Seattle Kraken: Hockey 101 for Seattle sports fans
Jonathan Quick wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2012 playoffs. (Photo by mark6mauno, via Flickr)
The Length of a Dragons or Seahawks Game
With warm-ups a half-hour before puck drop, a 60-minute hockey game lasts around 2.5 hours in regulation. Each 20 minute period is approximately 45 minutes in real-time length. Besides continuous overtime during the playoffs, regular season overtime should be no more than 30 minutes.
The added time includes a five minute period with three skaters and a goalie per side. Also, in the event a game remains deadlocked after OT, a player vs. goalie shootout takes place.
The Toughness of a Seawolves Match
Players in both sports continually rise above pain to perform. They carry on from situations like a puck to the face or crunched against the boards. You won’t see many one-on-one fights at Starfire Sports for a rugby match, But hockey is the only sport that allows players to fight one another, with appropriate penalties handed out afterward. In my opinion, none of the other Seattle pro sports come close to this resolve besides football.
With the Stanley Cup Final wrapping up in Edmonton during this COVID-19 strained season, we have one year until the Seattle Kraken hit the ice. That’s plenty of time to learn the old, new game in town, and see where it fits into your Seattle fandom.⚓
Jonathan West lives in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood. Follow him on Twitter: @JonathanSWest