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The red line
- divides the ice in half lengthwise,
- goal line spanning the width of the ice, used to judge goals and icing calls,
- 4 face-off circles - 9 m diameter. Each of them is placed in each end zone and one in the center.
- 4 face-off circles are 1.5 m off the blue line, used for starting the game after offsides.
The goal crease is a half circle with radius of 1.8 m, filled in with light blue. Two blue lines divide the rink into three zones: neutral zone in the center, offensive zone, and defensive zone (each zone is 17.67m long, both end zones are 4 m off the end of the rink). The circle in the center of ice is marked with a blue line with radius of 4.5m, in the center of which is a central face-off spot used each time a goal is scored or for penalty shots.
Players move around the arena on skates, whose blades are made of steel. The blades are attached to the boots made of molded plastic or leather.
Hockey sticks are made from wood and their maximum length should not exceed 163 cm (measured from the blade to the end of the handle). The shaft is 2.5 cm wide. The blade cannot exceed 32cm and its width is from 5 to 7.5 cm. It describes about a 45-degree angle. Depending on the direction of blade curvature there are two types of stick: left- and right-handed. Players usually wrap the blade with a tape for better puck handling.
A hockey puck is a vulcanized, hard rubber disk (2.54 cm thick and 7.62cm in diameter, weight - 156-170 g). It is frozen a few hours before the game to prevent bouncing.
For personal protection, all hockey players re equipped with an array of safety gear. All players must wear safety helmets and junior players are required to wear a mask made from transparent plastic attached to their helmet that protects their face and eyes during play. Most parts of a player's body are protected by some equipment, which includes shoulder pads, heavily padded pants, a jock protector, mouth guard, elbow pads, protective gloves, and leg guards. They are all made from light heavy-duty plastic
Goalies' equipment is slightly different from that worn by their teammates. Instead of shin guards, goalies wear larger exterior leg pads, stuffed with foam padding and covered with leather (their width can not exceed 30 cm). Goalie's skates are heavily padded and much lower for better stability and maneuvering between the goal posts.
Narrower space between the blade and the boot does not allow the puck to go through it. The goalie stick is wider and has a longer blade, about 9cm wide, blade length - 39 cm.
They wear two different gloves, the right one (blocker - 42x21 cm) to which is attached a large, rectangular, hard plastic surface covered by leather used for blocking shots, and the left one (trapper) used for catching shots. All goalies have to wear a protective mask (a wire mesh) on their face.
The best hockey equipment is made by American and Canadian manufacturers (Bauer, CCM, Louisville, Easton) or Scandinavian companies (Koho, Jofa).
See also
- Ice Hockey
- Game stop
- Rules
- Equipment
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