Interesting facts about hockey

In the article “Interesting facts about hockey” you will learn 10 informative facts about the most popular winter sport in the world.

Interesting facts about hockey:

Puck. The puck for the game is made of plastic or vulcanized rubber, and its weight ranges from 156 to 170 grams. The maximum flight speed was recorded at 193 km/h, and the impact force was more than 500 kg. The rubber puck was invented four years after the first official match. Originally, the sporting tool was made of wood, and a monument was erected in its honor in Canada, which now has no “official” status.
Ice Truck. The inventor of the ice machine, or ice pouring machine, is engineer Frank Zamboni. He invented the machine in 1949, which cuts off the top layer of ice with a special knife and then applies a thin layer of hot water to the cut spot. The water freezes instantly and removes any irregularities. At the moment, engineer Zamboni’s eponymous company is the world monopolist in the supply of ice harvesters.
Ice Truck
Ice thickness. It is believed that too thick ice will be difficult for athletes to glide on. On this basis, the ice is poured to a thickness of 10 cm in several stages. The main stage is the filling of the “rough layer” (up to 4.5 cm), and then marking and filling another 4.5 cm on top. The optimal temperature on the surface should be – 5-6 degrees.
Goalie reaction time. According to research, a hockey goalie has only a fraction of a second to react to a shot. He has 0.2 seconds to react and another 0.2 seconds to deflect the puck. This is why the goalie is valued not only for his excellent reaction time, but also for his ability to anticipate the flight of the rubber projectile, the timing of the shot, and the actions of the attackers.
A losing streak. The Russian national team for 15 years could not win the 1st place, both at the World Championships and the Olympic Games. From 1993 to 2008 the best achievements were silver medals at the Olympic Games in 1998 and World Cup in 2002. But that losing streak did not allow us to lose the lead in the percentage of wins at the official World Championships. Our team remains the undisputed leader with a rate of 81.5%, followed by Canada with 74.5% of wins.
Hockey edentulism. It is no secret that the most common injury in hockey is a knocked-out tooth. The meticulous Americans once calculated the statistical percentage of athletes who had this honor. The figure was 68%, which is why the NHL coined the phrase “4 out of 5 dentists recommend hockey.
The biggest score. The record was set in 1998 in China. The match was played between South Korea and Thailand and ended with a score of 92-0. In that match, the referee pointed to the center of the court every 40 seconds, which is unattainable in modern hockey.
The great hockey player is Lev Yashin. A national hero of Russia and the USSR, the best soccer goalkeeper of the 20th century, Lev Yashin played four seasons for hockey club Dynamo Moscow.
Lev Yashin
During this short period he became a medalist of the championship of the USSR, was able to win the Cup of the country. A significant event occurred in 1953, where the two Moscow clubs CSKA and Dynamo met in the final. The match ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of Dynamo. Had he not decided to switch to soccer, we think he could have competed with Vladislav Tretiak for the title of best hockey goalie of the 20th century.
That was close! After winning the Stanley Cup in 1924, Montreal Canadiens players were driving to their party with the trophy in the trunk of their car. When they got a flat tire, they pulled the trophy out to get the spare. Once they changed the tire, they forgot about the Cup and left it in a snowdrift. Later that night they realized what they had done and went back for the trophy. Fortunately, it was still where they had left it!
The fastest goal. In 2012 the Slovakian extraliga became a real donor of the world record. In Žilina’s match against Poprada, forward Peter Sivák scored in the 3rd second of the match. In the NHL, the record was recorded only in the fifth second, and in the KHL in the sixth (A. Radulov).