About how long the hockey match lasts

The rules of the hockey match have their own peculiarities. They were formed gradually, for more than two hundred years of history of this game popular in many countries of the world.

From the history of ice hockey

Despite the fact that in the works of European medieval graphics and painting there are several images on which people play in a well-known game to us, Canada is considered the homeland of hockey . The question of how long the hockey match lasts, few people worried at the dawn of the birth of this sport. People played hockey for their own pleasure and until they get bored. But historical sources told us the date of the first hockey competition, it was held on March 3, 1875 at the rink "Victoria" in Montreal. And with the beginning of the official competitions it began to matter how long the hockey match lasts. The first set of rules of the game of hockey, which has reached us, was established, adopted and printed in 1886. In the future, the hockey game quickly gained popularity and throughout the twentieth century spread throughout the northern hemisphere. Traditionally in hockey there were two schools - Canadian and European. And the competition between them contributed to the development of this sport. Hockey tournament has become one of the main points of the program of the Winter Olympic Games.

Duration of the hockey game

Meanwhile, the regulation of the hockey duel was not universal for different countries and parts of the world. In Europe and America at the beginning of the century, it differed markedly. The duration of the hockey match was easy to determine if the game allowed a draw result. In this case, the game consisted of three periods of time lasting twenty minutes with two fifteen minute breaks between them. Only clean play time was taken into account, the time was counted down by the stopwatch and stopped when the referee stopped the game for some reason.

Game to win

But this practice was not acceptable for large tournaments with a large number of participating teams. Negative results of matches would lead to the prolongation of the competition to infinity. In addition, the game began to lose its sharpness and dynamism. Therefore, the practice of hockey competitions around the world has gradually come to the necessity of playing for a specific result, revealing the winner in the match. The drawn result has ceased to suit both spectators and participants of competitions. Accordingly, the answer to the question of how long the hockey match lasts, has lost its uniqueness. The match began to continue until the winner was identified. At the heart of the rules were all the same three periods of twenty minutes. But if they ended in a draw, the teams were offered extra time. An additional period is called overtime. Its duration is ten minutes. He plays before the first washer. In order to sharpen the game, on the field on each side there can be four players instead of five. This gives the game dynamism and changes the established tactical constructions. According to the regulations of the Continental Hockey League, if additional time did not reveal the winner, the teams continue to find out the relationship by throwing free throws - bullets. First three from each team, and then to victory. And in this case only the final puck depends on how long the hockey match lasts. Bullitts look impressive, but still in the decisive games are accepted without them.

Playoff Tournaments

Especially sharp and expressive game is acquired in the final stage of the Continental Hockey League Championship. This game is "on the fly", the losing team is eliminated from participation in further competitions. Therefore, the answer to the question of how long the hockey game lasts in the playoffs is completely unpredictable. The situation is significantly complicated by the fact that in this part of the tournament the rules exclude the holding of free throws. If extra time does not reveal the winner, then after the break another extra time is appointed. Their number is unlimited. The game will continue until victory. The price of one abandoned puck in the final part of each match can be very high. The game often takes a viscous character and is delayed for fear of players making a mistake and giving the enemy a chance to make a decisive throw. That is why matches in the playoffs are so exhausting for both players and fans.

Record KHL

The longest hockey match in the history of the Continental Hockey League was held on March 21, 2014 in Prague, in the quarterfinal match of the playoffs. The game between the teams "Lion" and "Donbass" ended in the 127th minute victory "Donbass". The match ended in the seventh period with a score of 3: 4. This is at the moment the ultimate answer to the question of how many minutes the hockey match lasts. There is no doubt that this record will necessarily be surpassed. But when this happens - you can only guess.