Welcome to our

Website for the Bradford

Ladies Hockey League

Life is simple - eat, sleep, play hockey

The 2012 Winter Season is complete!! 

Congratulations to the following teams

on Championship Night:

A Division Champions - Exterior Plus (Regular Season Champs)

B Division Champions - Centre Ice

C Division Champions - Country Lane

Special mention goes to:

A Division Finalist - Trophy Case

B Division Finalist - Whibco

C Division Finalist - Kooy Bros

Every year our league continues to improve.

Remember our Annual General Meeting is scheduled 

for Wed May 30th at the Trophy Case.  Special appreciation goes to

Manuela Ellis (Treasurer) & Claire Nolan (Refs)

 for all of your extra work! 

And an extra special thank you to our sponsors, coaches and

coaches assistants...this league wouldn't be a success without you all!!

With the winter well on it's way,

 BLHL is moving into summer hockey mode:

    www.turfcare.ca

Ask about their Skate Sharpening Card.
Click on Centre Ice Sport's logo for all of your shopping needs.

www.kooybros.com

www.adidas.com

Playing hockey encourages you to get fit and stay in shape for a lifetime.  The game presents a wonderful opportunity for both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.  Men and women, even into their seventies, are playing in adult hockey leagues.  Hockey is easy on the joints (if you warm up correctly) and the risk of injury is slight with the right equipment.   

The motivation to stay fit is difficult for most adults.  Hockey can provide a reason to get fit and to stay in shape.   There is nothing like the third period of a tight game to motivate a player to work harder at developing physical fitness!  

Hockey is a team game.  However, the individual skills of each player on a team are important, skills can be studied, practiced and improved.  Most adult hockey players only play once a week.  Skating is the most important skill to master (and it is never fully mastered).  The ability to accelerate quickly, skate at high speed, stop, change direction, and skate backwards are all critical tools to practice.

Passing and stick handling are important to individual and team play.  A well-played hockey game moves quickly and a good team moves the puck rapidly and accurately up the rink.   Although passing is best practiced as a team, it can be worked on individually.  Stick handling is another skill that can advance the puck.   The great stick handlers of the NHL are a treat to watch and they look as though they are born with the grace to dance their way past the opposing team.   However, stick handling can be learned and a few simple moves can provide every player with the tools to move the puck up the rink to be in a position to score. 

One of the great joys of hockey is the well-executed shot that scores a goal.   Shooting is fun to practice.  However, some of the more spectacular shots are not very effective in scoring goals.  The high scorer on a team will have a mastery of all of the shots and is able to execute them from many places on the rink.  The beginning player will be initially overwhelmed.  Too much to remember!   The best way to improve is to concentrate on one skill area in each game.  Here is a list of game skills which can help the beginning adult hockey player immediately:  

 - Offensive positioning (am I in the right place to score, or to pass?)  

 - Defensive Position (am I in the right place to defend or break out?)  

 - Passing (Can I make my passes without an interception?)         

 - Skating (Can I make quick turns and speed changes to break free from opposing players?)

 - Skating (Can I skate backwards effectively to stay with the other team’s attackers?)           

 - Shooting (Are my shots low and at the corners of the net?)   

 - Fitness (Am I able to skate strongly in the third period?)  

Interested in a pre-Season Ladies Hockey School? Check out the "Puck Shy" site put on by Steve Matthews at the new Nottawasaga Arena! www.puckshy.com

whibco@sympatico.ca

Hockey Glossary

Altercation - Any physical interaction between two or more opposing players that results in a penalty (or penalties) being assessed.

Assist - An assist is credited to a player who helps set up a goal. Assists are awarded to the last man to handle the puck immediately preceding the goal. There is a maximum of two assists per goal.

Attacking zone - When you are on the attack, your attacking zone is between your opponent's blue line and goal line.

Back check - Forwards in their offensive zone skate back quickly to their own defensive zone to protect their goal and keep the opponent from shooting. 

Blue line - Two lines running across the width of the rink, one on either side of the red line. The area between the blue lines is called the neutral zone.

Boarding - Violently checking an opponent into the boards from behind. Boarding is illegal and merits a penalty.

