Nearly all of these abbreviations come from English, the language of the NHL's official statistics and most hockey databases, which is why they show up unchanged even on French-language scoresheets and sites. Learning to recognize them at a glance avoids mixing up two similar-looking stats, like SOG (shots on goal faced by a goalie, or attempted by a shooter depending on context) and the raw shot count shown on the arena board, which sometimes includes missed and blocked shots without saying so.
One trap deserves special attention: here PPG stands for power-play goals, but the same acronym also commonly means points per game elsewhere, including elsewhere on this site. The meaning always depends on the table or column where the abbreviation appears: a column next to "goals" and "assists" almost always means production per game, a column next to "shorthanded" and "empty net" means special situations. When in doubt, check the full column header instead of guessing.
The game-winning goal (GWG) deserves a nuance, because its definition surprises almost everyone: it is the goal that puts the winning team ONE ahead of the loser's final total, not the flashiest goal or the last one scored. In a 4 to 3 win, the GWG is therefore the winning team's fourth goal, the one that passes the loser's total, even if it went in back in the second period. In a 6 to 1 win, it is the second. And contrary to a widespread belief, an empty-net goal absolutely can be the game-winner: the ENG tag only describes the situation the goal was scored in (a net with no goalie), it excludes it neither from the scorer's total nor from the GWG calculation.
Tracking all of these by hand, telling a power-play goal apart from an even-strength one, or calculating faceoff percentage after every game, quickly becomes unmanageable on paper. RinkLog captures the context of every event the moment it happens (team situation, zone, shot type) and then computes each of these statistics, acronym by acronym, with zero manual math.
The first time a parent opens a college recruiting sheet or an online player profile, the wall of acronyms can look like alphabet soup. It is just a vocabulary, like any other: once the nine abbreviations above are second nature, nearly every youth, junior and pro hockey stat sheet becomes readable at a glance.
- PIM (penalty minutes): the total time spent in the penalty box; French-language Quebec sheets often label the same column PUN instead
- TOI (time on ice): total time played, usually shown per game and per season
- SOG (shots on goal): shots that would have gone in without the goalie's save
- GWG (game-winning goal): the goal that gave a team its final, winning lead
- PPG (power-play goal): a goal scored while a team has more skaters on the ice; watch out, the same acronym is used elsewhere for points per game
- SHG (shorthanded goals): goals scored while a team is down a skater, rarer and highly valued
- ENG (empty-net goals): goals scored against a net with no goalie in it
- FO% (faceoff percentage): faceoffs won divided by total faceoffs taken
- +/- (plus/minus): the goal differential for and against during a player's shifts, at even strength, plus goals scored shorthanded
Frequently asked questions
What does PPG stand for, points per game or power-play goals?
Both usages exist depending on context: in a special-teams column (alongside SHG, ENG), PPG means power-play goals. In a production column (alongside goals and assists), PPG often means points per game. Always check the header.
Is TOI the same thing as ice time?
Yes. TOI (time on ice) is simply the English abbreviation for a player's total time spent on the rink during a game or season.
RinkLog measures and computes all of this automatically during your hockey, ball hockey and ringette games.
Try it for free