Hockey LEVELED BOOK • Y

A Reading A–Z Level Y Leveled Book

Word Count: 1,523

Connections
Hockey
Writing
Choose one of the thirty teams in the NHL.
Research to learn about that team and write
a report about it.
Social Studies
Research to learn about one famous hockey
player. Create a trading card for that player
that includes his or her name, picture, career
statistics, and other interesting facts. Present
your trading card to the class.

Written by Kira Freed

Visit www.readinga-z.com
for thousands of books and materials. www.readinga-z.com
 Hockey
Glossary
astounding (adj.) causing surprise and wonder; amazing
(p . 14)

collegiate (adj.) of or relating to college or college

students (p . 6)

facilities (n.) buildings or areas with equipment

that makes certain tasks easier (p . 5)

flanked (v.) positioned at one or two sides

of something or someone (p . 9)

hazard (n.) a possible danger or risk (p . 13)

influence (n.) the ability to affect people or things

(p . 14)

infraction (n.) a behavior that breaks a law or rule

(p . 12)

neutral (adj.) not supporting or connected with

either side in a conflict or contest (p . 9)

passion (n.) intense enthusiasm; an object or

activity that creates intense feelings
or interest (p . 4)

proficient (adj.) skilled at doing something (p . 7)

Written by Kira Freed
referee (n.) a judge of a game or match who makes www.readinga-z.com
sure the rules are followed (p . 11)

vicious (adj.) purposely cruel or violent (p . 12) Focus Question

Why is hockey a popular sport worldwide?

16
 Why Hockey?
Words to Know
Hockey is a challenging sport to play, but
astounding infraction by learning the rules and practicing, committed
collegiate neutral young players can become skilled . They need to
facilities passion be good skaters, and even if they are, they must
flanked proficient be prepared for serious bruises .
hazard referee Yet if hockey is so challenging, why are
influence vicious millions of people of all ages hooked on it? Jeremy
Rupke coaches hockey and maintains a website
Front cover: The Boston Bruins compete against the Carolina Hurricanes.
to help players improve their skills . In his words,
Back cover: Children’s teams compete in Russia.
“Hockey is a fast-paced, action-packed game that
Title page: A goalie successfully stops a puck from landing in the net.
requires quick thinking, communication, and a lot
Photo Credits: of skill . Everyone works together as a team for a
Front cover: © Andy Martin Jr/Alamy Stock Photo; back cover: © Sergei Butorin/
Dreamstime.com; title page: © Joe Lester/Press Line Photos/Corbis; page 4: common goal . Hockey is a great way to have fun,
© A.E. Maloof/AP Images; page 5: © Jim Craigmyle/Corbis; page 6: © Mike
Wulf/CSM/Landov; page 7: © ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo; page 8: challenge yourself, and make a lot of new friends .”
© Elvira Gomolach/123RF; page 9 (top): © Dendron/iStock/Thinkstock;
page 9 (bottom): © Arina Zaiachin/132RF; page 10: © Rainer Lesniewski/123RF;
page 11: © Laszlo Szirtesi/123RF; page 12: © Photodisc/Photodisc/Thinkstock; “Perhaps one of
page 13: © Dennis MacDonald/Alamy Stock Photo; page 14: (top, center):
© Bettmann/Corbis; page 14: (bottom): © Christopher Morris/Corbis; page 15:
the greatest feelings
Courtesy of Jeremy Rupke/HowToHockey.com in hockey is when
the game starts and
everything else in your
life stops . Once the puck
hits the ice, all your
Hockey
Spectacular Sports
worries disappear . It’s
Level Y Leveled Book Correlation just you and the game .”
© Learning A–Z LEVEL Y
Written by Kira Freed
Fountas & Pinnell T
All rights reserved. Jeremy Rupke, pictured here with a
Reading Recovery 40
team he coaches, has had a passion
www.readinga-z.com
DRA 40 for hockey since he could walk.

