A Friendly Hockey Match is a game that does not affect a club's position in the standings. That is why for its participants the result is not as important as the process of the game itself. Such matches are essential for the players to gain experience before responsible games.
Friendlies usually take place before the immediate start of the regular season or in the offseason to keep club players on track. These are kind of control training games that are held both between clubs and between national teams. The main goal of such meetings is to train teamwork and tactics, to work out certain combinations. Such games help the coaching staff to determine the final composition of the team. A friendly match can also be purely charitable. In this case, legendary hockey players or even famous politicians usually go out on the ice. All the money from ticket sales for these matches goes to charity. A friendly game differs from ordinary loyalty to its rules. For example, the referee can forgive players for minor violations of the rules and not send them to the penalty box. The match consists of three periods, each of which is given 20 minutes of net time. There are breaks between periods, usually lasting 15 minutes. At the same time, six hockey players can be on the ice from the side of one team: one goalkeeper and five field players. The goalkeeper during the game can be replaced by a sixth field player. Changes of players are allowed in the match. It is possible during the match, as well as in pauses during time stoppages. If after the end of regular time the game ends in a draw, the referee calls overtime, that is, adds, as a rule, 10 minutes. In the event that after overtime the winner is not determined, the teams break through shootouts - free throws. However, overtime, like shootouts, is not at all necessary in a friendly match. Their need is discussed separately before the start of the game. The winner of the friendly match is the team that was able to score the most goals into the opponent's goal.
