MAIN Sports Winter Sports Ice Hockey

To kids who live in areas where ponds freeze over, ice hockey in winter is as natural as kicking around a soccer ball in the summertime.

As young players grow, the sport becomes more competitive and even with rules governing roughness and high sticking in place, this is a physically demanding contact sport.

Ask any player or fan and you'll find out just how much talent, skill and training it takes to control a small disk on a sheet of ice with the precision needed to score a goal. Ice hockey is fun to watch and exciting to play. That could be why, even in warmer climates where the only ice is indoors, it is such a popular sport.

These sites will show you how the game is played, what equipment you need, where the best rinks are and offer tips to improve your ice hockey skills...

also see: Field Hockey | Olympic Field Hockey

Olympic Ice Hockey | NHL Hockey

More about ice hockey around the Web:

A-Z Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey - We would list every thing you'll find on this site, but there isn't enough space to fit it all. They have good links to worldwide ice hockey organizations, videos, rules, scores, pictures... When you're done with the site, make sure not to leave it open. It refreshes and will appear as the top browser if you don't.

Hockey Shooting Tips - If you're looking for advice and techniques to improve your game you'll find this site perfect. Easy to follow tips should help you get the puck past the goalie! They also have a section on Hockey skating tips.

Science of Hockey - Complete with videos, you can hear about what makes "fast ice," learn about your reaction time and understand why it's so hard to hit that puck and other really good discussions that will help your game and help you learn. What a great way to learn science!

Arenamaps.com Ice Arena and Rink Directory - You won't find any lessons or advice, just maps for ice hockey arenas in Canada and the USA. If you click on the Events tab, you'll also find a very good and up to date listing of ice hockey tournaments. Good Resource!

Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective - All about Canadian ice hockey. Find out about the history of the sport. Learn about what women have contributed, the French-Canadian connection and much more...

Fantasy Hockey Journal - Notes on all the major players and everything else you need to know to make your fantasy ice hockey team win your fantasy Satnley Cup.