El Paso Ice Monitor.com Ice Hockey

Hockey is the greatest sport you will ever play. It is fast and exciting, and it takes skill to play. Besides being fun to watch, hockey is a gas to participate in, whether it's on ice or an in-line court. Hockey teaches you to work together with others in the pursuit of a common goal. Hockey instills "intestinal fortitude", as my dad called it. Most of us call it "guts". The game will make you mentally sharper and mentally tougher, too. It will teach you how to win and lose with grace. Once you start to play hockey, I know you will never want to stop: The better you get, the more you'll want to play.

Bobby Hull Jr.

El Paso Hockey Association Pee Wee Hockey
The El Paso Hockey Association hockey league has seen exceptional growth since the days of its inception thanks to the work of former El Paso Buzzards player, Cory Herman and his army of hard working volunteers. Herman has worked non-stop to make the league what it is today. The El Paso Hockey Association is a member of USA Hockey . The league is open to children and adults interested in the sport of ice hockey. Programs are available for beginner and seasoned players. For a small fee, special hockey workshops are available throughout the season that focus on skills such as passing, puck control, power skating, etc. For more information on how to join or to donate your time as a volunteer, contact Cory Herman at 915-479-7825 or visit www.elpasohockey.org

Two Main Rules of Hockey:

Icing:
Player A shoots the puck from behind the center line to a point beyond the opponent's goal line (into the offensive zone). When the puck crosses the thin red line that extends the goal line on the outside of the net, icing is called.

Icing is not called when a team is shorthanded, when a defending player could have touched the puck before it crossed the goal line, or if the puck cut across part of the goal crease. The result of an icing violation is a face-off back in Player A's defensive zone.

Sometimes icing benefits a team trying to break up an attack on its goal. When the defense is disorganized and under heavy pressure, icing is a better alternative than allowing a goal. Icing may also prove a wise strategy when the skaters tire and a line change is needed, but cannot be performed smoothly without a stoppage of play.

Off-Side:
A team is offside when any member of the attacking team precedes the puck over the defending team’s blue line. Player A and Player B are on the same team. Player A has the puck in what is called the neutral zone. Player B crosses the defending team’s blue line before the puck is in the offensive zone. Thus, Player B is off-side if Player A either passes the puck to Player B or crosses the defending team’s blue line with possession of the puck after Player B has already entered the zone. Simply put, no player may precede the puck into the offensive zone. When the rule is violated, play stops and the puck is faced off in the neutral zone. A player can stay onside if he has one skate over the blue line, and one on it.

El Paso Rhinos Hockey

September of 2006 welcomed the arrival of the El Paso Rhinos Junior hockey team. Cory Herman, a retired professional hockey player who played for the El Paso Buzzards, created the new team with a dream to capture and propel talent to the next level. Herman chose a junior team instead of a professional team because he considers junior players "the future stars of hockey." The El Paso Rhinos make their home at the Sierra Providence Events Center. For additional information on El Paso Rhinos hockey, click the rhino.

The El Paso Ice Monitor would like to thank Brian Kennedy, the El Paso Sports Commission, Cory Herman, David Herman, the El Paso Hockey Association, Lori Briggs and The Sun City Blades for their continued support of ice sports in El Paso, Texas.