I was only six years old when I started my life in hockey. Ever since I started playing I was not able to stop. Hockey is more than hitting a puck into the net to get goals. It is more like life because it can be tough at time but it will always get better and you learn how to work better as a team. In my essay, my three main topics are the gear you would wear, some random facts about the sport and how to play it.

Three of the main gear for hockey is the padding, hockey stick/ puck and ice skates. You need padding incase if you get checked or you trip and fall. They can also be used to protect important body parts like neck, head, elbows, shoulders and chest. The hockey stick is used to move the puck from zone to zone. Also you can trip the other team but you will get a 2:00 minute penalty. So if you don’t want to be in the penalty box remember to keep the stick on the ice. Another way how to use hockey sticks is by the goalie's stick now the goalie’s stick is fat on the bottom part and thin on the top part. The reason that it is so fat on the bottom is that it is used to make sure that the puck won't go into the net, plus the puck is used to score points. Now ice skates are pretty obvious but is a key part of hockey because that is how you move on the ice. Once you have all the gear that I mentioned and more you are ready to learn some of the facts about this wonderful sport.

Three facts on the sport is the history, injures and that it is Minnesota’s state sport. Now the National Hockey Association was ended in 1917 and the NHA was founded in 1909 but now called the National Hockey League. During the great depression (WW2) there was only six teams later known as the “Original Six”. In 1994-1995 season Maurice Richard became the first person to score 50 goals in one season. Also on Feb. 10, 2008 an accident took place during the Buffalo Sabre vs. Florida Panthers. When the Panthers captain Olli Jokinen fell to the ice and his ice skate slashed the throat of a passing defenseman Richard Zednik. When it happened the skate cut an artery and blood started bursting out. So he applied pressure to the wound and started to skate to his bench and got helped by three of the medical personal. Once the referees noticed a trail of blood and it ending at the Panthers bench he immediately blew his whistle and everyone was in shock of what has just happened. The reason I have that it is Minnesota's state is that I am from and living there. So that has got my attention on hockey since it’s our state sport. We have had two hockey teams here called the Dallas North Stars (Which is now in Dallas, Texas). The other team is the Minnesota Wild which is our current team. The Wild was formed in 2000 and the Dallas North Stars was moved in the fall of 1993. After you know a little about the history, some injuries and about some teams you can now learn how to play with only three steps.
Three of the main steps of hockey are skating, how to protect the net and stick/ puck handling. Skating is pretty easy just it’s weird at first. The reason that I say that it is weird at first is because you have to have balance and be able to know how to move the skates. I also found steps of how to learn  how to on howcast.com. The steps are practice falling, how to stop, stand and relax, glide, shift your weight and practice the one foot glide. Now the goalie is the main defender of the goal net but there's also two defenseman which will follow the puck on their side and help the goalie. How the goalie defends the net is kind of cool because the goalie actually has to shift his whole body and has to like do the splits almost. The defenseman just kind of follows the puck and try to steal it from the enemy. Now the key to stick/puck handling is to only push the puck only as fast as you are ice skating. If you know how to play basketball you have to dribble the ball and with hockey you just push the puck by moving it with a hockey stick. Another way of how you can practice stick handling and even skating you can get rollerblades, street hockey stick and a hockey ball or puck. The reason that I said that you should use a hockey puck is that it would go better on roads in the non winter seasons.

So just for a recap I wrote about the gear, facts and how to play hockey. Hockey is more than hitting a puck into the net to get goals. It is more like life because it can be tough at time but it will always get better and you learn how to work better as a team. Now that you know all that information you go and hit the ice and play hockey. I started when I was six and I won’t stop till death. A quote about hockey that is one of my favorites is “Give Blood. Play Hockey.” I now know that you all know how about the gear, facts and how to play so I hope you will get out there and try it for yourself.