Hockey

VANCOUVER - AFP's bluffer guide to Ice Hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics:

"I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out. Why are players allowed to punch each other silly in a hockey game?"

- Hockey players live by an unwritten code that players must show respect for each other by not raising their sticks or hitting from behind. This allows the skill players to do what they do best and the tough guys to duke it out when the time calls for it.

"Hockey seems to have its own language. When someone is 'Cherry Picking' what does that mean?"

- It's when a player, generally a forward, hangs out behind the play waiting for a long pass from his defenceman so that he can have a breakaway on the other team's goaltender.

"I see the referee blowing his whistle to stop the play for an offside frequently but what is an offside?"

- A player may not skate across the opposing team's blueline into his offensive zone ahead of the puck. If that happens, the whistle is blown, and a face-off is held just outside the zone where the infraction occurred. Offside is called to keep players from hanging around the red line at centre ice, or all the way down in their offensive zone, and waiting for a pass that will give them a breakaway (skating toward the goal with no defenders around except for the goalie) and an easy chance at a goal.

"Why do ice hockey broadcasters sometimes say 'He Beat Him Like A Rented Mule'?

- It's a reference to a goaltender conceding a goal in an embarrassing manner.

"How is a player's Plus-Minus stat calculated?"

- A player receives a "plus" if he is on the ice when his club scores an even-strength or shorthand goal. He receives a "minus" if he is on the ice for an even-strength or shorthand goal scored by the opposing club.

"What does a 'Winger' do on the ice?"

- You can't fly with just one. These guys follow the action up and down the rink on either side of the centre. Left and right side wings pass back and forth, trying to position themselves for a shot on goal. Defensively, they guard the opponents' wings and attempt to disrupt them.