Hockey Timer Open the timer

About Hockey Timer

Hockey Timer is a free, browser-based talking scoreboard for driveway ball hockey, road hockey and mini-sticks. It announces periods, counts down the final seconds out loud, and tells you the score, so players can keep their eyes on the game instead of a screen.

The story

Our family had been playing a lot of ball hockey in the driveway, dad vs. the kids, in the hot summers in Kelowna, BC. For the first couple years, we'd play "first to five." But one day, we had the radical thought: "What if we played periods?" So we set a timer on my watch for 5 minutes, and played the game. It was a sweaty, hard working, fun family game!

The trouble was: nobody knew how much time was left. I'd have to check my watch during gameplay. We wondered what it would be like to have a talking timer, a speak-aloud hockey announcer that would let us know where the game was at.

Our friend Isaac built a quick prototype one day, rink-side on his phone. I followed up with a second iteration, and we play-tested it that day. The breakthrough was immediate; the audio announcer did the work, while we focused on the game; and the game was a blast to play.

After a few weeks of using it on our own, we decided to buy the domain, and ship it live: July 22, 2026.

Some cool things about this tool

• It speaks to you! The value of an audio announcer is huge. It keeps the game going, without being too focused on the screen. We recorded our own family's voices to create characters for some added hilarity, and also let you enable some throwback robot-voices that can announce your custom team names.
• It's got a great design. Some of the other timer tools out there look like they were born in the Geocities/Myspace era. This one is bright, streamlined, modern and simple.
• It's ready to go, right away. It lives right in the browser, no download needed.
• It's focused on fun, family-friendly game play. It's a little bit silly, to help keep some joy in the game. (Sometimes hockey gets a little serious, doesn't it?) You can even end a match with a draw.
• It works on smartphones and tablets. Ideal for kids playing mini-sticks in the living room, or families playing on the driveway/street.
• You can customize it! Choose your voice, turn on or off the announcer, turn on or off the score count, change the colours, pick your team names…it's yours to play with.
• It interacts with music well. Start the suggested playlist in Spotify, or play your own, and the audio mixes well with the pump-up jams.

How it compares

There are plenty of good hockey scoreboards on the web. Most of them are built for rink-side scorekeeping, with penalty boxes, shots on goal and streaming overlays. Hockey Timer is built for people playing outside without a scorekeeper, which means it does less on screen and more out loud. Here is an honest look at where it fits.

Based on each product's published feature list as of July 2026. Features change, so check their sites for the current picture. If you need a penalty box, shots on goal or a broadcast overlay, one of the others will serve you better. If you want a game clock that talks while you play, that is what we built.

Common questions

Is Hockey Timer free?

Yes. It is completely free, with no accounts, no sign-up and no ads. It is a family side project, not a business.

Do I need to download or install anything?

No. Hockey Timer runs in your web browser. Open hockeytimer.com and press start. On an iPhone or Android phone you can also use your browser's "Add to Home Screen" option, which gives you an icon that opens the timer full screen like a regular app.

What sports and formats does it work for?

It was built for driveway ball hockey, road hockey, street hockey and indoor mini-sticks. The period, warm-up and intermission lengths are all adjustable, so it works for any game played in timed periods. Three periods is the default, with overtime and a shootout available when a game finishes tied.

Can I change the announcer voice?

Yes. There are six announcer voices recorded by our family, including the kids. You can also pick any text-to-speech voice installed on your device, which is the option that can read out your custom team names. There is a Random setting that switches voice between announcements, which is reliably funny during a countdown.

Can I use my own team names and colours?

Yes. Open settings and type in both team names, then pick a colour for each side from six bright options. The score display uses those colours, and the announcer calls goals by colour so it works for any team name.

Does it work without an internet connection?

You need a connection the first time you load the page and the first time you use a particular voice. After that your browser usually keeps them cached, so the timer will normally keep working on a weak connection. For a guaranteed reliable game, load the page once on wi-fi before you head outside.

Will my phone screen turn off during a game?

Hockey Timer asks your browser to keep the screen awake while the app is open, so it should stay lit through a game. This works on recent versions of iOS and Android. If your phone still dims, set the screen timeout longer in your device settings.

Does it track penalties or shots on goal?

No, and that is on purpose. Hockey Timer keeps the score, the clock and the announcements, which is what a driveway game needs. If you are running a league game and need a penalty box, several of the scoreboards listed above handle that well.

Who made it?

A family in Kelowna, British Columbia, with a prototype from our friend Isaac. It went live on July 22, 2026. All the announcer voices are people in our house.