Hockey Word Search Printable With Rink, Gear and Penalty Lists

Rink, gear, goalie and penalty words in a puzzle that prints with its answer key on a second page.

Name Date

Hockey Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

EEOAOEDYRPUCKTC

HBGCHCBOARDSHSY

EUKDSKATESUGPHY

QWCOFFSIDEULIOU

RFWSEKESTBANGOF

ICINGTADEKEQTTD

NCNYREBOUNDNIOO

KAGHGCREASEJXUB

BREAKAWAYBIRNTE

EARWRPGTRURBGFR

GSWEATERIDTNTNS

BDDGOALIEQEADNA

NFASSISTWKLIRNL

UTBUWNCVAHZFNHT

CPMFBODPLTHFGDI

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

RinkRINK
BoardsBOARDS
CreaseCREASE
PuckPUCK
SkatesSKATES
SweaterSWEATER
GoalieGOALIE
WingerWINGER
CaptainCAPTAIN
ReboundREBOUND
DekeDEKE
BreakawayBREAKAWAY
IcingICING
OffsideOFFSIDE
AssistASSIST
ShootoutSHOOTOUT

16 of 24 words from the Hockey Favorites list.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

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Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Hockey Word Search

EEOAOEDYRPUCKTC

HBGCHCBOARDSHSY

EUKDSKATESUGPHY

QWCOFFSIDEULIOU

RFWSEKESTBANGOF

ICINGTADEKEQTTD

NCNYREBOUNDNIOO

KAGHGCREASEJXUB

BREAKAWAYBIRNTE

EARWRPGTRURBGFR

GSWEATERIDTNTNS

BDDGOALIEQEADNA

NFASSISTWKLIRNL

UTBUWNCVAHZFNHT

CPMFBODPLTHFGDI

RINK, BOARDS, CREASE, PUCK, SKATES, SWEATER, GOALIE, WINGER, CAPTAIN, REBOUND, DEKE, BREAKAWAY, ICING, OFFSIDE, ASSIST, SHOOTOUT

Next step Build a puzzle from your own team words Find skating, curling and skiing words

All 151 words

The Rink 22

Bench Where players wait for their next turn on the ice, and where a change on the fly starts.
Blue line Either of two wide stripes that split the ice into three parts. Offside is judged here.
Boards The low wall around the ice. A puck that bounces off it stays in play.
Center ice The very middle of the sheet, where each period begins with a puck drop.
Corner One of four rounded bends in the wall, where players dig out a loose puck.
Crease The painted area in front of each net, usually blue, where the netminder works.
Crossbar The top of the metal frame. A puck struck by a stick held higher than this cannot score.
Dasher The ledge along the top of the wall, in front of the clear panels.
Glass The clear panels on top of the wall, between the crowd and the play.
Goal line The stripe across each end, from the posts out to the wall. A puck over it between the posts scores.
Half wall Along the side barrier, the spot halfway from the corner up to the point.

Show all 151 words (140 more)

The Rink, continued

Hash marks Short straight marks beside the end circles that show players where to line up for a draw.
Ice resurfacer The machine that cleans and smooths the sheet between periods. The first was built in 1949.
Net Mesh on a metal frame at either end of the ice. The puck has to end up inside it to count.
Neutral zone The middle part of the ice, between the two blue stripes.
Penalty box The spot off the ice where a player sits to serve time after breaking a rule.
Point Either spot where the attacking blue stripe meets the wall. Defenders like to shoot from it.
Post Either upright of the metal frame. A puck that hits it and stays out is not even a shot on net.
Red line The stripe across the middle that cuts the ice in half. Officials use it to call icing.
Rink The sheet of ice the game is played on: a rectangle with rounded corners.
Slot The prime shooting area straight in front of the net, between the two end circles.
Trapezoid The marked area behind the net. Some leagues let a netminder play the puck there only inside it.

