From: dcchan@engin.umich.edu (David Chi Wei Chan)
Subject: More rollerhockey stuff: sticks
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 20:45:41 EDT
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor

This is a really good article on hockey sticks, by Nancy Piltch.
Haven't heard much from her on rec.skate this summer...still there
Nancy? 8-)


From: piltch@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Nancy Piltch)
Subject: Selection of hockey sticks
Date: 3 Dec 91 21:46:00 GMT

Sometime in the past Phil asked if anyone could write a guide to 
selecting hockey sticks, which has apparently been met with 
resounding silence. I think I can help, at least for those just
entering the sport. Bear in mind, though, that while I've played a
good deal of intramural and pick-up hockey, I've never had any
formal coaching, so I'm sure there are others more knowledgeable.
This will be especially true of the subtle differences among sticks
that will matter to expert players.

Please feel free to correct my misstatements, clarify what is unclear,
and add what I've left out.

The main criteria in selection of hockey sticks are "handedness",
lie, length, and curvature.  All of these are largely a matter of
personal preference.

1. "Handedness": A hockey player will decide whether s/he prefers holding
the stick to the left side or the right. There appears to be no 
strong correlation to the person's handedness. A new player should try
it both ways, and find the one that feels most natural. Sticks are 
labeled either L or R, but since French-speaking Canada generates large
numbers of hockey players, the stick may be labeled G (gauche) or
D (droit). Some sticks carry both letters, i.e. L/G. A few sticks are
neutral and can be used either way.

2. Lie: This refers to the angle the stick makes with the blade. A higher
lie is closer to upright than a lower lie. While there are lots of
exceptions, a player who prefers to skate more upright will prefer a
higher lie, and a player who prefers to skate more bent over will take
a lower lie. Taller players also generally use higher lies. Again, a
new player should test several different lies to see what feels 
comfortable. The most common lies are 5, 6, and 7. This is the rest
of the labeling on a hockey stick: a 6R means a lie of 6 in a right
handed stick. Exaggerating the drawings:

         .                 .
       .                  .
     .                   .
____                ____

 5                    7

3. Length: I've been told that a stick should come up to about the
player's chin while wearing skates, but I find this uncomfortable.
I think it's more realistic to have it come to about the armpit or
a little below; again, this is preference.

4. Curvature: A more curved blade allows the puck to be flipped more
effectively for better shooting, but at the price of poorer passing
and receiving. A beginner should start with a gently curved
stick. A neutral stick, which I referred to above in the section on
handedness, has no curvature.

The blade of a stick should be taped. This helps prolong the life of
the blade and improves puck-handling capability. It's always black
tape, never white. The conventional wisdom is that a goalie can't 
see the puck as well against a black blade, but my feeling is that
a good goalie will see the puck. My personal opinion is that it is
black because of tradition.

The wear pattern on the tape can show whether a skater has selected
the proper lie. If the wear is toward the heel/toe of the blade the
skater should try a lower/higher lie.

A lot of players also tape the top of the blade for better grip.

Sticks also differ in weight; again this is personal preference.


Nancy Piltch            piltch@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland Ohio 44135


From: Thomas.Sullivan@cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Sticks and Pucks (was Re: Selection of hockey sticks)
Date: 4 Dec 91 18:17:48 GMT

Some other stuff to augment the stick info:

I often tape my sticks with white tape!  I think the tape matter is more
whether you use the friction tape (normally black) or the general
cloth tape used for taping around socks, skate tops, and equipment, which
is usually white, but comes in all colors.  I prefer the smoother white
tape
to the friction tape on my blade.  There are a fair amount of players on
our
team that like this too.  It is really a matter of preference.

I had never heard that the black tape makes it hard for the goalie to
see the
puck coming off of your stick, but this makes a lot of sense!  I should
start
buying the cloth tape in black just for my stick blades!

I use black friction tape to tape the top end of my stick, for a good
grip.  This deposits black gunk on your gloves, but the grip is good. 
Players will often wrap a ball of tape called a "butt-end" to the very
top of the stick to
stop it from slipping out of your hands.  Another trick is to roll up a
long 
piece of tape lengthwise into a long string, and wrap it around the top
handle of the stick (kind of like a barber shop pole) prior to taping up
the stick top.  This gives you a spiral stripe grip underneith the flat
tape, that also helps you hold onto your stick better.

For roller hockey, I use the plastic Mylec blades (cost about $2.50)
attached to shaft from an ice hockey stick that had a broken blade.  I
just saw off the broken wooden blade, and attach the plastic replacement.
Mylec (and others) sell plastic bladed sticks with wooden shafts.

The stick manufacturer "Montreal" makes a stick that is supposedly for
street and ice hockey.  It is basically has a hard graphite housing
around the whole blade and lower part of the shaft of the stick.   These
are expensive, and I've never seen anyone use one for ice hockey, but a
lot of
the street hockey players like them because they stay stiff like wooden
blades, not flex a lot like the plastic ones.

Some other sticks that are availble for ice and street hockey are
aluminum shafts.  I use an aluminum stick shaft for ice hockey now.  The
blades are wooden with a glue on the top end.  One heats the end of the
metal shaft and the glue end of the blade with a powerful hair dryer and
then you slide the glued end into the shaft.  When it cools, the metal
contracts and the combination of this with the glue holds the blade in
place.  When the blade breaks, you heat it up again to remove it, and
put on a new one.  The blades themselves cost a little less than a whole
new stick, and the shaft is a one time charge.  They have also come out
with these for street hockey, using blades similar to the Montreal
sticks described above.
 
Some players like the aluminum shafts because they are light, and can
come in more flexible or more stiff grades.  This allows a player to
have a stick with the feel s/he likes and also have at least the shaft
portion of the
stick be consistent, since only the blade is replaced.  Even two of the
same
brand and model stick can be different in weight and flex, since the
wood may be from 2 different trees, etc.

Whew, my original intention was not for this to be so long winded, Nancy
covered most of the stick stuff (very well too!) in her post, but since
I'm on a roll..........

Pucks and Balls:

 In ice hockey, one uses a hard black rubber puck, 3" in diameter, and
(I think) 3/4" in thickness.   The puck is usually frozen before a game
so it's temperature matches that of the ice, and it can slide better.

For street/roller/floor hockey, there are more options.  I've used 3
types of pucks:

1) very hard plastic pucks -- These can be use for street or floor
hockey, but usually aren't as they are really hard and hurt a lot if you
get hit with one and have little protection (usually the case with
street hockey).  This is
all we had when I was little, and looking back, I can't believe we used
to use these things all the time!  On hard surfaces, these skip up etc.
when new, but as soon as the edges get chewed up a bit and round out,
they slide
pretty well, even on asphalt.

2)  soft hollow plastic pucks -- These are only good for really smooth
surfaces..  We use these on gym floors.  They don't even work very well
on tennis courts, which is where we usually play roller hockey.  They are
great for floor hockey in a gym though.

3)  softer plastic pucks with rollers -- These were an attempt to make a
lighter puck that would slide better on rougher outdoor surfaces.  They
aren't great, but are better than (2) above outdoors.  They often end up 
rolling on their edges, or coming apart at the seams if someone takes a 
hard shot!  All in all, not great.

Hockey balls:

Hockey balls are usually used for street hockey and DEK hockey (a game
played in rinks built with a special plastic surface by Mylec).  The
balls are
hollow flexible plastic, and work well on all types of surfaces.   They
come in different hardnesses for different weather conditions, surfaces
etc. (softer for winter and less abrasive surfaces, harder for summer
and more abrasive surfaces).  They require slightly different skills
than using a puck 
though.

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