The Different Variants of Hockey

An alumnus of the industrial engineering program of Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, Janek Pawlik earned his MS in industrial engineering from Purdue University and MBA from the University of Michigan. Outside his profession, Janek Pawlik enjoys playing hockey.

Hockey is a team sport where players use a stick to drive a ball into an opposing team’s goal. Depending on the type of hockey, the game may be played in an indoor stadium or grass field. Here are the different variants of hockey:

1. Ice hockey is played on an ice rink. Each player wears ice skates. Using ice hockey sticks, the players propel the puck, a hard rubber disc, into the opposing team’s goal. Each team fields six players composed of three forwards, two defensive players, and one goalkeeper. At the end of regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game.

2. Field hockey is played on a grass field. Players use field hockey sticks to shoot a round, hard ball into the opposing team’s goal. The game is played with each team having 10 players and one goalkeeper. The team that outscores the other after two-35-minute halves win the game.

3. Sledge hockey, also called para ice hockey, is for players with physical disabilities. Played on an ice surface where players sit on a two-bladed sledge. They move around the rink using their hands. Sledge hockey use rules similar to ice hockey.

4. Floor hockey is played during summer on the cement floor of ice rinks. It uses rules similar to ice hockey, except that floor hockey uses a round orange ball instead of a puck.

5. Street hockey is the most casual type of hockey. It is played on the street, parking lot, or tennis court. Players do not use protective equipment to play street hockey. Since street hockey is informal, the players decide on the game’s rules.