Hockey refers to a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball, or a puck, into the opponent's goal, using a hockey stick.

History

Games played with curved sticks and a ball have been found throughout history and the world. There are 4000-year-old drawings from Egypt. Hurling dates to before 1272BC and there is a depiction from 500BC in Ancient Greece when the game was called "Κερητίζειν" ("kerētízein") because it was played with a horn ("κέρας" in Greek) and a ball-like object. In Inner Mongolia, China, the Daur people have been playing Beikou (a game similar to modern field hockey) for about 1,000 years. There were hockey-like games throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and the word 'hockey' was recorded in 1363 when Edward III of England issued the proclamation: "[m]oreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games"

Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey in Canada and the United States, is a team sport played on ice. It is a speedy and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks it has become a year-round pastime at the amateur level in major metropolitan areas such as cities that host a National Hockey League (NHL) or other professional-league team.

Unsourced

• "We take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humour."
  • Bobby Clarke

• "Half the game is mental; the other half is being mental."
  • Jim McKenny

• "How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?"
  • Jacques Plante

• "I'm not dumb enough to be a goalie."
  • Brett Hull

• "Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept."
  • Doug Larson

• "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
  • Wayne Gretzky

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Fri Aug 14 20:02:11 2009