The Answers • Hockey in wartime • Attacking goalies • Crashing the net • The original Red Wing • Who controls icing? • Home ice advantage

More of this Feature • Hat tricks, Habs, Detroit's octopus and goalie stats explained.

Related Resources • Hockey Time Line • Stanley Cup winners • Rules, formats and a hockey glossary

What do you know about a player named McCool who played net for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 40's?
- Gary, Hamilton, Ontario

Frank "Ulcers" McCool owed his brief turn in the spotlight to the Second World War.

As many players enlisted and shipped out, NHL teams filled their uniforms with men excused from military service. McCool, an amateur player from Calgary, had apparently been rejected by the army because of a severe ulcer problem. He joined the Leafs in the fall of 1944, played in all 50 regular season games and led the team on a remarkable championship run: They knocked off the first-place Montreal Canadiens in the semifinal and Detroit in the final to win the 1945 Stanley Cup. McCool set a record with three shutouts in the final series.

The next season was one of transition, as veterans and new prospects trickled back from the war. Holding out for a raise, McCool missed the opening weeks of the season. He returned to play 22 games, but lost his job when veteran Turk Broda returned to the Toronto net. It marked the end of a short but notable NHL career.

return to index

Can the goalie cross the centre line with the puck? What restrictions are on goalies for puck handling?
- Mike, Halifax, N.S.

A goalkeeper is restricted to his half of the rink. He is not allowed to cross the centre ice red line, with or without the puck. Otherwise, a goalie is free to handle the puck as he sees fit. But he will receive a delay of game penalty for shooting it over the glass or holding it for a whistle when he isn't under pressure from an opponent.

return to index

I've heard the term "crash the net". What does it exactly mean?
- Mick, Omaha, Nebraska

It means going to the front of the opponent's net, just in front of the goalie's crease, usually without the puck. The player who goes to the net can score by deflecting a point shot or whacking at a rebound. He also helps team mates score by screening and pestering the goalie, distracting defensemen and generally causing the chaos that makes a goaltender's job difficult. It is one of the fundmentals of good offence. Going to the net is often called crashing the net because of the collisions and physical battles that ensue.

return to index

I just returned from a visit to Michigan. No one there can tell me what exactly a Red Wing is, or why a tire with wings (does this creature even exist in the wild?) is the symbol for the Red Wings. Any ideas?
- Pamela, Forest Hills, NY

Good guess, Pamela. The team is named for the Michigan warbling red wing, a bird known for its distinctive spoked wheels and common to the subdivisions of Detroit.

Just kidding. The Red Wings were called the Cougars until 1932, when a millionaire named James Norris bought the team. Here's the rest of the story, as told by Bob Duff in "Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League:"

"Norris had been a member of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, a sporting club with cycling roots. The MAAA's teams were known by their club emblem and these Winged Wheelers were the first winners of the Stanley Cup in 1893. Norris decided that a version of their logo was perfect for a team playing in the Motor City and on October 5, 1932 the club was renamed the Red Wings."

return to index

I know what icing is, but how can a coach wave off this call? Why would he? (I think the Red Wings coach did this in game five of the Stanley Cup final).
- Judith, Raleigh, N.C.

A coach cannot wave off or decline an icing call. Only the linesmen can wave off icing, as explained in the rulebook:

"Rule 65(e) - If, in the opinion of the Linesman, any player of the opposing Team is able to play the puck before it passes his goal line, but has not done so, play shall continue and the icing violation shall not be called.

If, in the opinion of the Linesman, the goaltender leaves the crease on a potential icing and feigns playing the puck at any time, the potential icing shall not be called and play shall continue.

The purpose of this section is to enforce continuous action and both Referees and Linesmen should interpret and apply the Rule to produce this result."

return to index

Can you please explain to me what they mean during the playoffs when they talk about "home ice advantage?"
- Melissa, Ann Arbor, Michigan

When Detroit and Carolina met in the Stanley Cup final, games one and two were played in Detroit, games three and four in Carolina and game five back in Detroit. If the series had gone seven games, they would have played game six in Carolina and game seven in Detroit. Teams tend to win more in their own rink than they do on the road, so by getting the extra game at home Detroit is acknowledged to have home ice advantage.

When the Hurricanes won the first game, they were said to have "stolen" home ice advantage because a full series schedule now called for three games in Carolina and three games in Detroit, with Carolina already having won the extra game. The 'Canes were in a position to win the series by winning all their home games, without needing another road victory.

return to index

Next page > Hat tricks, Habs, Detroit's octopus and goalie stats explained. > Page 1, 2