Hockey is one of the most popular winter sports. This game is liked by both adults and children — on an ice patch in the courtyard you can meet a company that animates the puck.

Traditionally, the birthplace of this sport in Montreal.

First, Canada played field hockey brought from Europe, but since the winters in this country were long and harsh, the rules of the game had to be changed. Skates appeared on the players’ feet, and frozen ponds became the hockey grounds.

Hockey (with a puck) (English hockey), a sports game consisting in the confrontation of two teams, which, passing the puck with sticks, tend to throw it the greatest number of times into the opponent’s goal and not to miss their own. On the court, during the game, there are six players (5 field players and a goalkeeper) in protective gear. The game takes 60 minutes of pure time: three periods of 20 minutes with 15-minute breaks. Player replacements are not limited. Sports equipment — hockey stick and puck.

Ice hockey arose in the 60s of the XIX century in Canada, as a variant of bandy hockey (popular in some European countries, hockey with a ball), but with a smaller number of players in teams, smaller sizes of the playing field and, most importantly, using a wooden ball, and later a rubber flat disk — a washer, then it was called “shine”.

The first official match was held in Montreal on March 3, 1875. In 1886, the first official rules of this game appeared.

According to experts, ice hockey is one of the best ways to burn fat. In 45 minutes the hockey player loses about 500 kcal.

As the game takes place on ice, ice skating develops a great sense of balance and control over the whole body, since in pursuit of the puck a person has to constantly change the direction and speed of movement.

In addition, hockey trains endurance, because the pace of the game is very high.

Teaches hockey and attention — all players need to constantly monitor the movement of a very small and fast puck. As this is a team game, players learn to interact in a team and make quick decisions.

It is also important that amateur games are usually held in the open air. This allows players to more actively saturate their blood with oxygen.

Hockey is a popular sport that can be a good form of fitness in the winter. To avoid injuries, players need to acquire protective equipment and not to forget about the warm-up before the match.