Hockey Term(s) of the Week: Five Hole, Deke and Icing

On this week’s edition of “Hockey Term of the Week” we are going to cover the terms Five Hole, Deke and Icing.

So let’s get started:

Five Hole:  The area on a goalie referred to as the “five hole” can be simplified to the space between his legs.  This area is called the “five hole” because it is often thought there are five holes on which you can score on the goalie. The stick side low, stick side high, glove side low, glove side high and finally the fifth hole between the goalies legs.  Now that you know what the five hole is you too can get in on hockey puns and innuendos.
Deke:  Sometimes referred to as a Fake Out. A “deke” is when the skater carrying the puck intentionally deceives the defender, goalie or other skaters on the opposing team as to what his or her next move will be often to get it past that skater.
Icing: When a player shoots the puck to the other end of the ice from behind the center ice red line. If the puck crosses the opposing teams’ goal line untouched by an opposing player other than the goaltender icing is called.  If the linesman believes that a player on the opposing team could have played the puck before it passed the goal line, but does not get the chance to do so icing can be waived off and the play continues. This however is at the discretion of the officials. Icing is often considered a delaying tactic; it results in a stoppage in play and a face off in the offending team’s defensive zone.