SAS Hockey Player Thread: hockey is hard - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium* > SAS Hockey Player Thread: hockey is hard

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

So I'm a little late to this party, but hockey is better enjoyed late than never.

How hard is the transition from inline to ice? I started playing inline again about a year ago after taking enough time off to get nice and cherub-like plump, but now I want to expand my horizons.

Also, I've done a bit of research of the rinks in my area but none of them appear to have a stick and puck schedule. Any Philly and/or South/Central Jersey goons care to suggest a quality location where I can make a fool of myself attempting this transition?

# ¿ May 4, 2011 18:41

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# ¿ May 22, 2013 17:39

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Sexy Randal posted:

Is blocking shots frowned up in rec hockey?

Nobody really seems to do it my league, though I play in the lowest div so that may be a factor. I did it once covering the point and I guess the defenceman kind of looked at me confused and half-assed the shot as to not kill me.

I got the vibe afterward that blocking shots is a bit ungentlemanly at this level, though I'm not sure why (take the shot, if I get hurt it's my own fault for being stupid).

Much the same sentiment everyone else has expressed, if I can go down to block a shot without completely ruining my team's position I do -- and I'd say about 50% of the time it leads to a breakaway/scoring chance going the other way. I do try and take it off the legs if I can, I've taken one or two shots into the midsection that left some interesting colored bruises after the game.

If you're comfortable doing it definitely go for it. Don't let the people who are all

whine you down.

# ¿ May 16, 2011 13:37

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I'm in the market for a (my first) pair of ice skates. In an attempt to utilize half my budget on skates thanks to bewbies' op, I started looking at the clearance stuff on hockeymonkey trying to find those end of the model year deals.

Here's my question/confusion:

The Easton EQ5 skate is listed with like a ~~50%~~ 69% discount under clearance skates.

Does anyone know much about this skate? Is it good for a first pair? The Easton writeup says it's for advanced skaters, and that definitely isn't me, but is that just a marketing ploy?

I'm going to the pro-shop on the way home today to get an adequate sizing for potential online ordering and will ask the guy there too (but I'm sure he's going to be biased as poo poo to sell his stuff.)

After hearing some of the horror stories about skimping on/messing up first skate purchases, I'm paranoid that I'm going to screw it up now.

edit: sorry for the ninja edit, the daily deal dropped the % even more making me that much more worried.

# ¿ May 25, 2011 19:22

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I was hoping to actually pull some kind of ninja effort like find out what I like in the store then take that knowledge to the net to try and find it cheaper than the marked up pro shop.

I don't think that's a terrible breach of etiquette but please let me know if I'm wrong.

# ¿ May 25, 2011 19:35

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll definitely buy my first pair locally. I hit two shops on my way home, they both carried basically only Bauer skates, and one is the "official flyers blah blah blah pro shop." needless to say I was more than a little disappointed.

Quick question about appropriate fit, I'm a shoe size 10.5 and really fell in love with how the vapor 7.0s felt in a 9 (compared to the Supremes at the same size), toe was just barely touching the cap and it felt snug all around except for right where the side of the ball of my foot is, where there was some pressure. When you bake a skate where in the skate do the dimensions change? Should i expect that to be corrected after heating or consider a larger size?

Still going to do more shopping around, just that the two proshop workers weren't very helpful regarding proper fit

# ¿ May 25, 2011 23:48

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Will listening to Iron Maiden at work also increase my ability (or enjoyment) of playing the hockey while I'm playing too?

Seriously though, super excited about starting in a men's "i'm terrible" league in the fall. I imagine it as a bunch of guys flailing around kind of thing, and I'm completely ok with this.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2011 18:29

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

SaucyPants posted:

Bruins wear black and white gloves anyway

I am always iffy on ordering from Hockey Giant, the whole site to me just looks shady.

For what it's worth, I've ordered pretty much everything for my inline leagues through hockey giant. That includes skates, sticks, pads etc. I've never had a problem with them. They do send you a ton of email after your order is done though

# ¿ Jun 14, 2011 10:59

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

coldwind posted:

Wait, if nobody ever gets hurt, then why were you yelling at this guy for taking chest-high slapshots? He apparently isn't going to hurt anybody very much.

