High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent`s net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team. Each team has a goalie who tries to stop the puck from going into the goal or "net". A fast-paced physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover, such as Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. With the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks ice hockey has become a year-round pastime in these areas. In North America, the National Hockey League (NHL) is the highest level for men, and the most popular. The Canadian Women`s Hockey League (CWHL) and the Western Women`s Hockey League (WWHL) are the highest levels for women. It is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. The first organized game was played on March 3rd, 1875 in Montreal, Canada.