New to hockey? Here’s a guide to get you ready for Utah’s first NHL season

New to hockey? Have no fear.

Here’s a collection of hockey rules, terms and lingo to get you ready for Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season. You will be screaming at your television, and from the Delta Center stands — with a whole new vocabulary — in no time.

Let’s start with hockey basics

Periods: There are three periods in a hockey game. Each period is 20 minutes. Each team is allowed five players (three forwards, two defensemen) and a goaltender on the ice at once.

Forward Lines: Hockey teams use four lines with three forwards on each. A line is made up of a left wing, center and right wing. Lines are ranked from first to fourth — the best players are in the “top six” (the first two lines), and the less flashy players are in the “bottom six” (the last two lines). However, in the NHL, the difference between a first and third line can be very small because of everyone’s high talent level.

Defense Pairs: Defensemen are grouped into pairs of two — one left-shot and one right-shot. Each team has three defensive pairs that it matches with its forward lines. Similar to forward lines, the pairs are ranked from first to third.

Zones: There are three zones in hockey: the defensive zone, neutral zone and offensive zone. The defensive zone is the portion between the net and the first blue line where a team defends its own goal. The neutral zone is center ice between the two blue lines where all opening-period faceoffs occur. The offensive zone is the portion between the second blue line and the second net where the attacking team works to score on the opposing goalie.

Faceoffs: Faceoffs both start and restart plays. The official drops the puck between two opposing players to knock back to their teammates. Centers are the position that usually take faceoffs. There are five face-off circles on the ice — a big one at center ice, and two in each offensive zone. The face-off location is determined by where the last stoppage of play happened.

Icing: An icing occurs when a player shoots the puck from their team’s side of the center red line and it goes all the way down the ice and crosses the red goal line at the other end (and doesn’t end up in the net). An official will stop play after an icing and the puck is moved to the other end of the rink where there’s a faceoff in the offending team’s defensive zone.

Offside: A player that is carrying the puck into the offensive zone but crosses the blueline with both skates before the puck is deemed offside; the play is whistled down. If the puck crosses the blueline before the player’s skates but another teammate enters the zone before the puck does, the play is also deemed offside. In short, a team is offside when any member enters the attacking (offensive) zone before the puck is over the defending team’s blue line. Goals can be overturned if the zone entry was offside.

Penalties: There are a lot of ways to be penalized in hockey. Minor penalties are two minutes and cause the offending team to skate down a player, which makes it a 5-on-4 disadvantage. A double-minor penalty is four minutes and most often occurs when blood is drawn, or the play looks intentional. A five-minute major is assessed to players when they fight each other or there was a deliberate attempt to hurt another. While less common, 10-minute majors and game misconducts happen for fighting, yelling at officials, boarding opposing players, hits to the head and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Minor penalties in the NHL include cross-checking, high-sticking, tripping, elbowing, holding, hooking, boarding, roughing, kneeing, charging and spearing. There are also delay-of-game penalties that happen when a player shoots the puck out of the playing area, a team puts more than five skaters on the ice at once or a player (other than the goaltender) closes its hand over the puck.

If a team takes two penalties at or around the same time, it skates down two players and the other team has a 5-on-3 advantage. If both teams take penalties at the same time, they skate 4-on-4.

Penalty shot: A penalty shot is awarded to any player who is taken down from behind while on a breakaway scoring chance. A penalty shot can also be called if the goaltender or a defenseman from the defending team intentionally knocks the net off to prevent the attacking player from scoring.

Shorthanded: A team is shorthanded when it is playing with fewer players than the other team, as a result of penalties. If a team scores while on the penalty kill, it’s called a shorthanded goal.

Overtime: In the regular season, if the teams are tied after regulation (the three periods), a 3-on-3, five-minute overtime occurs in which the first team to score wins. If no one scores in overtime, the game is decided in a shootout. In the playoffs, overtime is another 5-on-5, 20-minute period in which the first team to score wins. If no one scores in the first overtime, another 5-on-5, 20-minute period is played — and so on — until someone scores.

Shootout: A shootout happens when a regular-season game has not determined a winner by the end of overtime. Shootouts consist of a series of penalty shots — each team has three attempts to score in an alternating format. If it remains tied after that, the shootout continues to alternate until one team does not match the scoring attempt of the other.

Assist: On any goal, there are two players other than the goal-scorer who get assists on the play. The primary assist goes to the player who passed the puck to the goal-scorer before the shot. The secondary assist goes to the player who passed the puck before that. An assist is also called an apple.

Hat Trick: A hat trick is when a player scores three goals in one game. A natural hat trick is when a player scores three consecutive goals — without any scored by any other player in between — in one game.

Crease: The blue-painted semi-circle in front of the net that starts at the red goal line. The goaltender — and defensemen — defend the crease. The slot is just above the crease and is a high-danger scoring area.

Backcheck: Backchecking is when players transition from offense to defense and try to prevent the attacking team from scoring on the other end.

Forecheck: Forechecking is when players put defensive pressure in the opposing team’s defensive end or in the neutral zone to regain possession of the puck and try to score in the offensive zone.

Five Hole: When a player “goes five hole” on a goal, it means they shot the puck right between the goalie’s legs.

Breakout: When a team skates out of its defensive zone with the puck and goes towards the opponent’s net on the other end of the ice.

And now for some fun hockey lingo

Bar Down: Bar down is a description of a type of goal in which the puck rings the bottom of the crossbar and falls down across the red goal line for a goal.

Bucket: Another term for helmet.

Celly: Slang for a player’s celebration after scoring a goal.

Barn: Another term for a hockey arena.

Barnburner: A high-scoring, high-intensity game.

Chiclets: Another term for teeth.

Biscuit: Another term for the puck. A player “buries the biscuit” when they score.

Beauty: Used to describe a talented, impactful player who also has good character off the ice.

Lettuce: Describes the hockey hair flow, usually sticking out of a player’s helmet.

Chirp: Another term for trash talking.