For Outsiders: What’s the Difference between Ice Hockey and Field Hockey?
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the obvious difference between ice hockey and field hockey – it’s in the name. This is obvious even for those who haven’t been in contact with either outside the Break Away slot machine at the 7Sultans casino online. Break Away, a popular game at the 7Sultans is clearly about ice hockey. The very features that make it attractive for 7Sultans players – the generous bonuses and the attractive gameplay – have nothing to do with either of the sports, though. Break Away is played by general slot machine fans at the 7Sultans and beyond, with no regard whether they like their hockey on the rocks or not.
The differences between ice hockey and field hockey are far deeper than they appear, though. Let us make it clear, once and for all, what they are.
Field hockey is much older
Records about field hockey go back as far as 4,000 years. It was played in the ancient Egypt, with similar games being played by several other civilizations, like the Romans, the Aztecs, and the Greeks. All of them lived in a warm climate, so playing the game on ice was out of the question. The first time the game’s modern rules were written in stone (paper, actually) was in 1877, in Montreal. The first official league was established a decade later. Ice hockey was devised around the same time, although there are records showing that hockey was played on ice decades earlier.
Bigger teams
Ice hockey teams consist of six players per team: three forwards, two defenders, and a goalie. Field hockey, in turn, is played by far larger teams: five forwards, three halves, two backs and a goalie, for a total of eleven players per side.
Bigger field
The standard size of an ice hockey rink is 61 meters (200 ft) × 30.5 meters (100 ft) with a corner radius of 8.5 meters (28 ft). Field hockey, in turn, has a larger playfield to accommodate the larger teams: a 91.4 meters (100 yards) by 55 meters (60.1 yards) rectangular field, covered in natural grass turf or synthetic grass.
More playtime
A game of ice hockey consists of three periods of 20 minutes each. A field hockey game lasts longer – for two halved of 35 minutes each.
More equipment, more aggression, more blood
Ice hockey is a far more aggressive game than field hockey, which makes it an attraction on its own. Hard “body checks” and fights are common in the rink, which makes it necessary for the players to wear far more equipment. It’s a sport that’s often quite bloody: a goalie called Clint Malarchuk almost bled to death in 2015 when a blade cut his jugular during a match.
