2 on 2 hockey

Great article in USA Hockey magazine by Harry Thompson http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=TU_02_01_05&id=279990 about the benefits of 2 on 2 hockey for having fun and developing skills. Doing drills all the time can get repetitive or boring, but by playing games in a competitive setting lets you improve your skills and have fun, which is one of the most important things for hockey. How else can you scramble for pucks, go after rebounds, and work on your stick handling and shooting and get significant puck touches. We are having a 2 on 2 Adult skills games at our facility for just this reason.
Check out the link http://www.lagunahockeyacademy/Original6

Protecting Hockey Players from their skates

The Orange County Register has an article by Curtis Zupke about developing a material to protect hockey players. One of our local hockey players Kozo Shimano is working on a material to reduce hockey injuries. There have been a number of freaky accidents involving player's skates. He has a material that is slash resistant, is washable, and can be used to make a players socks. Of course even if it is fully developed, Reebok has an agreement with the NHL to make all socks that the players wear. And most players would probably not want to put on another piece of equipment on, especially one that is heavy like this one is. So we will see how this develops, and hopefully something can be worked out to protect hockey players from their skate blades.

Burke and the Ducks

Well Brian Burke keeps getting the players types he likes in Toronto, by grabbing them or trading with the Ducks. It will be interesting to see if JS Giguere reunited with his goalie coach can reproduce the success he had taking the Ducks to the Stanley Cup. JS just does not seem to have the consistency that made him a premier goalie in the league. Sometimes a change of scenery helps all players involved in a trade, so maybe Blake who had been a bust in Toronto will pick up his game as well. If not the Ducks have their number one goalie in Hiller, and some salary cap relief they will need to resign Bobby Ryan.

Hockey Weekend across America

This weekend is Hockey weekend across America. Here is your chance to grow the sport that you love. Bring a friend to the rink, or come to our training center to try out the equipment. It is up to everyone who loves hockey to get new people to try the sport.

Does a goalie get better with more shots faced

An article by Alain Haché, Ph.D and Pierre P. Ferguson, M.Sc from the physics of hockey website discussed how a goalie does when faced with a lot of shots.

For a 20-30 shot game a goalie does not get weaker as he faces more shots, in fact the goalie's save percentage goes up the more shots he faces up to a certain number. So the question then becomes is it better for a team to let its goalie face more shots in order to have a higher save percentage? Well even though a goalie's save percentage from 20 shots to 30 shots increases by 0.007 percent; from their charting of the data 10 more shots means one more goal per game. So even though the percentage goes up so does the number of goals.

Science of Hockey

Here are some interesting facts about hockey from

The Physics of Hockey. Johns Hopkins University Press. (2002)

• ... down to temperatures as low as -250 degrees Celsius, the ice surface contains a thin semi-wet layer and that's why pucks and skaters can slide on it so well? Without this layer, the friction of ice would be as large as most other materials, like concrete and asphalt.
  
  
• ... when a player the size of Eric Lindros (240 lbs) skates at half his top speed and comes to a stop after having checked someone against the boards, the energy dissipated is enough to power an average household lightbulb for one minute?
  
  
• ... when two average-size players collide in mid-ice, the impact can produce several thousand pounds of force?
  
  
• ... a team that is on a losing streak tends to have a better chance of winning its next game than a team of similar strength that is on a winning streak?
  
  
• ... while today's NHL best shooters can send the the puck no faster than 100 to 105 mph, Bobby Hull's slapshot was measured at 120 mph and his wristshot was clocked at 105 mph? Although he used heavier sticks than now permitted, Hull's ability was largely due to his strength and technique.
  
  
• ... when a hockey player suffers a concussion, he becomes more sensitive to injuries from damage from subsequent blows to the head? And the effect is cumulative: the more hits, the greater the risk of permanent injuries.
  
  
• ... a puck shot from the blue line at 100 mph will reach the net in 0.34 seconds? Although most people have reflexes slighlty faster than that, very few have the ability to anticipate the trajectory and move fast enough to make the save.
  
  
• ... when a hockey player shoots from the blue line and score between the pad of the goaltender, the margin of error is only about 1 degrees of angle?
  
  
• ... the fastest players in the NHL can skate at speed over 45 km/h?
  
  
• ... more than 60% of the net can be sealed by a goalie's equipment that meets the NHL maximum size requirement?
  
  
• ...the odds of a young hockey player to ever make it to the NHL is one in several thousands?
  
  
• ... during a slapshot, the bending of the stick shaft and the contact with the ice allows for significantly greater speeds than otherwise possible?

Hockey Players Brains

Hockey players, when you die, do you mind donating your brain? Scientists are trying to determine the long term effects of multiple concussions suffered by hockey players during their years of playing. One of the questions scientists hope to answer is why female hockey players suffer more concussions that male players. Another concern is if repeated brain trauma increases the risk of dementia later in players lives. Young players have began wearing helmets with sensors so that scientists can gather data. It is estimated that players suffer up to 50 collisions in one game


The full article by Christie Nicholson can be found on scientific american. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=hockey-and-concussions-09-12-08