Body check - A body check is where you use your body against an opponent who has possession of the puck. Legal body checking must be done only with the hips or shoulders and must be above the opponent's knees and below the neck. Unnecessarily rough body checking is penalized.

Box - A defensive alignment (similar to the diamond) often used by a team defending against a power play.

Breakaway - A player in control of the puck has a breakaway when the only opponent between him and the opposition's goal is the goalie (and a reasonable scoring opportunity exists).

Breakout - The play used by the attacking team to move the puck out of its own zone and up the ice toward the opponent's goal.

Butt ending - Using the shaft of the stick to jab or attempt to jab an opposing player. Known in Quebec as "donner six pouces" (to give six inches).

Changing on the fly - When players from the bench substitute for players on the ice, while the clock is running.

Charging - Taking more than three strides before deliberately checking an opponent.

Clearing the puck - When the puck is passed, knocked, or shot away from the front of the goal net or other area.

Crease - The semi-circular area in front of each goal is called the crease. If any offensive player is in the goal crease when a goal is scored, the goal is not allowed. The crease is painted blue. The goal crease is designed to protect the goalies from interference by attacking players. The area marked on the ice in front of the penalty timekeeper's seat is for the use of the referee.

Cross checking - Hitting an opponent with the shaft of the stick while both hands are on the stick and no part of the stick is on the ice.

Defending zone - When the other team is on the attack, the defending zone is the area between your goal line and your blue line.

Defensemen - Two defensemen usually try to stop the opponent's play at their own blue line. The defensemen block shots and also clear the puck from in front of their goal. Offensively, defensemen take the puck up the ice or pass the puck ahead to the forwards; they then follow the play into the attacking zone and help keep it there.

Deke - A deke is a fake by a player in possession of the puck in order to get around an opponent or to make a goalie move out of position. To deke, you move the puck or a part of your body to one side and then in the opposite direction.

Delay of game - This is called when a player purposely delays the game. Delay of game is commonly called when a goalie shoots the puck into the stands without the puck deflecting off a skater or the glass. Delay of game also occurs when a player intentionally knocks a goalpost out of its stand (usually in an attempt to prevent a goal from being scored).

Delayed off-side - In this situation, an attacking player has preceded the puck into the offensive zone (normally a case for off-side), but the defending team has gained possession of the puck and can bring it out of their defensive zone without any delay or contact with an opposing player.

Dive - When a player exaggerates being hooked or tripped in an attempt to draw a penalty.

Elbowing - Using the elbow to impede or disrupt the opponent.

Empty net goal - A goal scored against an opponent that has pulled the goalie.

Face-off - The action of an official dropping the puck between the sticks of two opposing players to start play.

Five-hole - The area in the opening between a goalie's leg pads.

Forecheck - Forwards forecheck by hurrying into the opponent's defensive zone to either keep the puck there or take it away.

Freezing the puck - A player freezes the puck by holding it against the boards with the stick or skates. A goalie freezes the puck (when the opposition is threatening to score) by either holding the puck in the glove or trapping it on the ice. Note: A delay-of-game penalty can be called if the goalie freezes the puck when the opposition is not threatening.

Game suspension - When a player, coach, or manager receives a game suspension, that person can't participate in the next scheduled game.

Goal - A goal is achieved when the entire puck crosses the goal line and enters the net. You can't deliberately kick it in or bat it in with a glove, although a goal is counted when a puck deflects off a player (but not off an official). A goal is worth one point.

Goaltender - The goaltender's main job is to keep the puck from entering the goal net. The goaltender is also know as the goalie, the goalkeeper, or the netminder.

Hat trick - A player who scores three goals in one game achieves a "hat trick."

Head butting - Using the head while delivering a body check (head first) in the chest, head, neck, or back area; or using the head to strike an opponent.

High sticking - Carrying the stick above the shoulder to use against the opponent.

Holding - Using your hands on an opponent or the opponent's equipment to impede your opponent's progress.

Hooking - Applying the blade of the stick to any part of an opponent's body or stick and pulling or tugging with the stick in order to disrupt that opponent.

