Hockey strategy

[TNBT]

I'm an Aussie, so hockey is pretty foreign to me, but I am trying to learn. I get most of the rules and stuff, but I have been looking for some more info on basic hockey strategies. I don't need anything too in-depth; I'd just like to get an idea of how the basic structures work and where players are expected to be on the ice at different times and so on. Can anyone recommend any good informative web sites or books that I can check out to get a better understanding of hockey?

[Nolan]

First off both teams are allowed to have 6 players on the ice at one time. most of the time teams go with 1 goalie, 2 defenseman and 3 forward.

The defenseman typically line up on either side of their own goalie on the defensive side of the ice and on the offensive end they usually line up on the opponents blue line. The defenseman's job is too protect the net in the defensive zone and man the point on the offensive zone.

The forwards typically line up in 3 positions, left wing, center and right wing. The center takes mosts of the face offs and plays the middle of the ice. The left and right wingers play along their respective sides. In the offensive zone the forwards lead the attack and try to score goals. On the defensive end the foward ususally line up around their own blue line and do come further down into their zone from time to time to help out their defenseman.

Also here's a diagram that shows all the lines and whatnot on the ice:


Also here's a little video that explains things a little better and with a little more detail:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKb8ngEucw[/youtube]

I hope all of that helps you out.

[TNBT]

Thanks for that info. I've kind of got my mind around the basic positions and rules now. The thing that I'm struggling with is structures and strategies. When I watch basketball, for example, I know the game pretty well so I can see the teams setting up plays and so on, and you can see what they are trying to do. In hockey though, it looks to me like everyone is just skating around going nuts with no set plays or anything like that. I know that there are some teams who like to dump the puck into the attacking zone and chase it, and other teams that like to hold onto the puck and maintain posession, but that's about all I know as far as strategy.

Basically, I'm hoping someone can explain some of the basic strategies to me (hockey's version of the pick-and-roll, triangle offense, motion offense, etc in basketball). Also, when you put together lines, what sort of qualities are you looking for when you pick players for each line? What combinations of skills are you looking for when you put together a scoring line? Or a checking line? Or defensive pairings?

It would be cool if you're able to explain this sort of thing to me. I get the really basic details of position names and basic rules, but I'm struggling to take my understanding of the game from this basic level to a more informed level where I can watch games and understand what each team is trying to do at any one time. Thanks for all your help so far.