A standard period in ice hockey is 20 minutes of stop-time play , and most regulation games have three such periods for a total of 60 minutes of game time.

Quick Scoop: Period Length in Hockey

  • Each regulation period: 20 minutes of game-clock time.
  • Number of periods in a typical game: 3 periods (total 60 minutes of play).
  • The clock stops for whistles (offsides, icing, penalties, puck out of play), so real-world time is longer.
  • Between periods, there are intermissions of about 15–18 minutes for rest and ice resurfacing.

So if you’re just wondering “how long is a period in hockey,” the core answer is: 20 minutes per period in standard competitive ice hockey.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.