Book excerpt: Teena Spencer knows from experience what it is to live through months of hockey mania and endless weeks of playoff insanity, when your partner is sprawled on the couch, knocking back beer and yelling at the TV. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, she decided, and proceeded to learn the ins and outs of Canada's national game. From butt-ending to dipsy-doodles, icing to offsides, The Girlfriend's Guide to Hockey illuminates the often arcane language of hockey in clear, humourous text. It's all here: the jargon, positions, rules, teams, top players and rituals and trivia, with details on women in hockey, including Canada's silver-medal-winning 1998 Olympic team (who, after all, did better than the men!).