The Ultimate Guide to Hockey Slang

A

Apple: an assist

B

Bar down: when the puck goes in the net off the bottom of the crossbar

Barn: an arena rink

Barnburner: a high-scoring game

Bender: a badly skating player whose ankles bend beneath him

Beauty: a pretty play 

Biscuit: the puck

Bottle rocket: when a goal breaks the goalie's water bottle

Breakaway: when a player has the puck and an open skating lane to the net with no one in front of him

Bucket: a helmet

C

Celly: a celebration after a goal

Cheese: the top shelf of the net (see, top cookies)

Chel: the EA Sports NHL video game

Cherry picker: a player who stands behind the opposing team's defense in hopes for a breakaway

Chiclets: teeth

Chirp: when you talk trash to opposing players

Clapper: a slapshot

Coast to coast: taking the puck all the way down the ice

Crossbar: the post that runs along the top of the net

D

Dangle: a deke

Dirty: used to describe an incredible deke or pass (see, filthy)

Duster: a player who doesn’t play much and “collects dust” on the bench

F

Face wash: when you shove your glove into an opponents face

Filthy: also used to describe an incredible deke or pass

Fishbowl: a full face shield

Five-hole: the area between a goalie’s legs

Flamingo: when a player lifts his leg to avoid blocking a shot

Flow: long hair (see, lettuce)

G

Garbage: referring to the puck when there is a rebound, picking up the garbage means putting the rebound in the net

Gino: a goal

Gongshow: when a game that is getting out of control, possibly from the score, a lot of fights or big hits

Goon: a player whose only talent is fighting, usually to keep the teams best players safe

Gordie Howe hat trick: when a player scores a goal, adds an assist and gets in a fight in one game

Grinder: a lesser-skilled player who is meant to hit and agitate the opposing players 

Grocery stick: the player who separates the offense from the defense on the bench

H

Hands: refers to a player who has good stickhandling and often dangles opposing players

Hoser: another term for loser, derived from the when the losing team would hose down the ice before the invention of the Zamboni

J

Junction: the corner of the goal where the crossbar and post meets (also referred to as the “junk”)

K

Kronwalled: a big hit a defenseman lays on a player attempting to carry the puck out of his zone, derived from Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall who is famous for this type of hit

L

Lettuce: hair, including both on the head and facial hair (see, lip lettuce)

Light the lamp: scoring a goal 

Lip lettuce: a mustache

Lumber: a hockey stick, derived from when sticks were made of wood (see, twig)

M

Mitts: hockey gloves

O

ODR: an outdoor rink (see, pond)

Open ice hit: a big hit on that happens away from the boards 

P

Pigeon: a player who can’t score on his own and relies on others to feed him the puck or pick up the garbage 

Pipe: the goal post

Pinch: when a defenseman moves into the offensive zone in an attempt to keep the puck inside the zone

Plug: a useless player, derived from when a removable extension for a composite stick

Playoff beard: when players stop shaving during the playoffs

Point: a defenseman in the offensive zone

Pond: where players play outdoors in the winter

Pylon: a slow defenseman that often gets skated around

S

Sauce: a pass that leaves the ice to make it more difficult for opposing players to intercept

(The) Show: the NHL

Silky: used to describe a smooth occurrence such as a play or a player’s hands 

Stripes: the referee

Sieve: a bad goalie, often referred to as full of holes

Sin-bin: the penalty box

Slot: the high-scoring area in front of the net

Snipe: a perfectly placed shot

Stack the pads: when a goalie lays on his side and puts his pads on top of each other to make a save

Stay at home defenseman: a defenseman who is strong in his own zone but not particularly good in the offensive zone

Stoned: when a goalie makes a great save

Suicide pass: when a player receives a pass that puts him in danger of immediately receiving a hard hit

Sweater: a hockey jersey

T

Tape to tape: a pass that perfectly lands on your teammate’s blade

Tic-tac-toe: refers to a quick passing play that results in a goal

Toe drag: when a player uses the end of his blade to dangle the opposition

Top cookies: top shelf (where grandma hides the cookies)

Trapezoid: the area behind the net where a goalie is allowed to play the puck

Turtle: when a player completely covers himself up as to not be involved in a fight

Twig: a hockey stick, also derived from when they used to be made of wood

W

Wheel: refers to a player's strong skating, in addition to picking up girls

Wraparound: when a player takes the puck around the back of the net and tries to score in one full motion

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