Icing - An infraction called when a player shoots the puck from his side of the red line across the opponent's goal line. Play is stopped when an opponent (other than the goalie) touches the puck. The face-off is held in the offending team's end of the ice. A team that is shorthanded can ice the puck without being penalized.

Interference - Making body contact with an opponent who does not have possession of the puck. Interference is also called when a player is standing in the crease or otherwise makes contact with the goaltender.

Neutral zone - The central ice area between the two blue lines (neither the defending nor the attacking zone).

Offside - A team is offside when a player crosses the attacking blue line before the puck does. A face-off then takes place just outside that blue line (in the offending player's defensive zone). The determining factor in most offside situations is the position of the skates: Both skates must be completely over the blue line ahead of the puck for the play to be offside.

One-timer - Shooting the puck immediately upon receiving it without stopping it first. A one-timer is an effective way to beat the goalie before he can slide from one side of the crease to another.

Penalty - A penalty is the result of an infraction of the rules by a player or team official. A penalty usually results in the removal of the offending player (or team official) for a specified period of time. In some cases, the penalty may be the awarding of a penalty shot on goal or the actual awarding of a goal.

Penalty killing - When a team is shorthanded and attempts to prevent the opposition from scoring, this activity is known as "penalty killing."

Penalty shot - A penalty shot is awarded to an offensive player who - on a breakaway - is illegally checked or impeded. The puck is placed at the center face-off spot, and the player has a free try at the opposing goal with no other defenders on the ice besides the goalie.

Point - The point is the area just inside the opposition's blue line close to the boards on either side of the rink. A defenseman usually occupies this area when his team is in control of the puck in the opposition's defensive zone.

Poke check - Trying to knock the puck away from an opponent by stabbing at it with the blade of the stick.

Possession of the puck - The last player or goalie to make contact with the puck is the one who has possession. This definition includes a puck that is deflected off a player or any part of his equipment.

Pulling of the goalie - A team that is losing will sometimes take their own goalie off the ice and use another forward. This situation occurs most frequently near the end of the game when a team is behind and needs some emergency offense.

Red line - The line that divides the rink into two equal parts. This area is center ice.

Referee - The referee supervises the game, calls the penalties, determines if goals are scored, and handles face-offs at center ice at the start of each period and after goals.
 

Roughing - Engaging in fisticuffs (fighting) or shoving.

Save - A shot blocked by the goalie - a shot that otherwise would have gone into the net!

Shoot-out - Some minor and international leagues refine the overtime situation by having their teams play a five-minute sudden death period, and if no one scores, the game is decided by a shoot-out. Each team picks five players, and each one of them takes a penalty shot on the other team's goalie, skating in by themselves with the puck from center ice and trying to score. Whichever team scores more wins.

Shorthanded - A shorthanded team is below the numerical strength of its opponents on the ice. When a goal is scored against a shorthanded team, the penalty that caused the team scored against to be shorthanded is terminated, and both teams are again at equal strength.

Slap shot - A slap shot occurs when the player swings the stick back and then quickly forward, slapping the puck ahead with a forehand shot.

Slashing - When a player swings the stick at an opponent. Slashing merits a penalty, whether contact is made or not. Tapping an opponent's stick not slashing.

Slot - The prime scoring area up the middle of the ice, between the face-off circles. When you "clear the slot," you shove an opposing player out of the area in front of your goal.

Spearing - Poking or attempting to poke an opponent with the tip of the blade of the stick while holding the stick with one or both hands.

Trap - Traps are defensive formations designed to minimize the opposition's scoring opportunities and keep its offense from functioning. The idea is to trap the puck in the neutral zone, halting the opponents and regaining control of the puck.

Tripping - Using a stick, arm, or leg to cause an opponent to trip or fall.

Turnover - Just as in basketball or in football, you can make a turnover in hockey by losing control of the puck to the opposing team.

Wrist shot - A wrist shot is used to shoot the puck off the blade of the stick with a flicking motion of the wrist.

Zamboni - The vehicle used to prepare the rink's ice surface before the game and after each period. The Zamboni scrapes a thin layer off the ice, heats the ice, and puts down a fresh layer of heated water that freezes to form a new layer of ice.