you MAY have missed an offside call, I hope you don't mind my pointing it out, but it does upset one so to see one's team disadvantaged like that"

Actually most of the time we'd bawl "Offside" or "Icing" at the top of our voices, it was mainly the ref that came in for polite abuse "use your eyes", very little swearing because of the children present! The things we really got upset about were when one of our players got injured and the ref never called a foul.

Surely there's more than 2 of us here lol?

Here's something to make you laugh- taken from American site, so replace Goaltender with goalie, netminder etc at will:

TOP 10 PET PEEVES OF HOCKEY GOALTENDERS
10. Drunk fans who toss Hostess Ding Dongs towards the net.

1. Players at parties who want to turn mask upside-down and fill it up with bean dip.
2. Pads give appearance that they have really big butts.
3. T-shirts that say, "Goaltenders do it with their glove hand".
4. Every day, for the rest of their life, they will not have a good reason for dropping anything ever again.
5. Frostbite caused by leg split.
6. When trainer replaces normal water in bottle with sparkling Folger's Crystals.
7. Goal judges at away games who constantly make wisecracks about "burning out the goal lamp".
8. Fans who ask, "Can I have your autograph, Mr. Roy???" (Said like it's spelled)
9. When jealous back-up goalie follows them around in locker room screaming, "Hey, glove THIS, pal!!!".

Sorry to drag this up folks, but: IT'S ALMOST HERE! Yep, the new hockey season faces off for me on 13th September, going back for more work experience with the Manchester Phoenix in the EPL.

LET'S GO PHOENIX!