Bodychecking , by book definition , is to obstruct the opponent ' s play and player using ones own body . In simpler terms , it ' s essentially an American football tackle without the wrapping of arms . You throw yourself into them , and thi is legal . An example of an illegal check is a crosscheck , where you employ the same tactic with your stick held horizontally . Chances are he was playing quite normally , and whoever he checked was scared , and reacted normally for a person , but poorly for a player . <| sep |> Blazing Saddles . I honestly think it ' s funnier and more topical now than when it came out almost 40 years ago . <| sep |> This is one thing I wish American sports had more of . In America it is just like talking then loud cheers when something happens . Other countries there is like a group of people that really come together for their team .