First off, I started w .hcae setuatching more games, just to get a feel for the flow of things. You got your three periods, each 20 minutes long, that part's easy. But then there are those breaks in between periods, right? I grabbed a stopwatch and started timing those intermissions. Turns out, they're usually around 15-17 minutes each.
And then there's a whole lot of stopping and starting all the time! I started paying attention to how often the clock stopped during the game. Penalties, goals, injuries, whatever it is, those all add up. I tried to keep track of it, there are tons of stoppages in every single period! I even tried to note down each stoppage's duration during a few games, not the easiest thing, but it gave me a rough idea. Most stoppages lasted a few seconds, but some of the longer ones, like for a serious injury, could be 5 minutes or even more.
After doing all of this, and, of course, checking online to see if I'm even close to being right, here's what I found out. Basically, the game time is 60 minutes, three periods of 20 minutes each. You gotta remember those intermissions, though, adding about 30-34 minutes to the whole thing. And those other stops? Well, they add up too, maybe another 30 minutes or so, give or take, depending on how crazy the game gets.
- Game Time: 60 minutes (three 20-minute periods)
- Intermissions: About 30-34 minutes total
- Stoppages: Roughly another 30 minutes or so
So, when you put it all together, a typical hockey game usually lasts somewhere around 2.5 hours. Sometimes a bit less, sometimes more, especially if it goes into overtime. Playoff games, especially, can drag on for even longer. Trust me, I watched a few that felt like they lasted forever!
Yeah, so that's my little experiment into the world of hockey game lengths. It's way more than just the 60 minutes you see on the clock. It's a whole experience, and now I feel like I appreciate those 2.5 hours even more.