Taking a high shot is perfectly legitimate (assuming he wasn't TRYING to cause injury), even if it's not the smartest hockey move. Sometimes it happens by accident, too. And you don't even know if the dude had his head up and knew there were that many guys in front of the net. We aren't all professional level players with impeccable and perfectly consistent technique who can pick corners and skate with their heads up at all times and it's perfectly reasonable to expect that the players on the ice are either adequately protected for any shot you take or prepared to accept the consequences of not being protected.

If you go over the risk-reward and decide wearing a visor or not wearing shoulder pads or whatever is worth more than the risk, that's fine. But don't go reaping all the reward, then blame somebody else when the risk comes back to bite you in the rear end. I'm not going to change my game just to accomodate you enjoying all the rewards and avoiding all the risk. If a goalie decided he wanted to wear player shoulders because he was more comfortable, then asked you to not shoot hard so he doesn't get hurt, you'd tell him to gently caress off.

This is pretty much the philosophy I adhere to. If I forget my jock in the dryer, I don't try to block shots with my dick by laying down in front of someone taking a slap shot with their head down. I likewise will not hold up on a shot if someone does something to interfere with me if it's what I feel is the right move at the time, which includes attempting to shoot over/around someone trying to block my shot.

Besides, there's only so much you can do to be personally accountable for your own protection. There's always the freak bounce/slip/stick thrown across the arena that could wind up impaling you.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2011 20:44

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Any inline guys have any advice on wheels? I'm about ready to buy new ones but it's been years and I'm just generally out of the loop. I'm still going to do my due diligence, just really looking for a starting point.

Also, started playing open hockey a few weeks ago at a new spot. Goalie attendance seems very erratic, is this normal? Every other time I've attended open hockey there's usually been more than enough goalies.

Finally -- I did ask the guys that I just started playing with about wheels... they told me just to piss on my wheels to make them more sticky. Has anyone heard of this, or am I being trolled? Pretty sure no matter what I won't be doing this, but it was worth asking.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2011 16:47

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

poser posted:

So.. we have this guy on our team who plays D and he sucks, we hes not terrible but he is playing a few levels too high right now. He misses a lot of games and those seem to be the games we win and we always lose when he plays and he is on ice for most of the goals against.

Would I be an rear end in a top hat if I asked him not to return?

have you tried offering pointers or to work with him?

i think it more depends on his attitude. if he's actively trying to get better, then i think you need to deal with him being bad and trying to better himself.

but then again if he's trying to play multiple levels too high, or doesn't actually care, you might want to pull him aside and say a lower level division might be best for everyone's enjoyment.

if thinking about it makes you feel genuinely like poo poo, i think you already know the answer.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2011 19:20

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

what it really boils down to is:

play hockey vs. don't play hockey

when you break things down to their simplest parts, it makes decisions easy and fun to make

# ¿ Jun 30, 2011 20:35

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Dangerllama posted:

Christ. Why do people take poo poo off the ice?

Once the buzzer sounds it's over.

e: I probably shouldn't admit to some of the poo poo I've said to guys on the ice. But it was all forgotten as soon as I hit the locker room.

Because beer league hockey is very serious business, I think a lot of us didn't get that memo.

So I'm used to playing in an arena that has 4 divisions: gold, silver, bronze, and over 30 (does not apply). I'm thinking about joining another league in the Philly area that has 6 divisions, A-F ... my question is, if I play bronze at place A (and honestly I'd say I'm middle of the pack skill wise), where does that put me in the A-F arena?

Also, with so much "separation" of talent, at what level does the skill level really even out? For instance, one of the guys that shows up for open hockey on Saturday plays in the F league, but is clearly an A-B player. I know that it probably depends a lot on my location and I'd probably get better info from the league owner, but I wanted to get your folks opinion on the matter.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2011 13:53

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Duckman2008 posted:

Moving from Nashville to Philadelphia, and I need a roller hockey league. Curious if anyone knows the philly hockey scene?

