It’s a Numbers Game! Hockey: The Math Behind the Perfect Slap Shot, the Split-Second Save, and So Much More!

Gr 4-6–Sports and statistics are a natural fit, and many fans love to dig into the numbers. Zweig here combines a true hockey fan’s zeal with cogent and cheerful math lessons. Though it can be read sequentially, there is no comprehensive narrative. Instead, the narrative reads more like a record book, with chapter text, sidebars, features, and charts packing nearly every page. The design is visually stunning, with colorful blocks and rich photos framing the text. Repeating sidebars include Statstars, mostly profiling outstanding players; Digit-You-Know, getting inside the numbers; and Pencil Power, essentially word problems. Some charts are left partially blank, and readers are asked to do the math and fill in the gaps. The history of rink dimensions, an account of how ice is maintained in otherwise warm arenas, analysis of equipment, and goalie reaction time all come in for treatment. Dryland training activities are detailed for budding players. Much space is devoted to women’s hockey, including profiles of standout players through history—such as Albertine Lapensée, the “Miracle Maid,” a scoring superstar from Cornwall, Ontario, in the 1910s—and numbers from the NCAA’s Division 1 and the recently formed Professional Women’s Hockey League. There are no source notes, a deficit for a book about statistics, but the volume concludes with a glossary, photo credits, and index. A math teacher reference provides page numbers for particular concepts.