Intro:  Hello!  Welcome to Ice Hockey 101, I'll be your host.  The image above will be used as a reference, so be sure to keep scrolling back up, or memorize it as best you can.  Any hockey action directions will be explained going from left to right (attack direction).

The Basic of the Basics: 

Terminology:
Puck - The black disc thingy the players desperately try to take from each other and put into the opposing net to score a goal.

Line-change - This is when players on the ice leave the surface and go to the bench, and players on the bench go onto the ice surface.

Face-off - This is when the puck is dropped into a little dot where two willing combatants try to win possession of the puck.

Zones - Attacking zone is where you try to put the puck into the net.  The blue line closest to the net being shot at is the beginning of the attacking zone.  The neutral zone is the area of ice between the blue lines.  The defending zone is where your net is... keep the puck out of your net!

Period - A 20 minute game segment.  Hockey is split into 3 20 minute periods, for a 60 minute game (regulation).

Goal - A team point awarded to the last offensive player to touch the puck when it completely crosses the attacking goal line.  In player stats, this shows as how many times they were credited with putting the puck in the net.

Assist - A player stat credited, at the referee's discretion, to up to two offensive players who touched the puck prior to the goal scorer.

Points (player) - Total number of goals and assists credited to a player

Points (team) - This determines where a team sits in the standings.  A team is credited with 2 points for a win and 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss.  0 points are awarded to teams losing in regulation.

The first rule of hockey that must be remembered is this is not football; there is no "crossing the plane" that goes into the sky in perpetuity.  The puck must cross a line completely, as in you see white between the trailing edge of the puck and the edge of the line in question.  Remember, the whole puck must be completely over a line.  Repeat that as many times necessary.

Now that we have that memorized... repeat it once more.

OK.

First off, there are two teams of 5 skaters each plus the goaltender.  Generally there will be 2 defensemen and and 3 forwards.  They are trying to take that puck and shoot it into the net to score a goal and win the game.

There are 4 on ice officials: 
Referees (2) wear an orange stripe on the sleeve at, or above, the elbow.  They are responsible for awarding goals/assists; enforcing penalties; stopping play if the puck goes out of play, is no longer visible, or being held by the goaltender; and dropping the puck on face-offs after a goal or at the beginning of each period.

Linesmen (2) do not have an orange stripe.  They are responsible for ensuring play is onside, calling icing if needed, ensuring proper line changes, and dropping the puck on face-offs when play is blown dead, with the exception of goals.

There are 5 lines that need to be addressed.  The hockey rink is split in half by the thick red line.  There are then mirroring thick blue lines and finally mirroring goal lines.  You can see them in the illustration above.

A Bit More Than the Basics:

Stoppage of Play for Non-Goal Occasions

Off-side: The attacking player must not completely cross the attacking blue line prior to the puck completely crossing the line.  This results in an off-side call as judged by the linesman.  As long as one skate is on the ice and on or behind the blue line, the play will be deemed onside and play continues.  If off-side is called, the play is blown dead and a face off takes place in face-off circle in the neutral zone closest to where the puck entered the attacking zone.

Icing: This is called when the puck is behind the red line when it is shot into the attacking zone and crosses the goal line outside of the net (if it goes in, it is a goal).  If icing is called, a defensive zone face-off occurs and you cannot change players (line change).

Puck Out of Play: This is when the puck hits a net above the boards or goes into the stands.  For pucks in the stands, the face-off is in the face-off dot closest to where the puck was shot out of play.  For pucks hitting the net above the boards, the face-off is generally in the same zone the puck was shot in, at the closest face-off dot.

Penalties:  There are too many penalties to name, but know the referee raises an arm when a penalty has been spotted and play continues until 1) a goal is scored or 2) the offending team gains possession.  The face-off occurs in the offending teams defensive zone.

Scoring a Goal:
This is the object of the game.  To score a goal, the attacking player must propel the puck toward the net with a hockey stick where the puck is below the shoulder, and have the puck completely cross the goal line and into the net.

This means no kicking, throwing, tomahawk hitting, or pushing with the back of the hand.  If any of that occurs, the goal will be disallowed.

This also means if a single, tiny, edge of the puck is touching the goal line.... no goal.

There you have it, the basics as I know them.  I recommend not trying to follow the puck, but watch the players and their flow.  It is the best indicator of what is happening on the ice.

Thank you for attending Hockey 101, I hope you learned something.