Mastering Hockey: How To Excel In Different Periods

Each Of America’s Elite Team Sports Has Its Own Way Of Playing The Game.

There Are, Of Course, Exceptions, Like The National Basketball Association (Nba) And The National Football League (Nfl), Both Of Which Have Four Quarters.

Still, The Length Of A Quarter In Neither Of These Games Is The Same. The Nba Has 12 Minute Quarters, While The Nfl Has 15 Minute Quarters.

Baseball Doesn’t Even Have A Game Clock. Instead, The Game Is Split Into Nine “Innings,” And Each “Inning” Has Six “Outs.”

Also, Major League Soccer (Mls) Has Two Halves, Just Like Ncaa (College) Basketball.

Hockey Games, On The Other Hand, Have Their Own Rules. Games Have Different Parts Called “Periods.”

In Hockey, You Can’t Use Terms Like “Halves” Or “Quarters.” The Reason Is…

What Is The Number Of Periods In A Hockey Game?

A Hockey Game Has Three 20-Minute Quarters, For A Total Of 60 Minutes. If The Score Is Tied After 60 Minutes, There Will Be 5 Minutes Of Extra, And Then There Will Be A Shootout.

When Teams Are Tied In The Playoffs, They Will Play Sudden-Death Overtime, Which Is Also Made Up Of 20-Minute Periods, To Decide Who Wins.

Players Get Breaks Between Each Period, Just Like In Basketball And Football At The End Of Each Half.

But In Hockey, These Breaks Aren’t Called Halfway Because There Are At Least Two Of Them During Each Game.

Intermissions Are These Breaks Or Times To Take A Break. After The First And Second Periods, There Are 18-Minute Breaks. 

Did Nhl Games Always Last For 3 Periods?

Not All Nhl Games Had Three Quarters. 

Before The 1910–11 Season, Nhl Games Had Two 30-Minute Halves. The Main Reason Why Games Were Split Into Three Parts Was So That The Players Could Play On Better Ice.  

The Nhl Thought It Would Be Better To Use The Zamboni To Smooth The Ice Every 20 Minutes Instead Of Every 30 Minutes. 

The More You Play On Ice, The More Snow Will Build Up And The More Likely It Is That Grooves And Chips Will Form As The Ice Melts. 

In Fact, As Snow Piles Up, The Game Slows Down Because The Puck Can’t Move As Easily Because There Is More Friction. 

Also, The Lines Can Cause Players To Move More Slowly, Which Slows Down The Game As A Whole.  

Players Could Get Hurt Badly By Ice Chips, Which Is A Bad Thing. At The Very Least, The Ice Chips Can Make Players Trip And Fall On The Ice. 

A Player’s Skate Can Also Get Caught In The Groove Or Chip, Which Can Cause Major Leg Injuries Like Sprains, Torn Acls Or Mcls, Etc.

Keep In Mind That Even Though Each Period Is 20 Minutes Long, Players Are On The Ice For About 40–45 Minutes In Real Time During Each Period. 

This Includes All The Whistles Between Plays, Like Those For Penalties, Goals, Offsides, And Icing.

Intermissions Between Periods

The Nhl Added 10-Minute Breaks Between Quarters To Give The Ice Time To Get Smooth Again. 

In The End, The Breaks Were 18 Minutes Long, Which Killed Several Birds With One Stone: 

The Ice Came Back Up.

As Was Already Said, The Break Is Used To Smooth Out The Ice So That It Is Best For Playing. The Player Takes A Break, And The Team Gets Back Together.

Players And Coaches Go Back To Their Own Locker Rooms Between Times So They Can Basically Rest. 

The Coaches Also Talk About Ways To Change The Way The Game Is Going And Get Their Players Back Together.

Food, Drinks, And Bathroom Breaks For Spectators

People In The Audience Can Use This Time To Buy More Food And Drinks, Since The Game Lasts More Than 2.5 Hours In Real Time. 

Since A Lot Of Onlookers Like To Drink Alcoholic Drinks, The Bathroom Break Is Important. If You’ve Ever Been To A Hockey Game Or Other Sports Event, You Know That The Bathrooms Get Very Busy During The Breaks.

For People Watching The Game At Home, The League Uses The Breaks To Show Ads For Their Sponsors. 

This Is On Top Of The Tv Timeouts That Are Planned For Each Half. During The Breaks In The Game, The Main Scoreboard Is Used To Show Ads To The Crowd. 

Depending On Where The Game Is Being Played, The League Will Use The Halftime To Throw Free T-Shirts To The Crowd Or Drop Free Stuff From The Rafters (Or From Remote-Controlled Blimps) From Companies In The Building.

Can There Be More Than 3 Periods In A Hockey Game?

Games In The Nhl And Other Elite Leagues Can Last Longer Than Regulation Time, Which Is 3 Periods. As We’ve Already Talked About, If The Game Is Tied After 60 Minutes Of Play (Three Quarters), It Will Go Into Overtime.

During The Normal Season, There Is A Five-Minute Overtime Where Teams Play 3-On-3 For Five Minutes. If The Game Is Still Tied After Extra Time, A Shootout Is Used To Decide The Winner. Note That The Ice Does Not Get Resurfaced After The Third Session. 

Games In The Playoffs Are Decided By Sudden Death Overtime, Which Is A Bit Different From Regular Time. That Is, The Game Will End When The First Goal Is Made In Extra Time.

