What is "pond hockey"

n. (context sports English) a form of ice hockey played outdoors on the surface of a frozen lake or pond, or other body of water.

Pond hockey is a form of ice hockey very similar in its object and appearance to traditional ice hockey, but far simpler and designed to be played on part of a natural frozen body of water. The rink is 50-80% the size of a standard NHL-specification rink, and has no boards or glass surrounding it to add to the convenience of setting up and removing the rink (usually only a barrier of snow keeps the puck in play). In addition, because there are no protective barriers behind the goal to contain high errant shots, the top of the goal is far lower, in fact only slightly taller than the width of a puck, and the game more often than not does not have a formal goalie. Because of these differences, pond hockey places more emphasis on skating and puckhandling ability and less on shooting and checking. Non-competitive pond hockey is often played with no proper goals (shoes and customized pond hockey nets are often used instead), rinks of almost any size and no boards at all (even snow barriers).

There exists a World Pond Hockey Championship and several other events for players to aspire to.

The term "pond hockey" is also often used, especially in Canada, as a synonym to Shinny. In this context it is meant to describe any form of disorganized ice hockey that is played outdoors, typically on a naturally frozen body of water.

Pond Hockey is a 2008 American documentary film, directed by Tommy Haines, and produced by Northland Films. The film is an examination of the changing culture of pond hockey.