The first memories of an ice hockey game with a club and a ball day. Along with this, as a distinct kind of competition, it was formed much later. And the development described in more detail below is a team sport in which stroke players have to score a goal against their opponent’s goal. The main feature of the contest is that players have to move around the ice rink on skates.

Many versions appeared

For a sport like a hockey, history has become one of the most controversial. Not all modern researchers agree with this. The fact that images of people taking part in a similar game on a frozen pond are present in some paintings by Dutch masters dating back to the sixteenth century.

As if possible, British soldiers, after recapturing Canada from France in 1763, brought ball hockey to the country. Due to the fact that severe and long winter is featured, \ u200b \ u200b game needs to adapt to local conditions. Therefore, people began to compete on frozen rivers and lakes. So the feet won’t slip on their surface, the cheese cutter is tied to the boots.

The debuted match

It was in this city, at Victoria Stadium, on March 3, 1875, that the first officially registered hockey game was played. The story of the war was even shown in an article in a local newspaper called the Montreal Gazette.

Each competing team consists of nine players. A wooden plate became a projectile and common stones were used as gates. The participant’s protective gear was borrowed from baseball.

The rules

Two years after the first hockey game took place, a group of students from McGill University in Montreal invented the first rules of the game. They include seven points. In 1879, a rubber washer was created. The game quickly gained popularity, so in 1883 it was presented as part of the annual Winter Festival in Montreal. Two years later, Canadians here formed an amateur association in the sport.

In 1886, the rules of hockey were streamlined, refined, and printed. It should be noted that they are not much different from the modern version. From now on, seven players competed in each team.

They are goalkeeper, defender and defender, three strikers, and also a racer (strongest hockey player to score the best goal of all). Composition during the match remains unchanged. The only substitution allowed is a player injury. A prerequisite for doing it is the consent of the opposing group.