Full strength (also called 5-on-5) in
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
refers to when both teams have five skaters and one
goaltender on the ice. The official term used by the National Hockey League (
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
) is at ''even strength'' — abbreviated EV o
official scoresheetsand goaltenders' individua
stats All games start with both teams at full strength. Teams that take a
penalty, go on the
power play, or
pull the goalie are no longer at full strength.
If a team is
shorthanded, and its penalties expire, or it is scored on so that its penalized players return, it returns to full strength. Likewise, if a team on a power play scores so that the opposing penalized players all leave the
penalty box, the team also returns to full strength.
Full strength is slightly different from "even strength", which means that each team has the same number of skaters on the ice.
Another related reference is that of "equal strength". This is not an official term used by the NHL but is commonly used to describe 'full strength'. The
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries.
The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...
uses the abbreviation EQ in its game summaries.
[Sampl]
game summary
IIHF
References
Ice hockey terminology
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