24/05/2022
The hockey rules were improved, streamlined and printed in 1886. According to them, the number of field players decreased from nine to seven, there were a goalkeeper, front and rear defenders, a center and two forwards on the ice, and a rover (English rover - tramp) acted in front of the entire width of the field - the strongest hockey player, best of all throwing pucks . The team played the entire match in the same squad, and by the end of the game the athletes were literally crawling on the ice from fatigue, because only the player who was injured was allowed to replace (and then in the last period and only with the consent of the opponents). In the same year, the first international meeting was held between the Canadian and English teams.
In 1890, Ontario hosted a four-team championship. Soon indoor skating rinks with natural ice appeared. To prevent it from melting, narrow gaps were cut in the walls and roofs to allow cold air to enter. The first artificial ice rink was built in Montreal in 1899.
The game of hockey became so popular that in 1893, the Governor General of Canada, Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley, bought a cup for 10 guineas to present to the country's champion. This is how the legendary trophy, the Stanley Cup, was born. At first, amateurs fought for it, and since 1910 - professionals. Since 1927, the Stanley Cup has been contested by teams in the National Hockey League