Kids Canes: Icing Is Not Just For Cakes! It In Hockey Too!

Who does not love icing? It is great on cakes of any kind. Cup cakes, pancakes, birthday cakes. It’s good right out of the can too! But have you ever been watching a Carolina Hurricanes game and heard the hockey teams be called for icing?

Besides making me crave sweets, I have always wondered what icing in hockey meant, and why it stops the game.

Icing Mar 23, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) skates with the puck past New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) during the first period at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 23, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) skates with the puck past New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) during the first period at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

What is icing (the hockey kind)?

Icing is when a player sends the puck all the way to the other side of the ice where there are no players except the goalie.

Sometimes you will hear icing called ice the puck.

Why is that called by referee?

Players ice the puck as a way to get the puck away from their goal. If there was not icing it would mean players could make everyone would have to scrabble down the ice all the time. It would be all that ever got done.

That would be boring!

It is sort of a cheat to ice the puck because it is a little bit like throwing a ball in a tree or under a parked car so no one can play with it. Another example would be hiding a toy so only you can play with it.

What happens when icing is called?

May 5, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (48) scores a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the third period in game two of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

When icing is called, the game stops, and the players have a face-off on the side of the ice the puck came from.

Sometimes, it is actually smart for the Hurricanes to ice the puck.

If all the players are covered by the other team, and a Cane gets the chance to ice the puck they will. Maybe the other team is about to score and a Hurricanes player gets the puck, they might ice the puck.

Both times, it means that both teams have to reset and go to the face-off circle.

Even though the puck comes back to the Hurricanes side, there is the chance the Canes player can win the face-off. Then the Canes can clear their side of the ice.

Times like that, I leave the Hurricanes on the ice to decide. They can see what is happening on the ice better than I can from in the stands or on TV.

Now that you know what icing (the hockey kind), you know more about what it is called at Canes games. It is just like playing keep away with the puck, and that is not fair.

Kids Canes Challenge Answer:

We asked if you ever hear icing called at the hockey game, and wondered what that meant.

Remember, icing is when a player sends the puck all the way to the other side of the ice where there are no players except the goalie. When icing is called, the game stops, and the players have a face-off on the side of the ice the puck came from.

Sometimes it is smart to ice the puck, but it is hard for us as fans to see when that is. Maybe after the fact on replay you can see when it is smart or not.

Kids Canes Challenge:

The NHL Draft is coming up. Do you know what it means to be drafted?

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