Most fans will tell you that women’s ice hockey is a lot less violent than men’s. They may also say that the game is more technical and requires a lot more skill. While those things may be true, there is still a massive amount of aggression that goes on in the sport. Sometimes it goes unpunished and the team that is supposed to be the lesser physical one often takes the brunt of it. For those reasons, it’s still not uncommon to see people get into brawls and scrums after the games, especially if there are any ties to be decided by fisticuffs. This article is going to tell you if body checking is still a part of the game and if it is, which players are allowed to do it and when.
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Body Checking In General
Although violence in sports has mostly moved to the television screen, fans will still tell you that hockey is a very physical game. Back in the day, players would fight tooth and nail for a loose puck and there were a lot of hooking, slashing, and body checking going on. If you are a newbie to the game, it may feel like body checking is accepted by all players as a way of finishing a check or making one. While that may be true in the short-term, if you check the stats you will almost certainly see that more than half of all penalties and fights are caused by dangerous body checking. It also leads to injuries and in the most extreme cases, even deaths. In 2015, there were 66 fight-related injuries and 12 deaths in the NHL alone. In 2018, the league had a nearly three-fold increase in head injuries as a result of increased body checking. It has become so prevalent that the term “body check” has been banned by the NHL and the USA Hockey organization. While playing the game is still allowed, checking from behind (also known as pinching or backchecking) is now verboten. It’s definitely still a part of the game. Especially in the NCAA where they don’t always have the same rules about checking from behind.
When Can Players Check?
Like most other sports, the key to understanding when and where body checking is allowed is looking at the rules. The problem is that there are so many different sets of rules in different places that it’s difficult to know where to start. One of the more recent NHL rule changes addresses checking from behind and it doesn’t allow it unless the puck is in the opponent’s zone. Here is where it gets confusing because although it’s against the rules to check from behind when the play is in the opponent’s zone, it is also against the rules to check from behind when the play is in your own zone. It’s a grey area that often leads to confusion and arguments on the ice. One of the reasons for the uproar about body checking is that players don’t always know where they are allowed to check and when. For example, if a center has the puck on the left side and there are three opponents, two of whom are on the same team as the center and one is on the other team, it’s usually safe to assume that they are allowed to check that far forward opponent. It’s also usually safe to assume that the other two opponents are allowed to check the center because he is in between them. If the three opponents are all on the same team, it’s usually safe to assume that the center is allowed to body check any of them because he is closest to them. Although most fans will tell you that the game has gotten safer in the past few years, the truth is that it has gotten more violent as a result of increased checking.
Who Can Body Check?
As mentioned above, it is against the rules to check from behind when the play is in your own zone. What that means is that only players on the same team are allowed to body check each other. In the National Hockey League (NHL), for instance, defensemen are not allowed to body check forwards because they are considered part of the same team as the player they are defending. That is not the case in the minor leagues where it is perfectly acceptable for both defensemen and forwards to body check each other. On the Power Play, the offense is granted the right to crash the net and that includes body checking as well. On the other hand, when a team is attacking down low, checking from above (also known as hooking or hitting from behind) is allowed as long as it is done cleanly and with the player’s hand extended in front of their face. Here is where some fans get confused because when a team is on the attack, they will often hook or check from behind without the player’s hand extended in front of their face, thus violating the rule.
When Is It Permissible To Body Check?
Although it is against the rules to body check when the play is in your own zone, there is a time and a place where it is permissible to body check an opponent. That time and place is when the puck is in the air and the play is not in your own zone. In those cases, you are allowed to hit an opponent in any way that you can to keep the puck out of your net or to move the puck quickly to a teammate. If a player makes an honest attempt to stop the puck, it is usually considered a fair hit and most referees will call it a good hit, if not a perfect one.
How Frequent Can Body Checking Occur?
Another problem that arises from the multiple rules regarding checking is the ambiguity regarding how frequent body checking can occur. Does it have to be done at least twice per game? Does it have to be done at least four times per game or anytime a player wants to make a hit? The last question is especially confusing because many fans will point to the fact that the game has gotten much more physical as a result of the increased participation by women and girls. While there is some truth to that, it’s also caused by a rule that allows more frequent checking because it is deemed to be more exciting to watch. To give you an idea of how often body checking happens in the NHL, here is a list of the top twenty-five most frequent fighting and injuring players from 2005 to the present day. More than half of those players are currently in the NHL. It’s clear that body checking is still very common and it’s also clear that fighting for the sake of fighting is also very common. That should come as no surprise because both involve taking a hit in the name of being a professional hockey player. That’s not what the game is about though. The point is that while fighting may be part of the game, body checking should not be. Hopefully, this article will help clear up some of the ambiguity surrounding this issue so that everyone can enjoy hockey without fear of getting hurt.