Avalanche Hockey

James Johnson asked:


Ice hockey is a sport that is favored in colder climates during winter and has fans all over the world. It is believed that hockey is tied to prehistoric times, although the word hockey has only been used since the 16th century to describe the game. In 1893, the first of the matches were held at both Yale University and John Hopkins University and in 1903. The first professional team formed was called the Portage Lakers in Michigan.

Since those times, indoor Ice hockey has become a popular sport. With the hard surface of the ice, pucks flying at over 100 miles per hour at times and the rough way that the game is played by teams opposing each other, Ice Hockey can be very hazardous for the people playing it.

Safety Gear

Safety gear has been introduced to the game to keep players from sustaining serious injury. Some of the main safety gear that is used by professional and amateur players alike is:

Helmets,

Shoulder pads,

Elbow pads,

Mouth guards,

Gloves,

Padded shorts,
Breezers,

Shin guards,

And, often, neck guards.

Goaltenders also need specialized equipment such as masks and extra padded equipment to keep them safe from flying pucks while defending the goals. All of this safety equipment is a must when playing the game and most of it is considered mandatory.

Ice Hockey Skates

Another bit of equipment that is used for playing ice hockey are ice hockey skates. These are made from a base of leather or nylon boots. Professionals prefer not to use nylon as they are said to make it harder to manoeuver in them. The thick leather or nylon in the boots helps players to protect themselves from being hit in the shins and ankles.

There is also a blade used at the bottom of the skates. This blade helps to make moving on the ice easy. Ice hockey skates are much the same style as figure skates, although ice hockey skates have a rounded blade on them to help avoid injury to other players.

Ice Hockey Sticks

Ice hockey sticks are one of the main tools used in the game and are generally made of wood. The hockey stick is around 200cm long and has a flat extension at the bottom of the stick known as the blade. Blades and sticks can vary in size depending on the player who is using them. Many professional players have their sticks customized to suit them.

The blade is curved in the same direction the ice skater moves, the stick has been designed that way to assist in lifting and keeping the puck off of the playing surface.

Ice Hockey Helmets

The ice hockey helmets need to be measured by the size or circumference of the player’s head just above the eyebrows to ensure a proper fit. An ideal ice hockey helmet will fit comfortably and not shift around the head. There should never be rotation or looseness in a helmet as this may cover the player’s field of vision.

The inside of a helmet is made of a material called Vinyl nitrate. Vinyl nitrate is especially useful for absorbing force or impact from direct hits to the head from pucks, hockey sticks or direct contact with the ice.

Helmets are often fitted with visors. This is mainly to protect a player’s eyes. With younger players and in some leagues, it is mandatory to use a visor while playing. Other mandatory equipment includes special masks, especially for young players or those who play ice hockey at a university. These players are required to use a mask made from metal or thick plastic attached to their helmets to protect their face from injury.



MAYNARD

Jimmy Cox asked:


To many, playing hockey is as much part of life as attending school. It will pay dividends then to become familiar with the basics of hockey, which of course means skating. Skating is to hockey as running is to football. Starting fast, changing pace and direction, bursting into top speed, and keeping good balance are common to both games. The blades on hockey skates and the cleats on football shoes provide gripping and braking surfaces which allow short, digging, breakaway steps and sure-footed, sudden stops.

But there is a great difference between the two sports, which is noticed particularly by the beginner. Running is natural - something you have done since you could first walk; skating, which requires a push-glide-push-glide succession of moves, is at first unnatural.

Once balance has been mastered, you can skate with much less effort than you can run. And you can skate at about twice your running speed, too. National Hockey League players have been clocked at 29 miles per hour. Compare this with the 15 miles per hour that a four-minute miler runs.

You and Your Skates
When you first learn to skate, the skates will not want to remain firmly under your feet. Your feet wobble, and your ankles cave in so that you stand on your ankles instead of on your feet. This “going over on the ankles” is caused by two things: lack of strength in your ankles and feet, and the condition of your skate boots.

Before each hockey season starts, check your skates before going on the ice. The fit of the skate boot is all-important for good, strong skating. If you wear a size eight street shoe, try on a size eight or eight and one-half skate boot, wearing wool socks for the fitting.

Hockey skates are a player’s most important piece of equipment, and he should use the utmost care in selecting and caring for them.

