Hockey Talk 101: Popular Hockey Terms & Lingo

Update (October 12): This article has been updated to include the latest hockey terms, lingo and slang used by players and fans.

From Apple to Zebra, hockey fandom comes with its own language. While fans can skate by with just a few key terms, knowing how to talk the talk gives your gameday experience some extra edge. Once you’ve secured your NHL tickets via Ticketmaster, the Official Ticket Marketplace of the NHL, get familiar with the most popular hockey terms, slang and lingo before hitting the stands.

A-D | E-J | K-R | S-Z

A – D

• Apple: an assist, or the pass that leads to a goal
• Bar Down: a goal scored on an elevated shot that strikes the crossbar and deflects down, producing hockey’s signature “ding” sound
• Barn: the arena or rink where a game is played
• Beauty/Beautician: a high-difficulty goal (“score a beauty”) or a well-regarded player known for their exceptional skill and charisma
• Bender: a player whose ankles bend inward while they’re skating, reflecting poor technique
• Biscuit: slang for the puck
• Blades of Steel: a 1987 ice hockey video game known for its fast-paced action and frequent fight sequences
• Bottle Rocket: a shot or goal that knocks the goalie’s water bottle off the back of the net
• Brawl: an in-game fight between players
• Breadbasket: a goalie’s chest or torso
• Breakaway: a one-on-one scoring opportunity for a player on open ice against the goalie
• Brick Wall: a goalie who makes countless saves
• Bucket: a helmet
• Cage: slang for the metal or plastic face mask attached to a helmet
• Celly: a celebration after scoring a goal
• Charlestown Chiefs: the team name and mascot from the 1977 cult hockey comedy film Slap Shot
• Cheap-Shot Artist: a player known for intentionally dirty plays
• Cheese: a goal scored in the upper part, or “top shelf,” of the net
• Cherry Picker: a player who lingers behind the opposing defense, waiting for a breakaway scoring chance
• Chiclets: slang for a hockey player’s teeth
• Chippy: an extra physical game with many hits, scrums, and shoves after the whistle
• Chirp: to taunt an opponent with trash talk
• Clapper: a slap shot
• Coast-to-Coast: to carry the puck from one end of the rink to the other
• Dangle: also known as a deke, a move used to fake-out a goalie or opposing player
• Disk: a puck
• Duster: a player who rarely plays and spends most of the game on the bench
• Dusting It Off: quick, repetitive stickhandling that looks like a player is brushing the puck

E – J

• Enforcer: a player whose role is to protect teammates and deter physical play from opponents, often by fighting opposing players
• Face Wash: when a player intentionally shoves an open palm gloved hand into an opponent’s face, similar to a stiff-arm
• Fanning on the Puck: to shoot the puck and miss it entirely
• Filthy: a term used to praise an especially skillful pass, shot or hit
• Fishbowl: a helmet with a full plastic face shield instead of a wire cage, sometimes used to imply a player is soft
• Five-Hole: the gap between a goalie’s legs, commonly referenced when a low shot slips through it
• Flamingo: the pose a player makes when lifting a leg to dodge an oncoming shot
• Flash the Leather: when a goalie makes an impressive glove save
• Flow: slang for a player’s long hair
• Geno/Gino: a goal
• Gong Show: a matchup marked by chaotic, unpredictable gameplay, including multiple goals, fights, penalties and missed passes
• Goon: a player known specifically as a fighter or enforcer
• Gordie Howe Hat Trick: when a player records a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game, named for the Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Gordie “Mr. Hockey” Howe
• Greasy: a goal scored in an unpolished, chaotic manner, sometimes without the scorer immediately realizing it went in
• The Great One: a nickname for Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leader in points and assists, often considered the best hockey player of all time
• Grinder: a player known more for effort plays than skill plays
• Grocery Stick: a reserve player who sits between defenders and forwards on the bench, resembling the barrier stick used to separate food on a grocery store conveyor belt
• Hands: a term for a player’s skill in puck control and ability to fake out opponents effortlessly
• Hanging from the Rafters: a phrase describing a team’s retired jerseys, which are displayed in the rafters of their home arena
• Hat Trick: three goals by one player in a single game, which upon the third goal fans traditionally celebrate by throwing hats onto the ice
• Holy Grail: a nickname for the Stanley Cup
• Hoser: a Canadian slang term used to call an opponent a loser
• Howitzer: a fast slap shot
• Icing: when a player shoots the puck from their own side of the center red line all the way past the opponent’s goal line and no one touches it
• Journeyman: a player who has played for many different teams over their career
• Junction (Junk): the corner of the goal where the crossbar meets the post