Hockey Gear 21

Biscuit Rink slang for the puck. Putting it in the basket means scoring.
Blade The flat end of a stick, curved a little to help control the puck. A skate has one too.
Cage A wire grid on the front of a helmet that guards the whole face. Also slang for the net.
Elbow pads Reinforced cups for the middle joint of each arm, with forearm protection as well.
Gloves Thickly padded on the outside of the hand, with a thin palm for a good feel of the stick.
Helmet Hard headgear with a strap. Every player on the ice must wear one.
Jersey The team shirt worn over the shoulder and elbow protection, with a number on the back.
Mouthguard A molded piece worn over the teeth to protect them and the jaw.
Neck guard A padded collar with tough plates inside that protects the throat.
Paddle The wide part of a netminder's stick, just above the blade.
Pants Oversized knee-length shorts with padding for the thighs, hips and tailbone.
Puck A black disk of hard rubber, 3 inches across and 1 inch thick. It is frozen before a game.
Shaft The long, straight part of the stick that a player grips.
Shin guards Hard plastic shells worn on the lower legs to stop pucks.
Shoulder pads A padded vest with hard caps, worn under the team shirt.
Skates Boots with blades ground hollow underneath, so two sharp edges cut into the ice.
Socks Knitted tubes with no foot, pulled up over the shin guards.
Stick A long shaft with a flat blade, used to pass, shoot and carry the puck.
Sweater The old name for the team shirt, from the days of wool knits and outdoor ice.
Toe The very end of a stick's blade, used to drag the puck in close.
Visor A clear shield fixed to the front of a helmet that covers only the eyes.

Players and Officials 22

Alternate A player with an A on the shirt, next in line after the leader who wears the C.
Blueliner Another name for a defender, taken from the stripe that defenders guard.
Captain The team leader, who wears a C and may talk with the officials about a ruling.
Center The forward whose main area is the middle of the ice, between the two wingers.
Defenseman One of two players who stay farther back to protect the area in front of their own net.
Forward A center or a winger: one of the three attackers who skate together.
Goal judge An off-ice official behind the net who turns on a red light when the puck goes in.
Goalie The player who stays by the net all game to keep the puck out.
Goaltender The full name of the position that guards the net. It was once spelled with a hyphen.
Grinder A player valued for hard work along the wall more than for scoring.
Left wing The forward who lines up on the center's left-hand side for a puck drop.
Linesman The official who watches the stripes for offside and icing and drops most pucks.
Netminder Another name for the player who guards the goal.
Official Anyone who runs the game, on the ice or off it, from the referee to the scorer.
Playmaker A quick player who sets up teammates and tends to have more assists than goals.
Referee The official in charge, in a striped shirt with colored armbands, who calls penalties.
Right wing The forward who lines up on the center's right-hand side for a puck drop.
Scorer The off-ice official who keeps the game record and credits each goal and assist.
Skater Any player on the ice who is not a netminder.
Sniper A scorer with a hard, accurate shot who finishes plays.
Timekeeper The off-ice official who starts and stops the game clock.
Winger A forward who works along one side of the ice, left or right.

Goaltending 15

Backup The second netminder, dressed and waiting on the bench in case of need.
Blocker A netminder's glove for the stick hand. Its flat rectangular pad turns shots aside.
Butterfly A way of stopping shots: drop to both knees and fan the leg guards out to the sides.
Five-hole The gap between a netminder's legs, and a score that slips through it.
Freeze To trap the puck in a glove or under the body so that play stops.
Mask A netminder's protective headgear. Early ones were metal or leather; molded fiberglass came in 1959.
Pads Big leg guards. Dropping to both knees, a netminder seals the bottom of the goal with them.
Rebound A puck that bounces back into play off the netminder, the frame or the wall after a shot.
Save Any stop that keeps the puck from crossing into the net.
Screen To stand in front of the net so the netminder cannot see the shot coming.
Shutout A game where the losing side never scores.
Standup The older way to guard the net: stay on the skates and do not drop to the knees.
Top shelf The upper part of the net, under the bar and over the netminder's shoulders.
Trapper The webbed catching glove. Early ones were shaped like a baseball mitt.
Waffle Old slang for the blocker, from the look of the early ones.