You will probably need a new pair of skates each year for as long as your feet keep growing. It is a real mistake for both your feet and your skating to buy skates two sizes too large, in order to grow into them two years from now.

You are better off going to a skate exchange, or using a big brother’s hand-me-down, to make sure of an exact fit. In buying used boots, be sure the leather tops provide good, stiff support and have not been stretched too much.

You should have your skate blades rockered. This is the term for rounding off the toes and heels of skate blades, which you can have done when getting your skates sharpened. Actually, if you hold your skates up to the light with edge meeting edge, only about one inch of the blades should contact each other. This shaping of the blades is most important for quick weight shifts and maintenance of speed when making tight turns.

You soon will lose the sharp edges of your blades if you walk carelessly on concrete or asphalt. And it takes just one tiny burr, or nick, to send you into one swan dive after another. To protect your blades’ sharp edges, use skate guards to get you from the dressing room to the ice, if rubber mats are not provided.

Enjoy this wonderful sport safely with the right equipment and the right attitude. Have fun!



CARLO

Marcus Peter asked:


Skates don’t come cheap and they are perhaps one of the most important pieces of hockey equipment to a player. Therefore it becomes quite important to understand how to purchase skates that will aid your play and help you enjoy the game better. If you are a beginner and are planning to buy yourself a new pair of skates then here are some basic tips to get you started:

1.) Difference between sizing of hockey skates and regular shoes

Hockey skates are generally sized an inch or two smaller than your regular shoes. The reason they are sized smaller is for ankle support and stability. If you get them bigger you will have no support whatsoever and will have a better chance of falling. In addition too much space for your foot to move about in a loose hockey skate may result in injury such as blisters and sprains.

Here are a few points to keep in mind:

a.) Hockey skates need to have a tight fitting. Your toes should be able to feel the front end of the skate while your heel is backed up into the back part of the skate

b.) Different brands have different sizing guidelines. So make sure to check them out before you go for the buy.

c.) Lace up the hockey skates and try to move about by bending your knees to a point where you are almost squatting. In this position, you should feel the toe area loosen up a bit. Considering the fact that your knees will usually be bent as you skate, a feel of comfort in this position is important.

d.) Never buy skates to grow into. This will put you in a risk of injury.

e.) Try to go for boots that come with a multi layered boot construction and reinforced heel. Both these factors aid ankle stability

2.) Blade radius

Blade radius is the actual amount of blade that is in contact with the ice at any point of time. For beginner skaters a larger blade radius of around five inches is recommended. A larger radius increases stability and aids easy maneuverability along the ice surface.

To measure blade radius place the ends of the blades together (bottom to bottom). The length where the edges of the blades make contact is the blade radius.

3.) Break-in period

Break-in period of a skate is the amount of time it takes for the padded lining of the skate to get molded and adjusted to the shape of your feet. How soon the break-in happens depends on a lot of factors like the quality of lining and body-weight of the player among others. A heavier person will generally have a faster break-in period than a light person. So if you have lighter body mass, try to go for skates with a softer lining. You can also try the following tips to for a faster break-in:

a.) Blow hot air into your skate with a blow dryer keeping the dryer at a safe distance. Put the skate on immediately after around 3 minutes of blow drying. This will cause the foam to mold to your foot faster.

b.) Try coating the inside of your skates with thin layer of petroleum jelly, it softens them up. This will aid in a faster break-in as well

4.) Used or New Skates?

Hockey skates are supposed to be stiff. This is something that you should be aware of before buying them. Some people might opt to buy the less expensive used hockey skates instead of the more expensive brand new ones. Bear in mind that used skates may have lost their stiffness factor which is essential for more powerful skating action and support for the legs, feet and ankles.

5.) How much to invest?

You can buy a good pair of skates for anything around $100 to $700. It is recommended not to buy expensive skates for your first pair. Until you play in a league you won’t know what position you are playing or what kind of skate with best accommodate it. The first pair is more for practice and introduction to the sport.

Good luck and play hard!



ERICH

robbid07 asked:

review of first goal - Avalanche vs Blackhawks. January 8, 2009.