K – R

• Knuckle Puck: a puck shot with an unsteady spin that travels unpredictably through the air
• Kronwalled: a high-impact, open-ice body check delivered by a defenseman, named for former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall
• Lamplighter: a player known for scoring goals frequently
• Laser Beam: a hard, fast shot that travels in a straight line
• Laying Lumber: using one’s stick to physically harass an opponent
• Lettuce: slang for a player’s long hair
• Light the Lamp: to score a goal, named for the red goal light behind the net that flashes when a puck crosses the goal line
• Lip Lettuce: slang for a player’s mustache
• Lumber: a hockey stick
• Mitts: a player’s gloves
• Muffin: a weak shot that wavers in the air on its way to the net
• Muzzy: slang for a mustache
• ODR: an outdoor rink
• Office: the area behind the net, nicknamed “Gretzky’s Office” for Wayne Gretzky’s frequent use of the space to set up scoring plays
• One-timer: a shot taken straight off a pass without stopping the puck first
• Paint: the blue semi-circular area directly in front of the goal, also called the crease
• Peanut Butter: a goal scored in the upper area, or “top shelf,” of the net
• Pigeon: an insult for a player who can’t score on their own and relies on teammates to set them up
• Pillows: a goalie’s leg pads
• Pinch: a defenseman’s move into the offensive zone to keep the puck inside that zone
• Pipe: the goal post
• Pond: an outdoor hockey game, named for the frozen ponds where pickup hockey games have historically been played
• Plug: a term for an ineffective player
• Plumber: a player known for doing the dirty, gritty work that helps a team win
• Pylon: a slow-footed defender who becomes a stationary obstacle easily avoided by opponents
• Ripple the Mesh: slang term for scoring a goal
• Roof: the upper part, or “top shelf,” of the goal
• Rubber: slang for the puck

S – Z

• Salad: slang for a player’s long, stylish head of hair
• Sauce: a saucer pass, which lifts off the ice to clear sticks and players, then lands flat on a teammate’s blade
• Shinny Hockey: a pickup game typically played outdoors on a frozen lake or pond
• Sieve: a goalie who allows a high number of goals
• Sin-Bin: slang for the penalty box
• Slew-Footing: a penalty in which a player uses their leg or foot to knock an opponent’s feet out from under them
• Snipe: a hard, accurate shot that finds a corner of the net
• Snow Job: when a player intentionally sprays ice shavings into a goalie’s face by stopping sharply in front of the net
• Spittin’ Chiclets: when a player spits out dislodged teeth after being hit
• Sweater: a hockey jersey
• Tape-to-Tape: an effective, precise pass from one teammate’s stick directly to another’s stick, named for the fabric hockey tape wrapped around a stick’s blade
• Tic-Tac-Toe: a quick series of three passes that leads to a goal
• Top Shelf: the top section of the goal
• Twig: slang for a player’s stick
• Uncork: to shoot the puck with extreme velocity
• Wheels: slang for a fast skater
• Where Mama Keeps the Good Stuff: a phrase describing a goal scored in the top shelf of the net, also called “Where Mama Hides the Cookies”
• Wraparound: when a player skates behind the goal and quickly tucks the puck in on the opposite side of the net
• Yard Sale: slang for a player who loses equipment on the ice, usually after a big hit
• Yawning Cage: a wide-open net available for shooting
• Zebra: slang for a referee, named for the black-and-white striped jersey officials wear