Pokecheck (n)
The act of poking a puck away from an opponent using your stick; (v) to pokecheck, pokechecking.

Ice hockey is probably the most physical, intense, athletic sport in the world. It combines the finesse of goal scoring of soccer, the physicality of football, and the hand-eye coordination of baseball together, all the while being played upon ice while wearing two thin blades. To say it is difficult to play is an understatement. But when it is played by people who can play it and play it well, it is the most exciting game on earth.

Yet, despite this, very few people actually watch and follow hockey in the United States. Oh, there are fans scattered around the countries, especially in places where there are NHL teams, but in terms of the big four sports (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey), there is a far less understanding of hockey than the other three sports.

Record numbers of people tuned into the 2010 Winter Olympics for the gold medal game between Canada and the United States. Millions of people watch the NHL and the Stanley Cup playoffs every year. Thousands of kids are playing in hockey leagues across the United States, hoping to be the next Jeremy Roenick or Mike Modano or even Ryan Miller. The sport of hockey is growing at a fast pace in the United States.

However, when I talk to people about hockey, I find that not a lot of people know the basics, the foundation of hockey. They might know what a line is, but the concept of icing escapes them. They may have heard of current phenoms Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, but what about Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux? Sometimes, they might just have a vague understanding of which team is their hometown team and that's it.

I want to change that.

Before, when I was learning about hockey, I either asked my dad or searched Google and Wikipedia for my answers. Not everyone has the former, and the latter is time-consuming and sometimes goes into far too much detail. So I have compiled all sorts of information about hockey, from the rules to the teams to famous players from the past and present, and put it in one spot. The basic information is presented, but I won't overwhelm you with the details (like NHL Rule 10.7 regarding stick measurements during stoppages in play).

Enjoy!