Free Hockey Games to Play

Hockey is a thrilling competitive sport that brings spectators out of their seats and excites players, as well. However, it is usually anything but free. In most cases, rinks have to be rented in order for hockey players to have a chance to enjoy the sport they love. Thankfully, there are other ways to play that won't cost the participants any money

  1. Regulation Hockey

    • If you have a pond in your town, you can organize your friends and play hockey on the frozen pond. Make your plans the night before and get your group of people organized. Tell them what time you are playing and make sure everyone has their equipment. The earlier you get there, the better chance you have of playing. Use goaltenders for "regulation hockey." You should be able to enjoy it for hours if you have enough players to work in as substitutes.

    Shinny

    • One of the best games to play if you don't have enough for six players (three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie) is to play "shinny." This is a game that emphasizes skating and passing and shooting. It is played without a goaltender. If you only have four players, it's two against two. If you have eight players it's four against four. Just put goals down at either end of the pond, drop the puck and you are ready to go.

    Shootout

    • This is a game that has morphed into a significant part of professional hockey. You can do this if you only have two or three shooters and one goaltender. Take turns with penalty shots against the goalie. Skater A will start out with the puck at the center spot on the ice. He will work his way in, try to fake the goalie out of position and attempt to score a goal. Have every player take five shots. The player who scores the most goals wins the competition.
      NHL regular-season games go to shootouts when they are tied after five minutes of overtime. Three shooters from each team take penalty shots and the team that has the most goals after three rounds wins. If they are still tied after each team has taken three shots, they keep going until one team scores and the other misses.