Hockey • Level Y 15
 Hockey Legends Where Hockey Is Played
Wayne Gretzky is widely considered the best
hockey player of all time . He played professionally
for two decades, starting in 1979, and led the
Edmonton Oilers to Stanley Cup
championships four times while NORTH EUROPE
AMERICA ASIA
ATLANTIC
setting astounding records for OCEAN
AFRICA
goals and assists . His remarkable
PACIFIC INDIAN Equator
Wayne
talents earned him the nickname OCEAN
SOUTH
OCEAN
AMERICA
Gretzky “The Great One .” AUSTRALIA

Bobby Orr played for the Boston

Bruins from 1966 to 1975 . He scored in
overtime to lead his team to a Stanley
Countries in both hot and cold parts of the world play hockey.
Cup championship in the 1969–1970
season, its first win in twenty-nine
years . During his career, he won many Table of Contents
trophies for most valuable player and Flying High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
leading scorer . Orr’s popularity helped Bobby
Orr
hockey take root in the United States . Hockey Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Hayley Wickenheiser joined Canada’s National Playing with the Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Women’s Team in 1994 at the age of fifteen . She Playing the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
has led the team to seven medals
at the Women’s World Hockey The Birth of Hockey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Championships and five Olympic Hockey Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
medals . Wickenheiser has had
a strong influence on the growth Why Hockey? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Hayley of women’s hockey . Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Wickenheiser

14 Hockey • Level Y 3
 The Birth of Hockey
Hockey has its origins in ball-and-stick games
played on grass that date back to ancient Egypt,
Bobby Orr raises
his arms in victory Greece, and Persia . Ice-skating became popular in
just as a Blues Europe beginning in the seventeenth century, and
player trips him and
sends him flying. games on ice were played in various countries .
Hockey was originally a casual game played
without rules . It was played with a ball, which was
difficult to control on ice and presented a hazard
to players and spectators .

Flying High The first hockey rules were the “Halifax Rules,”
The date was May 10, 1970—Game 4 of the developed in eastern Canada . James Creighton,
Stanley Cup Finals, the top games in men’s who was from Nova Scotia (one of Canada’s
hockey . The Boston Bruins, playing the St . Louis eastern provinces), took the rules to Montreal,
Blues, had beaten their competitors in the first Quebec, and developed the “Montreal Rules .” The
three games . In Game 4, the score was tied 3-3 first official hockey game, played on March 3, 1875,
at the end of the third period . Forty seconds into in an indoor skating rink in Montreal, marked the
overtime, Bruins center Derek Sanderson passed debut of a wooden disk, or puck, instead of a ball .
the puck to defenseman Bobby Orr, who was Hockey was an instant hit in Montreal and spread
known for his powerful slap shot . Orr shot the throughout Canada and south into the United
puck into the Blues’ net to give the Bruins their States in the decades that followed .
first Stanley Cup win in twenty-nine years .

The electrifying energy of last-second Do You Know?

Frank Zamboni invented
moments like this, the speed of the game, and the
the “Zamboni,” a machine that
passion of its players make the sport of hockey a spreads water on rough ice to
global phenomenon . People around the world are make it smooth. It has been
used on NHL rinks since 1954.
devoted to this spectacular sport .

4 Hockey • Level Y 13
 Referees give penalties to players for both Hockey Around the World
minor and major offenses . Minor offenses include Over seventy countries play organized hockey .
elbowing, kneeing, and stopping another player A 2013 survey conducted by the International Ice
with a stick or a body part . Major offenses include Hockey Federation (IIHF) revealed that the sport’s
jabbing a player with a stick, deliberate fighting, popularity is on the rise, with 1 .64 million players
or a vicious hit that causes a player to hit the rink’s around the world . Canada dominates with over
boards hard with the front of his or her body . A seven hundred thousand players, followed by the
player on whom a penalty has been called must United States with over five hundred thousand .
leave the ice and sit in the penalty box for two or Other top hockey countries include the Czech
five minutes, depending on the seriousness of the Republic, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Germany,
infraction . That player’s team plays short-handed Switzerland, Japan, and France . Men’s hockey
until he or she returns to the ice . has been part of the Olympic Winter Games since
1924 . Women’s hockey was added in 1998 .
Clothing and Equipment
People usually play hockey in indoor arenas
shoulder
helmet with a
pads so the ice can stay frozen year-round . However,
face mask and
a mouth guard in cold regions, hockey players can also enjoy the
elbow sport outdoors on frozen ponds and lakes or in
pads
facilities usually used for other sporting events .
Hockey can be a rough
sport. Players wear
protective equipment padded
to avoid injuries. pants/
shorts Many communities have
gloves shin ponds or outdoor rinks
pads where players of all
ages can practice their
hockey skates with steel hockey skills.
stick blades and stiff
boots to protect
the feet and
puck support the ankles

