Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.
The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, professional ice hockey organizations National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. It was established as the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926 and then the de jure NHL championship prize in 1947.
The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference.
College Hockey America (CHA) is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of six teams, with three in Pennsylvania; two in New York, and one in Missouri.
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. Until 2013, it was owned by Global Entertainment Corporation, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hockey Canada, which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994, is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a majority of ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League and U Sports who are partnered with Hockey Canada, but are not members, as well as any of Canada's professional hockey clubs. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, Alberta with a secondary office in Ottawa, Ontario and regional centres in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the United States and Canada. The league was headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and, in its last year, consisted of seven teams. It folded in 2010, with most of its teams joining the Central Hockey League. The Central Hockey League teams still operating in 2014 were then added to ECHL. The only former CoHL/UHL/IHL teams still active as of 2018 are the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings.
The Canadian national men's ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. From 1920 until 1963, Canada's international representation was by senior amateur club teams. Canada's national men's team was founded in 1963 by Father David Bauer as a part of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, playing out of the University of British Columbia. The nickname "Team Canada" was first used for the 1972 Summit Series and has been frequently used to refer to the Canadian national team ever since.
The Czech men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 72,075 players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
The 2002 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft was held June 22–23 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); 23 from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL); 43 from the Western Hockey League (WHL); 41 from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hockey conferences; six from U.S. high schools and 110 from outside North America.
The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The school colors are Scarlet and White. The mascot is named Rhett after Rhett Butler from "Gone With the Wind", because "no one loves Scarlet more than Rhett."
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team (UND) is the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. North Dakota is considered one of the premier college hockey programs in the country, and are regarded as one of the most powerful, successful, and storied college hockey programs in NCAA history. UND has made over 30 appearances in the NCAA tournament, appeared in the Frozen Four 22 times, and have won 8 NCAA Division I Championships. They have also won 15 WCHA Regular Season Championships, 2 NCHC Regular Season Championships, and 11 WCHA Tournament Championships. The current men's head coach is former Fighting Sioux player Brad Berry, who is in his second season with the team. UND used Fighting Sioux as its nickname, but dropped the nickname under pressure from the NCAA. The team is now registered as the Fighting Hawks, a name that was chosen by the University on November 18, 2015.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association (SIHA) or Svenska Ishockeyförbundet in Swedish, is an association of Swedish sports clubs with ice hockey activities. It was established in Stockholm on 17 November 1922, before that organized ice hockey in Sweden had been administered by the Swedish Football Association. In 1920, Sweden became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Apart from ice hockey, inline hockey is the province of the SIHA as well.
The 2001 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred as the 2001 World Junior Hockey Championships, was the 25th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament was held in Moscow and Podolsk, Russia from December 26, 2000 to January 5, 2001. The Czech Republic won the gold medal for the second consecutive year with a 2–1 victory over Finland in the championship game, while Canada won the bronze medal with a 2–1 overtime victory over Sweden.
The 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey.
The Indian women's national field hockey team is ranked 9th in the FIH World Rankings.
The 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 4, 2002, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on April 12, 2003, at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. This was the 56th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 108th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team. The 2002–03 season was the final year for the MAAC hockey conference when Iona and Fairfield ended their programs at the conclusion of the season.
The 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 5, 2001, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on April 6, 2002, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This was the 55th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 107th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
