Wiktionary
n. 1 (context British field hockey English) An informal kind of hockey (field hockey) played on a quiet street. 2 (context Canada ice hockey English) An informal version of hockey (ice hockey) played on a quiet street, with a ball instead of a puck.
Wikipedia
Street hockey (also known as dek hockey, ball hockey, and in some parts of Canada "road hockey") is a variation of the sport of ice hockey where the game is played outdoors on foot, or with inline or roller skates using a ball or puck. Both ball and puck are typically designed to be played on non-ice surfaces. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net. Street hockey in pickup form is generally played under the following guidelines, since there are no "official rules" for local pickup hockey:
- Physical contact between players is extremely limited to avoid injury.
- Minimal amounts of hockey equipment by the runners are worn depending on player preferences.
- Players agree whether or not to allow slap shots and raising of the stick, both of which can incur serious injury to players since there is minimal equipment worn.
- Players determine whether to use a ball or a street hockey puck.
- There is no referee, except when agreed upon by both teams.
In its most pure form, street hockey is always played on an outdoor surface (very often a street, parking lot, tennis court or other asphalt surface), thus the genesis of the name street hockey. Teams can be selected by various methods, but usually are selected by captains via alternate selection of available players. Alternatively, all the players put their sticks in a pile and the sticks are tossed out of the pile to opposing sides. In more organized forms, it is played in rinks which often were designed for roller hockey and can be indoor or outdoor rinks. There are also rinks built specifically for hockey played on foot, and these are referred to as dek hockey or ball hockey rinks. These rinks can also be used for roller hockey games.
Usage examples of "street hockey".
Carolers and impromptu games of street hockey and people just moving about for the pleasure of it waved.
When Tinker and Oilcan rode their bikes through the large empty first-floor rooms, or played street hockey using the old fireplaces as goals, they would kick up clouds of fine dust.