12 Hockey • Level Y 5
Playing with the Best Professional hockey games have three periods,
The best hockey each twenty minutes long . (Youth hockey has
players in the world shorter periods .) If the score is tied at the end
play in the National of the third period, the game is extended with
Hockey League (NHL), a five-minute overtime period . The first team
which originated to score during overtime is the winner .
in 1917 with five The Stanley Cup may
be the hardest trophy Periods start with a face-off inside the center
Canadian teams . in professional sports circle . One player from each team, along with the
The first U .S . team, to win because of
the grueling post- referee, stands inside the circle . The referee drops
the Boston Bruins, season schedule. the puck, and the two players battle for control of it .
was established in Face-offs also occur after goals are scored, penalties
1924 . The NHL now has thirty teams—seven are given, or play is stopped for any number of
based in Canada and twenty-three in the United reasons; in those cases, they can take place at one
States . A championship series at the end of each of the other eight face-off dots on the ice .
season yields a Stanley Cup winner .

Canada has had a women’s hockey league—the

Canadian Women’s Hockey League—since 2007 .
The U .S .-based National Women’s Hockey League,
formed in 2015, helps women’s hockey grow . Youth
and collegiate hockey programs offer young
people opportunities to play and compete .

Hockey ranks sixth among professional team

sports in North America . It is especially popular
in areas with cold weather . As pro hockey has
expanded southward, the sport has gained more
of a following in warmer regions as well .
Players take great pride in winning face-offs and use many different
techniques in order to win.

6 Hockey • Level Y 11
 Hockey Positions
Playing the Game
Hockey is a fast and exciting team sport played
Left Right on ice with a hard rubber puck that measures
Defenseman Defenseman 3 inches (7 .6 cm) in diameter and 1 inch (2 .5 cm)
Left Right
Wing Wing thick . Players use long, thin, specially engineered
sticks to stickhandle (control), pass, and shoot the
Goalie Center Center Goalie puck . They score goals by getting the puck into the
opposing team’s net . The team with more goals at
Right Left the end of the game wins .
Wing Wing
Right Left Athletes attracted to the sport need to be
Defenseman Defenseman
extremely proficient at skating both forward and
backward as well as changing directions and
stopping in an instant . They also need to be skillful
The goaltender, or goalie, guards the net and at stickhandling, passing, and shooting the puck
is the main player responsible for keeping the and blocking the other team’s shots while moving
other team from scoring . The goalie is the only at a high rate of speed .
player allowed to use his or her hands or other
body parts to stop the puck . The goalie primarily A Chicago center speeds through defensive players
during a match with Boston. Players can skate up
stays in the crease, which is a semicircular area to 20 mph (32 kmph).
in front of the net .

Stopping a puck that’s traveling at more than

100 miles per hour (161 kmph) can be quite a
challenge . Goalies wear special leg pads and
gloves—a blocker on the hand that holds the stick,
and a catching glove for catching the fast-moving
puck . A goalie’s stick has a bigger blade for extra
help in stopping pucks .

10 Hockey • Level Y 7
 Hockey Rink
Each team is always trying to gain control of
85 feet (26 m) goal line
(at each end
the puck so they can score goals . Whichever team
of the rink) has the puck is on offense, and the other
boards: team is on defense .
42 inches (1 m)
high, plus strong Two blue lines on the ice divide the puck
plastic 5 to 8 feet playing area into three zones . The middle
(1.5–2.4 m)
above that section—the neutral zone—is flanked by each
attacking zone (offensive zone):
team’s defending zone . An offensive player is not
where a team is trying to score; allowed to enter the other team’s defending zone
contains two face-off circles blue lines:
divide the unless the puck has crossed the blue line .
playing area
center
face-off
into three A hockey team usually has six players on the
zones
ice at any given time, each one playing a different
200 feet (61 m)

neutral zone: contains circle

the center face-off center line position . Five players move all over the ice, trying
circle as well as (red line)
four face-off dots to score goals and stop the opposing team from
center face-off scoring . They also try to gain control of the puck
dot: Play begins
here at the start
if the other team has it . Those five players consist
of each period of a center, left and right wings, and left and right
defensive zone: where a team’s goal is; and after a goal
the area they are trying to protect from the is scored.
defensemen . The center—the offensive leader—is
opposing team; contains two face-off circles
generally in charge of attacks up the middle of the
rink, while the wings mainly cover the sides . The
defensemen mainly try to keep the other team
from scoring . Regardless of position, all players
net (goal): a steel
frame with heavy must be capable of quickly switching back and
nylon mesh forth between offense and defense, depending
netting that
stretches on which team has the puck .
goal crease: semicircular area in front of each between the goal
goal; players can only enter their opponent’s goal posts and
crease if the puck is already there crossbar stick

8 Hockey • Level Y 9