Shots, Passes and Plays 27

Backcheck Forwards racing back toward their own end to break up an attack.
Backhand A pass or shot taken off the back side of the blade.
Body check Using the hip or body to knock an opponent off the puck.
Breakaway A puck carrier in alone, with nobody but the netminder left to beat.
Cycling Working the puck along the wall in the attacking end to tire out the defenders.
Deflection A shot that changes direction off a blade, a skate or a body on its way to the net.
Deke A fake that pulls a defender out of position. The word is short for decoy.
Dump and chase Shooting the puck deep into the other end, then racing in to win it back.
Extra attacker The sixth skater who comes on when a team takes its netminder off the ice.
Forecheck Pressure on the other team deep in its own end, to win the puck back there.
Hip check A hit with a thrust from the side of the body that sends an opponent into the wall.
Line change Swapping the skaters on the ice for fresh ones, often while play goes on.
One-timer Shooting a pass the instant it arrives, without stopping the puck first.
Penalty kill Defending a skater short, and running out the clock, while a teammate sits out.
Penalty shot A free run at the netminder, awarded when a foul wipes out a clear scoring chance.
Poke check Jabbing the blade at the puck to knock it off an opponent's stick.
Power play The stretch when a team has extra skaters because an opponent is serving a penalty.
Rush An attack up the ice at speed. An odd-man one outnumbers the defenders in their end.
Saucer pass A puck lifted just off the ice to clear a defender's stick, like a tiny flying disk.
Shift One turn on the ice, before a player heads to the bench for a rest.
Slap shot The hardest shot: a big windup, then the stick bends on the ice and whips the puck away.
Snap shot A shot with no backswing that mixes a quick release with good speed.
Stickhandle To move the puck back and forth with the blade and keep control through traffic.
Tip To redirect a teammate's shot with the blade, from in front of the net.
Toe drag Pulling the puck in with the very end of the blade to slip around a defender.
Wraparound Carrying the puck behind the net and tucking it in around the side.
Wrist shot A quick, accurate shot flicked off the blade with the forearms.

Penalties and Rules 27

Boarding Checking a defenseless opponent hard into the wall.
Charging Skating a long way, or jumping, to hit an opponent hard.
Cross-checking Hitting an opponent with the shaft held in both hands.
Delay of game Stalling. A common case is a puck sent out of play by a team stuck in its own end.
Diving Faking a fall, or overdoing one, to try to draw a call against the other team.
Elbowing Hitting an opponent with the point of a bent arm, or with the forearm.
Even strength Both teams with the same number of skaters on the ice.
Face-off An official drops the puck between two players' sticks to start or restart play.
Hand pass Batting the puck to a teammate with a glove. It is legal only in your own end.
High-sticking A raised stick catches an opponent on the shoulders or the head.
Holding Grabbing onto an opponent to slow them down.
Hooking Placing the blade of the stick against an opponent's body to slow them down.
Icing Shooting the puck from your own half across the far end stripe untouched. Play stops.
Interference Getting in the way of an opponent who does not have the puck.
Major A stronger call than the basic one, given for a more severe rule break.
Minor The least severe kind of call. It ends early if the other team scores.
Misconduct A long sit-out for bad behavior. A teammate may take the player's place on the ice.
Offside An attacker is in the attacking end before the puck gets there. Play stops for a draw.
Penalty Time off the ice for breaking a rule, while the team plays a skater short.
Roughing Striking an opponent with a hand or fist in a punching motion.
Shorthanded Playing with fewer skaters than the other team because of a penalty.
Slashing Swinging the stick at an opponent's body or stick.
Tag up To skate back out to the middle part of the ice so a delayed offside is wiped out.
Too many men Having more players on the ice and in the play than the rules allow.
Tripping Using a stick or a leg to take an opponent's feet out from under them.
Whistle What an official blows to stop play.
Zone One of the three parts the ice is split into. Offside depends on which one the puck is in.

