Faceoff

A faceoff is the method used to begin play in ice hockey. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing centres attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official. (NHL) At the opening faceoff of each period the referee drops the puck, subsequent faceoff drops are by a linesman.

Faceoffs are typically conducted at designated places marked on the ice called "faceoff spots" or "dots". There are nine such spots: two in each attacking zone, two on each end of the neutral zone, and one in the centre of the rink. Faceoffs do not always take place at the marked faceoff spots. If a puck leaves the playing surface, for example, the faceoff will take place wherever the puck was last played. However, all faceoffs other than those centre ice take place on one of the two imaginary lines parallel to the side boards extending from one end zone faceoff spot to the other. On June 20, 2007, the NHL Board of Governors approved a change to NHL Rule 76 which governs faceoffs. This change now requires all faceoffs to take place at one of the nine faceoff spots on the ice, regardless of what caused the stoppage of play.

An official may wave off a centre from the faceoff if he or any of the players on his team violates the rules in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage during the faceoff. In this case, one of his teammates that is on the ice must switch positions with the centre and take the faceoff. Common faceoff violations include moving the stick before the puck is dropped or not placing the body square to the faceoff spot. In the NHL, a visiting team's centre's hockey stick must touch the ice before the home team's centre does.

Other sports

Faceoffs are also part of lacrosse. In a lacrosse faceoff, two players face each other in a crouching position, the back of the head of each player's stick pressed against that of their opponent, with the ball placed between the two sticks. At a signal from the official, each tries to gain possession of the ball.

A faceoff-like event has been attempted in at least one league of American football. The XFL, a short-lived professional football league that played its lone season in 2001, instituted an "opening scramble," replacing the coin toss, in which one player from each team attempted to recover a loose football after a twenty-yard dash. The team whose player recovered the ball got first choice of kicking, receiving, or defending one side of the field. Because of an extremely high rate of injury in these events, the event has not (as of 2008) gained mainstream popularity in any other football league, and the coin toss remains the method of choice for determining possession at the beginning of a game.

History

Historical Alignment

In the first organized ice hockey (see Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC)) rules, both centres faced the centre line of the ice rink, like the wingers do today. At that time, another forward position existed, the "rover", who faced forward like centres did today, but a few feet away.

Historical Naming

Faceoffs were first called 'faces' of the puck.

ee also

*Scrum