I know hockey but am pretty drat bad, mostly due to the fact that I suck at skating and am just not the most athletic person. I don't mind this per say, but my biggest is finding a league that I can at least semi compete in.

My biggest skill set to offer is usually yelling explecitives at the other team and organizing. I end up being captain a lot simply because I make sure our team shows up (and know when to strategically bench myself).

South of Philly down the Blue Route (476) there's The Hockey Dek (exit 3) which offers levels A-D and Marple Sports Arena (like exit 5 or 9) which offers levels A-F.

South Jersey has Flyers Skate Zone and Choice Inline.

Not too familiar with leagues inside Philadelphia proper.

I encourage you to come out to the Hockey Dek for Saturday morning open hockey. 11a-1p, $10

# ¿ Aug 1, 2011 20:23

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

lazerwolf posted:

Oh man Al's Beef rules.

I'm repping East Coast hockeygoons over here in Philadelphia and South Jersey

not everyone hates philly, specially us that live there (or close by)

my pit bull / basset hound mix literally runs away from me when i have my hockey bag on my shoulder, and will take extra care to stay far away from it. he's a dick. my black lab still loves though.

Thufir posted:

Oh man, I can't even being to imagine how much it would suck to play in glasses.

I'm a full time glasses guy (mostly because I'm too lazy to go get contacts ordered) and it's not too terrible. They don't fog for me, but when sweat drips onto them it actually is the end of the world.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2011 17:00

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I never understood the people who complain about game times, especially not to captains. As I understand the process, these people sign up for the league knowing exactly what time frame on what days games might be played. Captains also have no say in when games are played as far as I know.

I have never been a captain, but I don't think it would be out of line to tell the whiners to shut the gently caress up or go home.

This probably has something to do with why I haven't been a captain.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2011 17:32

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

lazerwolf posted:

...I play roller ...

Whereabouts? If you don't mind sharing?

# ¿ Sep 2, 2011 18:47

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Robo-Pope posted:

Meanwhile in roller...

skates like these are the prime reason I still wear my tour g90s from X years ago.

also, i do enjoy playing hockey hung over from the night before. it makes for such an interesting post-game.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2011 03:20

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Habibi posted:

I forget the specifics (maybe one of the guys here who plays at Rollin Ice recalls) but it's apparently a pretty spiffy surface. Some sort of plasticky / tiled one with holes in it.

What size hub are you looking to use? If your bearings are micro-hubs I'd go Labeda Dynasty III Grippers (D3)... they're cheaper than the Addiction but tackier than the Standard Grippers. If you're using a standard hub I'd go Millenium Grippers which are also better than just straight Grippers. I just have a thing for Labeda wheels.

On that same surface that you're playing on, I'm using Millenium Grippers, 76A. InlineWarehouse even has some sweet limited edition white ones at the same price. I've used both the aforementioned recommendations, but wound up changing my bearing size (swiss elites, hooray) and went from the Dynasty IIIs to the Milleniums. Both worked really well for me playing 2x a week for over a year.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2011 18:57

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Any suggestions about improving general stability and balance on skates? Looking for specific drills/exercises that are more than just "strengthen your core and skate more yo." This is also for roller.

Background : I'm doing my backwards crossovers well enough (as in i'm not falling flat on my rear end when I'm skating and changing directions, I am stronger going to my right though) and I'm stopping to both sides. I just occasionally lose my balance (usually at the worst possible time) and it becomes a liability.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2011 17:03

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

bewbies posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBfaoWQaeTQ

There is no better skating drill.

As an added bonus it is also a really good indicator of your current skating ability. When I started skating again last fall after a 4 year layoff I felt like I hadn't lost that much...until I tried to do this drill. When I was playing competitively I could do it without much effort. When I tried it after my time off...well...

If you guys don't hear from me it's because I actually got seriously injured trying to do this. Most likely culprit is death by falling.

I wonder if that's even feasible on roller blades. For science!!!

# ¿ Sep 19, 2011 19:59

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Signed up as a free agent in a Sunday league for the fall/winter whatever session this is.

Got a call tonight from my team captain that our first game is tomorrow, a Thursday.

