A fast-paced team sport of great competitive intensity. While we wait for Milano Cortina 2026, let's find out all there is to know about ice hockey
In the magical world of the Olympic Winter Games, one sport stands out for its energy and spectacularity: ice hockey.
This dynamic discipline, characterised by fast skating, physical contact and accurate teamwork, has captured the hearts of fans all over the world, turning a hockey rink into a stage filled with excitement.
A spectacle of tactics and technique, where team coordination is as important as individual skills. Tenacity, endurance and courage are the core values that lay the foundations of this sport.
So, what are the rules of ice hockey? Let's find out together.
Basic Rules
Ice hockey is a dynamic and exciting team sport, where players must hit a puck with special sticks and steer it into the opposing team's net.
A match normally lasts 60 minutes, divided into three 20-minute periods. The match is won by the team that scores the most goals.
As a rule, there is no tie in this discipline, as in the best tradition of overseas sports. If the result is still tied at the end of a match, overtime is played, known as "sudden death" (rather scary, right?), as it ends immediately with either team scoring a goal. If no team has scored at the end of overtime, the match is decided on penalty shots.
A men's ice hockey team consists of up to 25 players, including 22 skaters and three goalkeepers. While a women's team consists of 23 players, including three goalkeepers.
During a game, up to six players can be on the ice at the same time. As a rule, this consists of five skaters and a goalkeeper; however, in special situations, the goalkeeper may be replaced by a sixth skater.
Equipment
The anatomy of the perfect ice hockey player includes a peculiar equipment, essential for playing a game!
In this order:
- Puck: made of vulcanised rubber, players try to send it into the goal with the help of a stick.
- Hockey stick: a long, thin rod with a flat hook at the end, made of carbon or wood, which is used to pull, pass and move the puck around. The size of the hockey stick depends on the height and weight of the player using it.
- Skates: special skates used by hockey players to move around the rink and protect their feet from injury.
- Goal: a structure consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal crossbar, with a net attached to the back. Players try to score by shooting the puck into it.
Milano, Home of Ice Hockey
The city of Milano will host the ice hockey and Para ice hockey games at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2026. Here, business and leisure, sports and culture come together like in very few other cities in the world. From La Scala to Brera, from the Duomo to San Siro (where the opening ceremony of the Olympics will be held on 6 February 2026), Milano has everything that art, food and entertainment can offer to stimulate the senses and mind. Accustomed to hosting national and international sporting events, with the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, it will be consecrated as a city of sport and for sport, where ice hockey will surely thrill the large audience of fans and onlookers filling the stands!
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