Whether it be in the streets of your local neighborhood, an open field or at the ice rink nearby, hockey can be played. Hockey is one of the most aggressive and graceful sports in the world.

Take the aggressiveness of a football player with a splash of the grace of a figure skater crammed into the control of the most elite soccer players and you will have a hockey player.

Hockey is the only sport in the world, besides fighting sports, that do not discourage fighting.

Some hockey players even feel it is essential to the game.

Hockey, unlike many sports, is played with an odd number of periods 3 and for 20-minutes with a 15-minute intermission after the first and second periods.

Teams then exchange ends after each period and if a tie appears then there is a five-minute sudden victory overtime period where the first team to score wins.

In the National Hockey League there is no penalty shootout, the only time a shootout can be seen is in the NHL All-Star skills competition in which the competition ends in a penalty shootout known as the Breakaway Relay.

Considering there are “heavyweights” in hockey that are the teams enforcers, which are the players that are most likely to fight in the game, in which their job is to slow the offensive play at hand.

Los Angeles is lucky enough to be home one of the most dominant NHL teams within the last few years.

The L.A. Kings have won two NHL Championships within just three years. One in 2012 and another in 2014.

There are a few different ways to get started in the sport, simply grab a pair of rollerblades, a ball and a broom and you can play.

If playing on ice is something that grabs attention than there are plenty of learn-to-play programs in the area.

Example Lakewood Ducks ice rink has a free learn to play program where equipment if given to you along with a jersey that you can keep.

After the free classes that last a few weeks you can either sign up again to increase your skills or join their hockey league and play against other people from the community.

There have been a few times in history where hockey has captured the American spirit and it has come once again at the Olympics.

In early February the women US hockey team squared up against their neighboring rivals Canada at the 2018 PyeongChang winter Olympic games.

Team Canada defeated the United States 2-1 in what turned out to be a hard-fought game between two world class teams.

The rivalry ended in a fight between the teams as the final goal was scored by the Canadians.

In the middle of the NHL season this would be a perfect time to root on your home team or a team of your pleasing by tuning into a game on television.