CASEY

RecruitCity asked:


The history of hockey is similar to that of golf as it basically is rooted from any game that involved a stick and a ball or rock which have all been played for thousands of years. Very rough and crude forms of these games have been taking place for thousands of years throughout Europe, Egypt and South America that have formed hockey history.

Hockey began to form clearer roots throughout England in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. These were treacherous games that often combined the entire village versus another village and teams could often have up to a hundred players and the players often played through major injuries and endured several days of these games.

The sport that we are more familiar with today began to form at Eton University in England when they actually began to formulate rules around 1860. Then the first Hockey Assoc. in the history of hockey was formed in 1875 which clarified more rules.

Further growth of the sport was spawning in North America as new settlers came to the continent. Montreal was credited with the first organized game in the history of hockey that was played in 1875 by college students. The students then formed more associations and leagues and created new rules at the same time.

The game continued to grow in popularity and became so popular that Montreal offered the first World Championship of Ice Hockey in 1883. European hockey continued to grow at the college level while a number of universities formed fierce rivalries.

Some dramatic rule changes were applied that helped progress the game to a field of eleven players while hockey equipment began to evolve as well. The use of safety equipment to include pads, helmets, mouth pieces and protective eye shields have dramatically improved from the early days of hockey history. It was not uncommon to not even wear head gear until the last few decades.

The international appeal of hockey grew tremendously due to the Olympic Games. It was first played at the Games in 1924 and only allowed male teams. Canada was a safe bet to win the gold medal as they won the first six out of seven golds. From the mid fifties to the eighties the Soviet Union dominated. Although the US won its first gold medal in hockey history in1960 it was the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” where our college amateur team went on to beat the heavily favored Russians that spurred a growth in Americas appetite for hockey.

The NHL as we know it today was formed in 1917 and consists of 30 teams 24 of which are from America and the remainder in Canada. The bulk of the players come from Canada, Europe and America. There is also an International Association called the International Hockey Federation which was formed in 1908 and continues today by hosting some of the largest international ice hockey tournaments. These two organizations have helped to form and govern hockey as we know it today. The sport has grown a lot from twigs and balls to a major international activity that produces billions in revenue each year and has some of the most amazing athletes on the planet, so goes the history of hockey.



OSCAR

Robert Riles asked:


The New Jersey Devils hockey team has traveled a long way from its humble origins to become one of the most popular ice hockey teams in the country. The New Jersey Devils Hockey Club, then called the Kansas Scouts, which was formed in 1974 as a result of the NHL expansions has seen a whole lot of ups and downs, name and ownership changes to last any decent hockey team more than two lifetimes.

Due to an extremely dismal performance in the first two years of their inception, winning only 27 out of 160 games, the team moved to Colorado in 1976 with the aim of making a fresh start altogether and was re-christened the Colorado Rockies. However, while the team’s performance definitely improved in Colorado over what it was earlier, it was still nothing much to write home about. The final move came when the team was bought by New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen and shifted to New Jersey. The team had now moved amidst the tigers, and had to contend with the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York rangers and the three time Stanley Cup Winners, New York Islanders, who were all baying for the blood of the new team to join the tri-state hockey circuit of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The Devils have displayed a particular style of playing and have always been known as a defense first rather than offense first team. The team places an emphasis on speed and alacrity and have patented their own style of run and gun ice hockey. Today, the team is one of the most popular in the country, with a number of Stanley Cup trophies and Atlantic Division titles under their belt. While the club faces almost all of the country’s professional ice hockey teams as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the NHL (National Hockey League), its arch rivals are still the neighboring teams of the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Some of the most popular players of the New Jersey Devils hockey team till date have been Patrik Elias, John Madden and Brian Gionta, who have been responsible for taking the team from strength to strength. Other popular players, especially among the younger lot are Travis Zajac and Zach Parise.

The New Jersey Devils hockey team, which has been playing their home games in the Continental Airlines Arena ever since their move to the city of New Jersey in 1982, will be switching stadiums in October 2007, when they are slated to play their first game at the Prudential Center in Newark, which will be the home ground for the team henceforth. The Center, which was under construction for some years, will finally host the New Jersey hockey team’s inaugural match against the Ottawa Senators, with whom they played their last home game in their old stadium.



MERRILL

DirtyWaterTV asked:

NESN’s Dirty Water TV Host Christian Fauria interviews former Boston…

LEMUEL