n. — Hockey, Sports
a sport played on ice by two teams of six members each whose object is to shoot a puck into the opponents' goal.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — Hockey is now usually played on an indoor rink enclosed by boards. Informal games without rules or referees are sometimes called hockey, pickup hockey, pond hockey or shinny.
The precise origins of hockey are debated, although most historians of the sport generally agree that the game was not invented as such, but rather developed over time through the influences of various other games and sports.
While the Dutch played a game using sticks and balls, their influence on hockey is thought to be marginal (Wawanash et al. 2002: 11). Other reports claim that the Mi'kmaq nation of Nova Scotia played a game using sticks and a form of puck (Jones 2002: viii). There is also evidence that Irish immigrants to Eastern Canada introduced hurling, an Irish sport played on grass with sticks and a rock or ball, to Nova Scotia. The game was adapted to the maritime climate and began to be played on ice, first with boots, and later with skates (Wawanash et al. 2002: 12).
Although many claims have been put forward regarding the first true hockey game, i.e. with organized play and rules, the most widely recognized is a game that was played in 1875 at the Victoria Rink in Montreal. The game was organized by James Creighton of Halifax, who had moved to Montreal in the early 1870s, purportedly bringing hurling on ice with him (Paul 2000: 14). The game was advertised in the Montreal Gazette (see the 1875 quotation) and was a popular success.
Hockey soon became part of the Montreal Winter Carnival. The sport’s popularity grew, and in 1887, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was formed by several teams from Quebec and Ontario. Thereafter, the hockey season extended throughout the winter. In the early 1890s, Governor General Lord Stanley donated a silver cup to be presented to the winners of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada tournament. In 1893, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association became the first winners of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which later became known as the Stanley Cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 15-16). By 1915, US teams were competing for the cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
In 1909, the National Hockey Association was formed in Canada (Dryden 2000: 18), only to fold in 1917 and be replaced by the National Hockey League (NHL, see the 1917 quotation), which was composed of four Canadian teams, two of which - the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators - still exist today (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
Although other nations, notably the US and Russia, have come to challenge Canada’s supremacy in hockey, the sport continues to be associated with Canada internationally. According to author Dmitry Ryzhkov (1972: 4), hockey in the USSR was known as “Canadian hockey” for many years. In Canada, hockey is the most popular winter sport and forms part of the cultural fabric of the nation. According to hockey historian and Canadian Andrew Podnieks (2006: 5), one “cannot live in Canada without being touched somehow by hockey”.
OED-3 notes that the etymology of hockey is uncertain, but it may have derived from the hooked sticks used in the game. Earliest uses of hockey refer to a game played outdoors, but not on ice, and called shinty. In Canada, this older game is referred to as field hockey (see OED-3, s.v. "hockey" [n.4]).