The total playing time in a standard hockey game is 60 minutes.
Ever wondered about the clock ticking down during a fast-paced hockey match? The intensity on the ice often makes time seem to fly. This leads to questions, specifically, how many minutes are in a hockey game.
Knowing the duration helps you plan your viewing schedule or understand the game’s structure. We break down the standard game time for you, so you can follow the action closely. Each period brings a set amount of time.
How Many Minutes Are in a Hockey Game?
Okay, let’s talk about hockey! It’s a super exciting game with lots of fast skating, cool shots, and sometimes, even a little bit of fighting. But how long does all this action actually last? If you’ve ever wondered, “how many minutes are in a hockey game?” you’ve come to the right place. It’s a question many fans, both new and experienced, have. The answer isn’t always as simple as it seems because different leagues have different rules. But we’re going to break it all down for you, so you become a hockey clock expert!
The Basic Breakdown: NHL Games
When people think of professional hockey, they usually picture the National Hockey League, or NHL. So, let’s start there. In the NHL, a regular hockey game is divided into three periods. Each of these periods is 20 minutes long. That’s a solid chunk of time for these athletes to show their skills!
Calculating Total Playing Time
To figure out the total playing time in an NHL game, we just need to do a little math. We have three periods of 20 minutes each. Here’s how we can calculate it:
- 20 minutes per period
- 3 periods in total
- 20 minutes x 3 periods = 60 minutes
So, an NHL game has 60 minutes of actual playing time, which is also called regulation time. It’s important to note, this does not include any breaks or stoppages. It’s just pure on-ice action.
Intermission Time: Catch Your Breath
Between each period, the players get a break. These breaks are called intermissions. An NHL game includes two intermissions. The first intermission is typically 18 minutes, and the second intermission is also usually 18 minutes. This gives the players time to rest, strategize, and maybe have a quick snack.
Keep in mind that the intermissions are not part of the 60 minutes of game play. They are separate. Adding the intermissions into the total time an NHL game takes increases the experience.
Total Game Time: Including Intermissions
If you want to know how long you’ll be at the arena, or how much time to set aside, you need to consider the intermissions along with the 60 minutes of play. Here’s how that works out:
- 60 minutes of playing time
- 18 minutes for the first intermission
- 18 minutes for the second intermission
- Total: 60 + 18 + 18 = 96 minutes
So, an NHL game will take about 96 minutes from start to finish, not including any extra time if the game goes into overtime or breaks from penalties.
Overtime in the NHL
Sometimes, at the end of the 60 minutes, the score is tied. When this happens in the regular season, a sudden-death overtime period is played to determine the winner.
How Overtime Works
In the NHL regular season, overtime is a 5-minute period. The teams play with only three skaters on the ice at one time, instead of the usual five. This is a 3-on-3 format designed to create more open space and more scoring opportunities. The first team to score in overtime wins the game. If no one scores in those 5 minutes, the game ends in a tie and goes to a shootout.
Playoff Overtime: A Different Story
In the playoffs, if the game is tied after the third period, things are a little different. Instead of a short five-minute overtime, the teams play full 20-minute periods. The game continues, with intermissions as normal between overtime periods, until someone scores. This can make for some very long and exciting hockey games!
Variations in Other Hockey Leagues
The NHL isn’t the only place where hockey is played! There are lots of other leagues around the world, and they don’t all play by the same rules when it comes to time.
Major Junior Hockey
In leagues like the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which includes the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Western Hockey League (WHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the game is also divided into three 20-minute periods. Just like the NHL, this means the playing time is 60 minutes. The intermission lengths may be slightly shorter.
College Hockey
College hockey, which is overseen by the NCAA in the United States, also follows the pattern of three 20-minute periods. Therefore, regulation games will have 60 minutes of playing time. Like in the NHL, college hockey also features intermissions between each period, typically lasting around 15 to 17 minutes.
International Hockey
When you watch international hockey, like at the Olympics or the World Championships, the basic structure is still three periods of 20 minutes each. The rules for overtime can vary a little bit depending on the tournament. Many international tournaments follow the same format of regular season NHL games, using a short 5-minute overtime period and then going to a shootout if no goals are scored. The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) governs the rules of the international game.
Youth Hockey
The rules for youth hockey can be very different depending on the age group. For younger kids, the periods are often shorter, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. This helps them get used to playing the game without being too tired. It’s also common for youth hockey games to have running time, meaning the clock keeps going even if play stops, this further reduces the amount of total time spent playing the game. The exact duration of youth games is typically decided by the local league. Always remember to check the specific regulations for youth games because they can be quite variable.
Understanding the Game Clock
It’s useful to know how the clock works during a game. The game clock is not the same as a regular clock. Here’s how it functions in hockey.
Running Time vs. Stopped Time
Hockey games mostly use what’s called ‘stopped time’. This means that the clock only counts down while the puck is in play. When the puck is out of play (for example, if it’s shot out of bounds, if there’s a penalty, or after a goal) the clock will stop running. This keeps the timing as fair as possible because it ensures the actual playing time is accurately reflected. You’ll notice how often the game clock stops and starts.
Penalties and Clock Stoppages
Penalties also stop the clock. If a player breaks the rules and gets penalized, the clock stops while the penalty is being assessed. After the penalized player goes to the penalty box, the game clock starts back up. This is part of the referee’s job to manage during a hockey game. The penalty clock will count down the penalty time even when the game clock has stopped to help everyone keep track.
Timeouts
Each team gets one timeout per game. These timeouts are usually 30 seconds in length, and obviously, the game clock stops during a timeout. Coaches often use timeouts at crucial times in a game to communicate a change in strategy with their players.
Why Stoppages Matter
Because the clock stops so often, the actual time spent playing hockey might be much less than the time from start to finish. For example, in the NHL, a game that is 60 minutes of playing time plus two 18-minute intermissions can easily take more than 2.5 hours, and that is not including any overtime periods, or lengthy reviews that may occur in a game. This can depend on the amount of penalties or other stoppages that occur during a game. The stopped clock ensures that a team that commits a lot of penalties isn’t given an advantage by having the clock run down when the opposing team has a man advantage.
Quick Recap: Game Lengths
To make it all easy to remember, here’s a quick look at the most common game lengths:
| League | Period Length | Number of Periods | Regulation Game Time | Intermission Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL | 20 minutes | 3 | 60 minutes | 18 minutes |
| CHL (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) | 20 minutes | 3 | 60 minutes | Varies (Slightly shorter than NHL) |
| NCAA College Hockey | 20 minutes | 3 | 60 minutes | 15-17 minutes |
These are just the regulation times. Remember, games can go longer if they go into overtime! The variations in youth hockey games are too vast to list, but always remember to check local rules.
Understanding the amount of time in a hockey game is important for fans, players, and coaches. It helps in planning when to watch games, training for games, and planning strategies during a game. Now that you have all this knowledge about how many minutes are in a hockey game, you are sure to enjoy the fast-paced excitement even more.
How long is a hockey game?
Final Thoughts
A standard hockey game plays for 60 minutes. These minutes divide into three 20-minute periods. Between each period, there are intermissions.
Therefore, a regulation hockey game consists of 60 minutes of play. This confirms how many minutes are in a hockey game. Understanding game time helps viewers follow the action better.