I'm equal parts pissed and excited.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2011 23:29

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

nah, roller here. i've been doing some subbing for this team last season and lots of drop in on Saturdays, but haven't been a regular in a league in a few years and haven't been to drop in for 3 weeks now.

i will of course let everyone know how terrible i do

# ¿ Sep 28, 2011 23:56

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Henrik Zetterberg posted:

Worst call in the history of no-goal calls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx6UQaWUYlY

can someone explain why this is a bad call? I feel stupid for immediately thinking "this is not a goal."

# ¿ Sep 29, 2011 13:28

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Pleads posted:

I just assumed it was because the guy very obviously gloving it into the net was the goon posting the vid in the first place.

Ah ok, this makes sense when I remember HZ did say he did this.

Go about your business, nothing to see here anymore.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2011 13:51

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

So we had 3 skaters and our goalie show up for our first game. Being on the "house team" is the best. One of our guys was legit sick, and we did end up having 2 more filter in about halfway through the first period.

For the first time the team has ever skated together we lost 5-3, I was -2 on the night. Lots of defensive breakdowns, people now knowing exactly where to be, or really what position they're playing. Our goalie actually kept us in the game and we were up 3-2 at one point, but 45minutes of 1-sub hockey is apparently too much for the team, me included.

It was wonderful though. I'm so happy to be back out there.

Next game is sunday. Currently debating drop in on saturday.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2011 13:55

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I lay it out nicely in my garage, but haven't gone the full peg-board route yet. In time...

I'm about 80% sure our goalie leaves his stuff in his bags. I don't even skate near him anymore because his poo poo is rank. I think it's some kind of psychological thing he's doing to the other team. I hope.

In other news: 4 assists on a 11-3 victory on Sunday. Had a clear shot from the slot that I didn't raise enough and it wound up going off the goalie's glove and wide. Feeling pretty good about the assists though.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2011 18:51

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

xzzy posted:

I bought el wifey some skates last spring, haven't been able to convince her to go out on the ice yet. She's afraid of falling on her rear end and cracking her tailbone. I did get her to lace up once, but not even a garbage can to use for balance was able to get her to step out there.

I'll get her going eventually, but it does seem like the best time to get over the fear of falling is as a kid. I've never been a great skater, but at least I got the tough part out of the way when I thought I was invincible.

Get her a pair of hockey pants to go with those nice skates. Falling never felt so good.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2011 13:16

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

STICK CHAT:

I think this was discussed earlier a few pages and I hate being "that guy," but would anyone like to share their experiences buying the mystery composite stick pack from hockey monkey?

I was thinking about tossing slightly more money than I'd normally spend on 1 stick for the possibility of getting 2 at a similar price point. It almost seems too good to be true, except I have no idea what brand/pattern/flex I'll be getting... but I'm open to new things.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2011 19:38

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I can't understand the people who play without the slightest regard for their own personal safety.

Reminds me of my college days when our goalie would play with no cup. "It makes me react faster because I'm scared to get hit in the boys" he would say.

So dumb.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2011 16:10

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Got blown out 7-2 yesterday. We had 6 skaters, one of which was a friend who was cool with helping us out. I got to play defense for the first time, really, ever... so there was that.

The other team had a Russian father/son duo who'd been playing hockey together for like ever. It was both really neat to watch their team work and 100% alarming to me trying to cover either of them.

I throw my hat into the short benches suck arena.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2011 13:42

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Do the masses go online for jersey procurement, or is it more of a local proshop thing?

Our team is kicking around the idea of footing the bill for jerseys NEXT season (this is our first season together) and I just wanted to be able to be the

of the group discussion

# ¿ Oct 10, 2011 19:57

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Really disappointing 6-5 loss last night.

Played a chippy team who wound up instigating a fight with our 2nd best player. Best part: their goalie was third man in. Both skaters were ejected, but no suspensions levied. The whole situation was very

Have a serious question about forward positioning though, as I can't help but feel responsible for giving up the game-winning goal. I'm in the offensive zone and their D gets the puck and passes it forward. Both our D are back so it's effectively 2v2 with me hustling to get back. Play gets taken to the corner about the same time as I reach the blue line, and am kind of coasting closer since their D aren't pressing. Our 2nd defensemen then decides to skate into the corner/towards the boards at the same time their 2nd O goes to the slot. I'm behind the play watching this break down.

