Sport Trivia
Hockey's popularity in the U.S. is concentrated mainly in the Northeast, the Upper Midwest, and Alaska. This concentration helps to make ice hockey the least watched major sport in the United States, though it is by far the most watched sport in Canada. In certain major U.S. cities (notably Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Denver) however, it commands popularity levels similar to and occasionally exceeding basketball for winter sports fans.
The game is a physically demanding sport, due to the high tempo and quick changes in puck possession during a typical game. On a full-sized rink, a player who merely coasts or who is relatively stationary will be of little use to his or her team. Players may leave play and return later, so, in a competitive game, they typically play in shifts of from thirty to forty-five seconds to maintain the fast pace.
