“Chewy (Chowaniec) was cherry picking and I sauced it to him, he pulled a nice toey around the defensemen, dangled him and nipped top corner.” — Josh Baker

While Baker’s quote may seem like a foreign dialect, it is really just the language of hockey. Like other sports, hockey has its own jargon that many outside the game may not understand. With a little help from the hockey dictionary, you can talk with your friends about how that bender “should’ve never deked our tendy in the third.”

Dangle/Deke (verb) — When a player makes move with the puck that fakes out a defender or goalie.

“Did you see that sick dangle I just had?”

Cherry picking (verb) — When an offensive player sits on the other team’s blue line waiting for a pass to lead to a breakaway.

“Patrick Kane is a big cherry picker.”

Snipe/Nip (verb) — When a player picks a spot in the goal and fires a slap shot or a wrist shot to the chosen spot scoring a goal.

“Olen nipped that tendy on the power play.”

Bender (noun) — A bad skater whose ankles bend inward while skating

“That guy is terrible, he’s a real bender”

Duster (noun) — A player who sitting on the bench so long you are collecting dust.

(See: Grocery Stick)

Tendy (noun) — A goaltender

“Nick Clarke is the tendy for the Illini.”

Chirping (verb) — To talk trash.

“They got loud mouths, they’re chirping up a storm.”

Bucket (noun) — A player’s helmet

“He got hit so hard he lost his bucket!”

Sauce (verb) — An airborne pass where the puck stays parallel to the ice, not wobbling, resembling a flying saucer.

“Did you see that sick backhand sauce?”

Hoser (noun) — An older term used for members of the losing team that would have to hose down the rink after a loss (pre—zambonie era.)

“The other team is full of hosers.”

Grocery stick (noun) — A player on the bench who never sees playing time. This player often splits the defense and the forwards.

“He never touches the ice, he’s just a grocery stick.”  

Wheeling (verb) — To hit on or pick up girls.

“He put his rollerblades on, he was wheeling last night.” — Josh Baker

Tilly (verb) — To fight during the game.

“Ah nice tilly ” — Josh Baker

Mitts (noun) — A player’s gloves.

“They dropped mitts at center ice and squared off.”

Swamp Donkey (noun) — An unattractive female that regularly attends hockey games.

“You see that chick in the stands? What a swamp donkey.”

Toey, or Toe drag (verb) — To use the end or toe of the stick to drag the puck around a defender.

“He pulled a nice toey around the defensemen.”

Bingo bango pipe show snipe show (phrase) — A quick series of passes between two players where one of the players fires the puck at the goal resulting in a bar down goal.

Bar Down  (phrase) — When the puck hits the top bar of the goal and goes in for a goal.

Patrick can be reached [email protected] and @_patrickkelley_.