In ice hockey , an assist is when up to two players of the scoring team shoots , passes or deflect the puck towards the scoring teammate , or touched it in any other way which made the goal . This usually means that they `` assisted '' in the goal . In ice hockey , an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot , passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate , or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal , meaning that they were `` assisting '' in the goal .