By Brandon Bonnette

Ice Hockey is known to have evovled around the game of field hockey which was played in Northern Europe for hundreds of years. The modern version of ice-hockey finds its origins in the rules laid down by a Canadian named J G Creighton. His rules were implemented in the first game of ice hockey played in Montreal, Canada in the year 1875.

In fact, the “rink” or the playing area for ice hockey was actually used in the game called “curling” in Scotland during the 18th century. Initially there were as many as thirty players for each side and the goals were two stones frozen on one end of the ice. The rules for the game of ice hockey were drafted at McGill University in Montreal, Canada in the year 1879. Ice hockey found its way to the US in the year 1893. By the early 1900s, the sport had become prevalent in parts of Europe including the UK.

In 1799, William Pierre Le Cocq, in a letter written in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, provides the earliest known reference to the word 'hockey‘.

A game played on ice with a curved bat and a ball existed before Ice Hockey in the form of IJscolf, or Colf on ice, which was a popular game in the low countries between the Middle Ages. The game was played with a wooden curved bat (called Colf or Kolf) and a ball made of wood or leather between two poles or simply convenient nearby landmarks, with the object of hitting the chosen point with the least number of strokes.

However, most believe that ice hockey evolved from stick-and-ball games, played outdoors, and adapted to the icy conditions of Canada in the 19th century. The games of British soldiers and immigrants to Canada, influenced by stick-and-ball games of First Nations, evolved to become a game played on ice skates, often played with a puck, and played with sticks made by the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia.

Hockey is played on an ice rink with 6 people on each side including a Goaltender, 2 Defensemen, and 3 Offense men ( Left wing, Center, Right wing).

You can’t ever check a guy into the boards by hitting their back.

You cannot cross the blue line on the opposing side till the puck is carried over or you will get a whistle for offsides.

For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the "penalty box" and his team has to play with one less skater for a short amount of time. Minor penalties last for two minutes, major penalties last for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A single Minor penalty may be extended by a further two minutes for drawing blood from the victimized player. The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing shorthanded while the other team is on a power play. Some penalties include: tripping, elbowing, roughing, high-sticking, delay of the game, too many players on the ice, boarding, illegal equipment, charging, holding, interference, hooking, slashing, butt-ending or cross-checking.

In hockey rules fighting is prohibited but for the players in the fight you get a 5 minute major penalty. At college and junior level it is a 10 minute misconduct.

The best hockey fight in history was Ken Tasker vs. Trevor Senn.

There are usually 2-4 officials in a hockey game. They break up fights, they take face offs, they watch the lines, they determine what a goal is, and they determine penalties.

Chicago Blackhawks 2010

Pittsburgh Penguins 2009

Detroit Red Wings 2008

Anaheim Ducks 2007

Carolina Hurricanes 2006

Canceled due to lockout 2005

Tampa Bay Lightning 2004

New Jersey Devils 2003

Detroit Red Wings 2002

Colorado Avalanche 2001

New Jersey Devils 2000

"Five Best Hockey Fights of All-time - 04-13-2010." Sports Betting Odds, Picks and Statistics – Covers.com. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=187033>.

The History of Hockey. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://www.historyofhockey.net/>.

"Ice Hockey." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey#History>.

"NHL Stanley Cup Winners - NHL Playoff Champions - Stats Hockey." Stats Hockey - Hockey Information & Store. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://statshockey.homestead.com/stanleycup.html>.