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The Relationship Between Hockey and Lacrosse
“… Lacrosse was the key in the development of the greatest scorer in hockey history.”
~ Quote from Walter Gretzky on his son Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky is a huge supporter of the sport of lacrosse. He is quoted as saying …“If a sport has a high point of the year, it must be the first week of spring. When I was growing up, I used to love this time of year. It was when I put my hockey equipment away and I was absolutely ecstatic to see the end of the hockey season. One of the worst things to happen to the game, in my opinion, has been year-round hockey and, in particular, summer hockey. All it does for kids, as far as I can tell, is keep them out sports they should be doing in the warmer weather. I could hardly wait to get my lacrosse stick out and start throwing the ball against the walls and working on our moves as we played the lacrosse equivalent to road hockey. All the good hockey players seemed to play lacrosse in those days and everyone of them learned something from the game to carry over to the other – things athletes can only learn by mixing up the games they play when they are young.”
Not only did the “Great One” play lacrosse in hockey’s off-season, but there also is a long list of NHL players who have polished their hand-eye coordination and physical endurance by playing lacrosse in the summer. Here are some NHL players who also participated in lacrosse:
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Box Lacrosse Rules
Although lacrosse is very complimentary to hockey, it is really more similar to basketball. The main similarities and differences are as follows:
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The five offensive players are referred to as left crease (like left wing in hockey), left corner (like left defense), right crease (like right wing), right corner (right defense) & point (center).
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An illegal cross-check is defined as a) above the shoulders, b) below the waist, c) when the opponent is not on their feet, d) when a non-ball carrier is outside the dotted line on the floor.
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When one team offends, and no penalty is called, “possession” is awarded to the other team. The same applies for a player who looses the ball into the stands – the other team is awarded possession and the play is started once the whistle is blown by the referee.
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Players or goalies, out of their crease, will be penalized if they catch the ball in the hand. If they just contact it with the hand, it is a foul with possession awarded to the other team.
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A player with the ball cannot push off with his free hand or arm! If he does possession is awarded to the other team. This rule is very misunderstood by new parents. Many times spectators will not notice freehand or arm pushing (by the way, as long as the player with the ball keeps both hands on his stick he can usually push, or shoulder or resist his checker) and often miss the checking by offensive players especially action away from the ball.
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When a team is shorthanded, they have 10 seconds in which to get the ball over centre and once over cannot go back, or a change of possession call is made with possession awarded to the opposing team. When a player is awarded possession by the referee, he must be given at least 3 metres of room by the defending players until the whistle signifies restarting of play.
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Another big difference between hockey and Lacrosse involves the goalie’s crease. If you go into the other team’s crease to shoot or cut through it, you will lose possession. If you go through the other team’s crease to make a check or you touch the goalie while he is in his crease it results in a penalty. If you are pushed into the crease you are okay but you must make every effort to get back out immediately. In your own team’s end, once the ball is in your goaltender’s crease and comes out, if one of your team brings the ball back into the crease, the ball is turned over to the other team.
- The goalie in Lacrosse can function just like any other player on the floor. Remember there is no centre red line for off-side purposes and a goalie can go anywhere on the floor.
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