Hockey stats explained

Updated October 9, 2026

A hockey box score lists every skater's goals (G), assists (A), points (PTS = G + A), plus-minus (+/-), shots on goal (SOG), hits (HIT) and blocked shots (BLK), and every goalie's shots against (SA), saves (SV), save percentage (SV%) and goals against (GA). Here's a real one from Brudvig Hockey, column by column.

The box score

This is a computer game from the Challenge Cup: the Milwaukee Pucks beat the St Paul Norsemen 5-4, played out by the game's own tournament code from a fixed seed, so it's the same every time this page is built. The tables are the ones the game shows after the Three Stars, minus the colors.

Milwaukee Pucks

St Paul Norsemen

Skater columns

• G, goals. Credited to the last player on the scoring team to touch the puck.
• A, assists. Up to two per goal, for the players who touched it just before the scorer. In this game Kowalski had 3 goals and 1 assist.
• PTS, points. Goals plus assists: Kowalski's 4. The usual way to rank scorers.
• +/-, plus-minus. Plus one for every goal your team scores while you're on the ice, minus one for every goal against. In Brudvig Hockey all three skaters play the whole game, so every MIL skater is +1 and every STP skater is -1. In the NHL it varies by player, and power-play goals don't count.
• SOG, shots on goal. Shots the goalie had to stop, plus goals. A shot that misses or gets blocked isn't one. Every goal is also a shot on goal.
• HIT, hits. Body checks. The NHL counts them by eye, so they vary by arena. The game counts every one.
• BLK, blocked shots. Shots stopped by a skater before they reach the goalie. They count for the blocker, not for the shooter's shots on goal.

Goalie columns

• SA, shots against. The other team's shots on goal. Custard faced 14.
• SV, saves. Shots against minus goals against: 14 − 4 = 10.
• SV%, save percentage. Saves divided by shots against, three decimals, no leading zero: Custard's .714, Hotdish's .688. Work out your own with the save percentage calculator.
• GA, goals against. Goals allowed while in net.

Team line

• Faceoffs won. In Brudvig Hockey there's a faceoff to start each period and after every goal, and the skater who comes out with the puck wins it.
• Takeaways and giveaways. A takeaway is stealing the puck, a giveaway is handing it over. A pass picked off by the other team is a giveaway for the passer and a takeaway for the thief.

Stats that aren't in a single box score

• GAA, goals-against average. Goals against per 60 minutes over a season. In Brudvig Hockey's Challenge Cup, where every game is the same length, it's goals against per game.
• SH% (S% in the game), shooting percentage. Goals divided by shots on goal.
• SO, shutouts. Games with no goals against.
• GP, games played. Everything per game divides by this.

The Challenge Cup keeps all of these for your career, plus league leaders for every cup. The hockey glossary has the rest of the words.