Scoring and the Game 17

Apple Rink slang for an assist.
Assist Credit for helping to set up a score. Up to two are given each time.
Brace Two scores by the same player in one game.
Empty net What a team leaves behind when it swaps its netminder for a sixth skater.
Goal One on the scoreboard: the puck has crossed the end stripe and gone into the net.
Handshake After a game, rivals line up at the middle of the ice and do this as a show of respect.
Hat trick Three scores by one player in a single game. Fans toss their caps onto the ice.
Hockey The name of the game: six a side on skates, with sticks, a puck and two nets.
Overtime More play after a tie at the end of regulation. Next goal wins.
Pass Sending the puck to a teammate.
Period One of the three parts of a game, with fresh ice laid down before the next.
Plus-minus A stat that tracks whether a skater was on the ice for scores for or against.
Shinny Pickup pond play with loose rules: no hitting, little shooting, lots of skating.
Shootout A tiebreaker in which players take turns going in alone on the netminder.
Shot Any attempt to send the puck at the net.
Tap-in An easy score from right beside the net that nobody can stop.
Tie A level score when time runs out. Extra play or a shootout settles it.

How this list was compiled: 151 ice hockey words chosen and defined for this site, in seven themed lists (the rink; gear; players and officials; goaltending; shots, passes and plays; penalties and rules; scoring and the game) plus three cross-cutting lists: the 24 single-word favorites that open the page, 33 short words of 3 to 5 letters and the 20 long words of 9 to 12 letters. 45 entries are two or three words or carry a hyphen (Blue line, Red line, Goal line, Hash marks, Neutral zone, Center ice and so on); the grid hides each as one run of letters. No league, team, trophy, arena, player or brand name is in a word or a clue, and the ice resurfacer goes by its generic name. Figures that change by level of play (clock lengths, bench sizes, line distances) are left out. Spellings are American (Center, Defenseman) and follow the Wikipedia glossary; Defenseman, Mouthguard, Blueliner and Stickhandle were also confirmed as Wiktionary entries. Definitions are our own wording; on 2026-09-20 the clues that ran close to a cited article were rewritten, and the Mask and Charging clues were corrected against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goaltender_mask and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_(ice_hockey) . Meanings and facts were checked on 2026-09-19 against: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ice_hockey_terms ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_rink ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_equipment ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_puck ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_stick ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_skate ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_jersey ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goaltender ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_(ice_hockey) ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_(ice_hockey) ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face-off ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat-trick ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_play_(sporting_term) ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deke_(ice_hockey) ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_resurfacer ; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/defenseman ; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mouthguard ; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blueliner ; https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stickhandling Licence: own work

How it works

Floor hockey week in PE, a bus ride to the rink: this hockey word search printable suits both. The first grid hides 16 favorites, Puck, Goalie and Deke among them. Deke is short for decoy.

Read the full guide

Ten lists, from the rink to the rule book

Seven lists split the game by subject, from The Rink and Hockey Gear to Penalties and Rules. The slang is in too: Biscuit for the puck, Apple for an assist, Waffle for the blocker, Five-hole for the gap between a goalie's legs. Easy Hockey keeps to 33 short words; Hard Hockey has 20 long ones, such as Shorthanded and Wraparound.

The printout: puzzle first, key second

Print or save as PDF gives 2 pages: the grid with the words to find, then the answer key with every word outlined.

Tick Show clues, not words in More options, and "The low wall around the ice" stands in for Boards.
Slap shot is hidden without its space, as SLAPSHOT, and Face-off without its hyphen.
Icing and Offside are both in the first puzzle. Ask players to explain each call before they circle it.

Questions and answers

What words are in a hockey word search?

There are 151: rink markings such as Crease and Blue line, gear from Visor to Shin guards, positions, shots and passes, and 14 penalties from Boarding to Tripping. No team, league or player is named.

Can I add my own team's and players' names?

Yes. Type them over a few hockey words in the list under the grid; the grid rebuilds as you type.

Is there an easy hockey word search for kids, and a hard one?

Pick Easy Hockey, then open More options for Large print: short words, across and down only. For older players, pick Hard Hockey, press Hard and set the grid to 20 by 20, where Defenseman may run backwards.

All 151 words

The Rink 22

The Rink, continued

Hockey Gear 21

Players and Officials 22

Goaltending 15

Shots, Passes and Plays 27

Penalties and Rules 27

Scoring and the Game 17

How it works

Ten lists, from the rink to the rule book

The printout: puzzle first, key second

Questions and answers

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