My question is, should I have skated hard at the to-be shooter to help out, or should I have been covering my man/looking for an outlet at the point?

Here's a graphical depiction of what happened ... my team is green, I'm the sad face. Black arrows are person movement, pink is puck movement.
http://imgur.com/0lX6w

# ¿ Oct 18, 2011 12:58

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Yeah, it's roller so we rock the 4v4.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm going to try and talk to our forwards so that we can communicate a bit better and generally decide who should be where, when. I think this will be a pretty good learning point for the entire team.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2011 14:20

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

We lost our game yesterday 7 (or 8, or 9 ... I can't really remember at this point) to 2.

We played the first period with 3 skaters. I consider it lucky we were only down 4-0 at that time. Was gassed pretty much the rest of the game even when we did have 2 more people show up to start the second. Oh and our goalie thinks he blew out his groin, too.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2011 13:25

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Sash! posted:

Does anyone know of a decent place I could go to look at skates and such in the DC area? I know there's a few places around, but this is a big city and I figured there's gotta be someone around that would maybe know. Or even as far out as Philly (short train ride) or Pittsburgh (visit the family).

To help out with the Philly stuff you can actually take the PATCO to the Lindenwold stop (end of the line) and that puts you about 2miles from Flyers Skate Zone, which is the shop that Green Submarine is talking about.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2011 15:12

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Has anyone tried the kwikhands stick handling package they tout on howtohockey? i've been doing some of the usa hockey stuff in my garage recently, and after about 2 weeks have noticed some slight improvements, but i like the idea of being better with the puck in general. just looking to see if anyone has any experience with it.

also, lazerwolf, have you ever been to open hockey at the voorhees skate? what's the crowd like there if so?

# ¿ Nov 3, 2011 14:24

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

lazerwolf posted:

I haven't been there but I haven't heard the best things about the league there. I'm not sure if that translates into their open hockey as well. I play at Deptford Skate center (off of Delsea drive) and we usually do an open hockey Wednesday nights.

As far as kwikhands goes, I don't have experience with it personally but I've tried using a golf ball to help my stickhandling and it works pretty well.

I haven't been to deptford skate center since like my 8th birthday. Do they still have that lacquered wooden floor and cinder-block walls?

# ¿ Nov 3, 2011 16:04

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

Team was up 7-5 with 3:30 left in the game. They wound up evening it up with 0.6 seconds left, when our entire team was in their offensive zone trying to score on an open net, leaving two cherry pickers by our goalie.

Anyway, apparently overtime is 3 v 3. It felt kinda good that they stuck me out there to play the "stay at home D." I guess my team feels like I'm coming along better than I thought. Wound up winning like 15 seconds into OT when my D partner rushed up and sniped a corner.

I'm seriously considering getting one of those Tron sticks as a backup. I mean, it can't be any worse than the 8 year old 110 flex Synergy that I currently have ... right?

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 14:13

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

I stopped by hockey giant tonight to take a look at some gloves. I inquired of the attendant about their Eagle gloves and he made a face, and said something to the effect of "Eagle used to be great, but they went out of business then some other company bought them and now their gear is poo poo."

I could google this, I could have done it at the time too, but I didn't. I came here immediately to ask everyone their stance on this possible blasphemy. After hearing nothing but glowing reviews from you goons, has anyone heard of this about Eagle brand?

# ¿ Nov 8, 2011 02:34

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# ¿ May 22, 2013 17:39

cenzo: Dec 5, 2003; 'roux mad?

That sucks, poor kid. Hope he's ok.

In other news, I scored 2 goals and had 2 assists tonight. I was all

as this was happening. Hit two posts before those goals though, oh well. A win is a win!

One of the goals was going around the back of the net, wide, and just putting it into play in the goal mouth. Bounced of a skate and a shoulder -- good things happen.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2011 03:24

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