Hockey

Hockey (English Hockey) is a sport, a family of games on ice, tartan, ovoy, wooden or grass plastic, in which two teams try to hit (with a ball or puck) the goal - use the goal using sticks. Each team has one goalkeeper who defends the goal of his team. There are many types of hockey such as ice hockey, bandy, field hockey and others.

Ice hockey

Ice hockey game between the Barrie Colts and the Brampton Battalion Main article: Ice hockey Ice hockey is played between two teams of skaters on a large flat area of ice, using a three-inch-diameter (76.2 mm) vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is played all over North America, Europe and to varying extents in many other countries around the world. It is the most popular sport in Canada, Finland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Ice hockey is the national sport of Latvia and the national winter sport of Canada. Ice hockey is played at a number of levels, by all ag

The governing body of international play is the 77-member International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Women's ice hockey was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. North America's National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in Olympic ice hockey over many categories. International ice hockey rules were adopted from Canadian rules in the early 1900s.

The contemporary sport developed in Canada from European and native influences. These included various stick and ball games similar to field hockey, bandy and other games where two teams push a ball or object back and forth with sticks. These were played outdoors on ice under the name "hockey" in England throughout the 19th century, and even earlier under various other names. In Canada, there are 24 reports of hockey-like games in the 19th century before 1875 (five of them using the name "hockey"). The first organized and recorded game of ice hockey was played indoors in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on March 3, 1875, and featured several McGill University students.

Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can legally curve either way, for left- or right-handed players.

Hockey's main trophies

Stenly Cup

Stanley Cup is a hockey prize awarded annually to the winner of the playoffs of the National Hockey League. The cup was originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. The goblet is a silver vase almost 90 cm high with a massive cylindrical base.

Stanley Cup today

Players receive a copy made by jeweler Carl Peterson in 1964.

Modern Stanley Cup with a replica of the original cup on top, made of silver and nickel alloy. Its height is 89.54 centimeters and its weight is 15.5 kilograms.

Since the expansion of the NHL in the 1970s, the Stanley Cup is played by the top 16 teams in the NHL regular season in a series of up to four wins. However, the top 16 teams do not necessarily make the top 16 teams.

Until 1993, the NHL was divided into 4 divisions of 5-6 clubs each. Four clubs advanced from each division to the playoffs. The teams first determined the division champion, then the conferences, and only after that the Stanley Cup was played.

Since the mid-1990s, after the expansion of the League, the clubs have been divided into 6 divisions and two conferences, and eight clubs from each conference advance to the playoffs, with the winners of the divisions going to the playoffs in any scenario and are "seeded" in the top three regardless from the points scored.

Since the 2012/2013 season, the league has again reduced the number of divisions to four, two divisions in the Western Conference (8 teams in the Pacific division, 7 in the central division), and two in the East with 8 teams each. The top three teams from each division advance to the playoffs, plus two more from each conference get points.

Gagarin Cup

The Gagarin Cup is a hockey prize awarded to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League playoff series since the 2008/2009 season.

The cup is named after the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and is a challenge cup. At the closing ceremony of the championship, the trophy is given to the captain of the winning team.

According to the head of the league, Alexander Medvedev, the name of Gagarin was chosen for the reason that his name is associated with the highest achievements among the residents of Russia, and Yuri Gagarin himself is a symbol of the nation. In addition, according to the creators of the KHL, the breakthrough made by Gagarin in space should be associated with a breakthrough in hockey. Also, the final matches are held in early April, including April 12 - Cosmonautics Day. Among the options for the name of the cup also appeared the name of Anatoly Tarasov, but it was decided to name one of the league divisions in his honor.

The cup was presented to the general public during the first All-Star Game in the history of the KHL. The presentation was attended by the captains of the playing teams - Alexei Yashin and Jaromir Jagr.

The Gagarin Cup is played by the 16 best teams of the KHL regular season in a series of up to four wins. However, the top 16 teams do not necessarily include the top 16 teams. Eight clubs from each conference advance to the playoffs, with the winners of the divisions going to the playoffs in any scenario and "seeded" in the top pair regardless of the points scored.

Each player of the team that holds the cup receives a champion's ring.

On April 12, 2009, the Ak Bars team from Kazan became the first winner of the Gagarin Cup and the KHL champion in the 2008/2009 season.

Hockey in games

Hockey game in real world