RAPID CITY-Rapid City Rush coach Joe Ferras, who has been through opening nights for new hockey franchises before, is sure Rapid City's first game on home ice on Nov. 29 will turn out far better than the Central Hockey League curtain-raiser between Corpus Christi and Laredo, Texas, a few years back.

Ferras, then the coach of the Amarillo Gorillas, said a near capacity crowd seemed to be enjoying the first hockey played at the Laredo Entertainment Center.

"They played the first two periods and it was great," said Ferras, then coach of the Amarillo Gorillas."It was a close game and people were really enjoying themselves."

But a surprise awaited the teams coming onto the ice for the third period.

"The place was half empty," Ferras recalled. "Everyone wondered what was wrong, then they realized that people must have thought a hockey game was two halves like in basketball and football."

So if you've never seen a pro hockey game before there's your first lesson: There's three 20 minute periods in hockey, with 20 minute intermissions in between.

Rapid City's Steve Habib, who grew up in New Jersey's Washington Heights and learned to watch hockey as a fan of the NHL Rangers at New York's Madison Square Garden, said learning to see the beyond the puck is the key to enjoying the game.

"Don't just focus on the puck. You need to back off watching the guy with the puck and look for the wingers and you'll have a better chance to see a whole play develop," said Habib, a Rush season-ticket holder. "If you watch the puck the whole time you miss a lot of everything else that happens on the ice, including the fights," he said.

Habib said lwholesale player substitutions, called line changes and often taking place "on the fly," or while play continues, can be confusing.

The rule is that a player must be within a body length, or about five feet from his own bench before a sub can jump in and join the game.

Most players only skate for a minute or two, before a line change takes place to put fresh legs on the ice, Habib said.

New fans of the game will be most impressed by the speed of the game, Habib said.

"That's something you won't see watching hockey on TV. There's no comparison between a game on TV and seeing it live," he said.

Fans are encouraged to bring portable radios to the games to catch the live broadcast from Rush play-by-play announcer Daniel Nieves on Rapid City's 100.3 The Fox FM.

Nieves, 23, has four years of broadcasting Division I college-level hockey for the Bowling Green University Falcons.

Hired by the Rush last summer, Nieves said he plans to delve into some of the nuances of the game when time allows during the game and will offer more in-depth "Hockey 101" explanations during intermissions.

Here's some of the game's terminology, starting with Rapid City's nickname, the Rush.

Rush: Players moving the puck quickly down the ice on an offensive attack. In an odd-man rush, the offensive players outnumber the defensive players.

Other terms:

Attack zone: The opposing team's end of the ice, starting with the blue line.

Backhander or Backhand shot: A shot that is taken from the backside of the blade.

Backchecking: moving quickly back to the defensive zone in response when an opposing team attacks.

Backstop: A goaltender, also called a netminder.

Biscuit: The puck.

Biscuit in the basket: Scoring a goal.

Body checking: Using the hip (also known as hip checking) or body to knock an opponent against the boards or to the ice.

Breakaway: When a player has possession of the puck and there are no defenders other than the goalie between him and the opposing goal.

Butterfly: A style of goaltending wherein the goalie tends to cover the lower half of the net with his leg pads.

Center: A forward position whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice.

Change on the fly: Substituting players while the puck is in play.

Defensive zone: the defending team's zone as determined by the blue line.

Deke (short for decoy): When a player handles the puck or himself in such a manner to fool the opponent into moving out of position, allowing the player to get past or score a goal.

Drop pass: When a player passes the puck directly behind him to a teammate. If executed properly, the puck stops moving and the pass's receiver catches up to it.

Fights: Dropping The Mitts, scrapping

Empty net goal: a goal scored when the opposing goalie is not on the ice.

Enforcer: A player quick to fight who defends his teammates against violent members of the other team. Also called a Goon.

Extra Attacker: A player who has been substituted for the team's goaltender on the ice.

Face-off: The method used to begin play. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing centers attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official.

Fan: a player misses the puck when attempting to play or shoot it.

Five-hole: The gap between a goaltender's legs.

Fore-checking: Checking in the offensive zone in order to gain control of the puck and set up a scoring opportunity.

Goal: scored when a puck completely crosses the goal line within the goal frame.

Hand pass: The illegal act of passing the puck using one's hand.

Hash marks: The straight lines from the faceoff circles in front of both nets. Used to line up faceoffs.

Hat-trick: hat-trick is when one player scores three goals in one game. Hockey tradition holds that fans throw their hats on the ice when a player scores three goals. A Gordie Howe hat trick is when one player scores a goal, notches an assist and gets into a fight all in the same game (a natural Gordie Howe hat trick occurs when a player does all three in one period).

Hip checking: Using the hip to knock an opponent against the boards or to the ice.

Light the lamp: score a goal. Also called rippling the twine.

Line brawl: series of fights involving most, or all, players on the ice at the same time.

Man On: a warning from teammates to a player that an opposing player (that he may be unaware of) is near him. Usually given in loose puck situations.

Natural hat-trick: when one player scores three goals in a row without any player from either team scoring in between them, also when three goals are scored by one player in one period.

One-timer: shooting the puck directly off a pass without playing the puck in any way.

Penalty box: (also called the sin bin or bin) is the area where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offense not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest.

Playmaker: a fast player who usually scores more assists than goals. A playmaker has the speed and balance to make plays, and frequently relies on a sniper to finish them.

Point: a player in the opponent's end zone at the junction of the blue line with the boards is said to be at the point.

Poke checking: using the stick to poke the puck away from an opponent.

Power forward: a large, muscular offensive player (6'0 - 6'5, 210-240 pounds), with the mobility to track a puck to the corners of the rink, the physical toughness required to dig it out, and the puckhandling skills to get it back to anyone in front of the net.

Powerplay: when one team has more players on the ice than the other team as a result of penalties assessed to the shorthanded team.

Rearguard: defenseman.

Rebound: occurs when the puck bounces off a goalie, a player, or the net (or occasionally, the back boards) after a shot on goal.

Saucer pass: an airborne pass from one player to another, so named because the puck resembles a flying saucer in mid-air.

Slapshot: a hard shot, usually with a big wind up, wherein the player bends his stick on the ice and allows the energy stored in bending the stick to launch the puck forward.

Slot: the area on the hockey rink directly ahead of the goaltender between the face-off circles on each side.

Snap shot: an abbreviated slap shot combining the main advantages of the wrist shot (shot accuracy and quick delivery) and the slap shot (puck speed). The stick should be at your hip when shooting.

Sniper: a player with a powerful, accurate shot skilled at finishing plays. Snipers frequently score more goals than assists. Snipers can be either forwards or defensemen.

Spin-o-rama : phrase coined by sportscaster Danny Gallivan to describe a player completing several tight circles with the puck fully under control of his stick, eluding pursuing opponents who cannot keep up or intercept the player.

Stack the pads: where the goaltender drops to one side and makes the save with his leg pads.

Stick checking: using the stick to interfere with an opponent's stick.

Stickhandling: controlling the puck with one's stick, especially while maneuvering through opponents.

Top shelf: the top section of the net.

Winger: a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. A right wing is responsible for the right-hand side of the ice and a left wing is responsible for the left-hand side.

Wrist shot (or wrister): a type of shot that involves using arm muscles (especially those in the wrist and forearm) to propel a puck forward from the open-faced, concave part of the blade of a hockey stick.

Zamboni: ice resurfacing machine.

Zone: One of three zones on the ice, the offensive zone, the neutral zone and the defensive zone.

Title: Rapid City Rush Date: November 28th, 2008 Follow the Rush at www.rapidcityjournal.com. VIEW PRESENTATION »