Overtime In The Playoffs Lasts 20 Minutes And Is Played 5-On-5, Just Like Regular Time. The Only Change Is That After The Third Period, All Breaks Last Only 15 Minutes.

And Since Someone Has To Score For The Game To End, You Might Be Wondering How Long Nhl Games Have Gone On For.

Here Is A List Of The Nhl Games That Lasted The Longest

• The Montreal Maroons And The Detroit Red Wings Played A Game On March 24, 1936, And The Score Was 0-1. The Whole Game Took 176 Minutes And 30 Seconds, Which Was Made Up Of 6 Overtime Periods.

• On April 3, 1933, The Toronto Maple Leafs Played Against The Boston Bruins And Won 1-0 After 164 Minutes And 46 Seconds Of Intense Play And 6 Overtime Periods.

• On May 4, 2000, The Pittsburgh Penguins Played Against The Philadelphia Flyers. With A Score Of 1-2, The Flyers Won The Game. The Total Time Of The Game, Including 5 Overtime Periods, Was 152 Minutes And 1 Second.

• The Tampa Bay Lightning Beat The Columbus Blue Jackets By A Score Of 3-2 On August 11, 2020. The Game Was 150 Minutes And 27 Seconds Long, And There Were 5 Rounds Of Extra Time.

• A Hockey Game Between The Dallas Stars And The Anaheim Mighty Ducks Took Place On April 24, 2003. The Ducks Won 4-3 After 140 Minutes And 48 Seconds And 5 Overtime Periods.

• The Carolina Hurricanes Played Against The Florida Panthers On May 18, 2023. The Hurricanes Lost 2-3. The Whole Game Took 139 Minutes And 47 Seconds, And There Were 4 Rounds Of Extra Time.

• On April 24, 1996, The Pittsburgh Penguins Played Against The Washington Capitals. The Penguins Won By A Score Of 3-2. The Total Time Of The Game Was 139 Minutes And 15 Seconds, And There Were 4 Rounds Of Extra Time.

• On April 11, 2007, The Vancouver Canucks Played Against The Dallas Stars. The Game Went 138 Minutes And 6 Seconds And Had 4 Overtime Periods. The Vancouver Canucks Won 5-4.

• On March 23, 1943, The Detroit Red Wings And The Toronto Maple Leafs Played Against Each Other. After 130 Minutes And 18 Seconds, Which Included 4 Overtime Periods, The Maple Leafs Won By A Score Of 3-2.

• On May 4, 2008, The Dallas Stars Played Against The San Jose Sharks. The Game Took 129 Minutes And 3 Seconds And Had 4 Overtime Periods. The Dallas Stars Won 2-1.

• On March 28, 1930, The Montreal Canadiens And The New York Rangers Played A Game. The Canadiens Won 2-1 In A Game That Lasted 128 Minutes And 52 Seconds And Had 4 Overtime Periods.

• On April 18, 1987, The Washington Capitals And The New York Islanders Played A Game. The Game Lasted 128 Minutes And 47 Seconds And Had 4 Overtime Periods. The Islanders Won With A Score Of 3-2.

• On April 27, 1997, The Buffalo Sabres Played The New Jersey Devils. The Game Went For 125 Minutes And 43 Seconds, With 4 Overtime Periods, And Ended With A Score Of 1-0.
• On March 27, 1951, The Detroit Red Wings And The Montreal Canadiens Played A Game. After 121 Minutes And 9 Seconds, 4 Overtime Periods, And A Score Of 3-2, The Canadiens Won The Game.

• On March 27, 1938, The New York Rangers Played Against The New York Americans. After 120 Minutes And 40 Seconds Of Play And 4 Overtime Periods, The Rangers Lost By A Score Of 2-3.

How Many Periods Are There In A Game Of Hockey For Fun?

Most Games In The Minor Leagues Are Broken Up Into Three Parts. I’ve Seen Two Periods Used Sometimes, But Usually Only In 3-On-3 Games Where The Time Blocks Are Shorter.

The Refreshing Of The Ice Is The Main Difference Between Games For Fun And Games For A League.  

In Recreational Teams, The Ice Will Only Be Zambonied Before Each Game Starts. In Fact, The Ice Surface Gets A Lot Of Snow By The Third Period, But It’s Still In Pretty Good Shape.

In Real Time, The Ice Is Used For Just Over An Hour. In Professional Sports Leagues, Each Period Lasts 40 Minutes.  

You Could Also Say That Professional Players Carve Into The Ice Surface More Than Those In Amateur Leagues, So There Is Much More Wear And Tear During Each Game. 

One Last Thing

As Someone Who Has Played And Watched Hockey All Their Life, The Three-Period Method Is A Part Of My Dna. I Can’t Picture Going To A Different Format, Like Halves Or Quarters.

Players Wear Equipment That Weighs 15 Pounds Or More Every Day, So The Breaks During The Game Are Well Deserved. Not Only That, But They Need Rest After Taking Body Hits, Fights, And Pucks Going 100 Mph. 

Fans At The Game Also Love These Breaks. 

It’s Better To Go To The Bathroom And Eat During These Breaks Than In The Middle Of The Game. There’s Nothing Worse Than Running Back To Your Place Only To Hear The Crowd Screaming At The Top Of Their Lungs. That’s A Sign That You Just Missed A Really Good Play. 

And It’s Just Not The Same To Watch The Game On Those Tv Screens Outside. You Might As Well Have Been At Home Watching The Game.