Ice hockey is very fast, dynamic and full contact sport where two contesting teams fight to defeat the opponent (Kostka et al., 2000). A game can be essentially divided into two phases: attack and defence. The aim is to score as many goals as possible, while conceding very few. The two phases make a whole and each team has to bear in mind that effective attack and correct defence are prerequisites to success (Bukac, 2005). Ice hockey is a full contact game and the players are allowed to fight with each other. An accidental and frequently painful contact with the opponent can be avoided, but the players must watch the game throughout. The most important players` actions during a game are puck handling, shots and strikes, bodychecks, skating (intensive skating, stops and starts), passes, receptions, stops and takeaways (Bukac, 2005; Gabrys, Rutkowski, 2002). The presented investigation was designed to identify the structures of actions of the Poland`s national ice hockey team under 18 years executed during three ice hockey matches played under the Ice Hockey World Championship. The research aimed at measuring the players` elementary actions: shots, passes, receptions, starts, stops, bodychecks, intensive skating, puck handling, takeaways, and shifts. The list of actions can be broken down into two groups according to the relevant type of measurement, i.e. the number of repetitions or time in seconds (s). The actions that can be described by means of repetitions are shots, passes, receptions, starts, stops, bodychecks, takeaways, and substitutions, while the time-measured ones are starts, bodychecks, intensive skating, puck handling and shifts. Passes and receptions were the most frequent actions (5 and 9 on average in one period). Besides, players frequently stopped (7 times on average in a period) and started (around 5 times on average in a period). Bodychecks were less frequent (around 3 confrontations on average). Shots and takeaways were the rarest, 1 and 3 in a period, respectively. The presented order of actions results from levels of difficulty inherent in the actions. Players have more problems with accomplishing actions that require perfect technique, fast reaction and high concentration. Analysing the typically offensive and defensive elements, i.e. shots, takeaways and bodychecks, we can see that their numbers differ depending on the opponent. Polish players sent 30 shots while playing against the Danes, 63 in the match against the Norwegians and 67 in the match against the Ukraine. As far as giveaways are concerned, the Danes lost the puck to the Polish national team 45 times, the Norwegians 72 times, and the Ukrainians 54 times. In the match against Denmark Polish players bodychecked their opponents 150 times, while in the matches against the Norwegians and the Ukrainians the numbers were 122 and 79, respectively. The differences between particular games should be attributed to the different skills and playing styles of the opposing teams.
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