# Reference Data by Player Position for an Ice Hockey-Specific Complex Test
## 1 Introduction  
Ice hockey is one of the fastest team sports in the world in relation to the player's speed on the ice, characterized by numerous high-intensity skating intervals and changes of direction (COD) combined with a multitude of body impacts while executing offensive or defensive actions. Considering this, the complexity of ice hockey is not adequately reflected in the literature, as there are various studies, focusing on isolated measurement of players'performance parameters [1; 2; 3]. With regard to the relationship between off-ice and on-ice performance, research has shown that the two are not uniform [4]. Some authors report that the use of laboratory off-ice tests does not correlate with on-ice performance [3; 5; 6; 7; 8] since important game-relevant motion sequences (e.g., skating, COD, puck handling, passing, shots on goal) can only be tested on-ice [1]. Consequently, the internal validity and the ability to predict on-ice performance for most nonspecific off-ice tests are insufficient [3; 4; 9; 10; 11]. To our knowledge, only a few studies have reported testing parameters in regards to match performance [9; 10; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16]. For example, [PERSON] et al. [14] explored the relationship between off-ice performance (e.g., standing long jump and Wingate) and body composition characteristics to on-ice match performance (e.g., time on-ice, scoring chances, skating performance). [PERSON] et al. [9] investigated a repetitive on-ice sprint shuttle test (RISS) and off-ice. The authors were able to show that although the off-ice test is measuring the same construct, the explained variance regarding on-ice performance was at most 51% of the on-ice test [9]. To date, there are no studies that have used a comparable on-ice complex test design, which may be critical for determining ice-hockey performance. The intermittent characteristics of a hockey match, including typical movement patterns and playing durations, required during a game, were previously considered in order to create an ice hockey-specific complex test (IHCT) [10; 17]. The validity of the IHCT revealed high determination coefficients with regards to match performance for changes of direction (transition agility test, weave agility test) and shooting a puck under fatigue (wrist shot). High interrelations (e.g., recovery heart rate (relative), recovery minute 0 to recovery minute 10: r\({}^{2}\) = 0.153) were also observed for post-exercise stress parameters, (e.g., blood lactate, heart rate), which can pertain to the players ability to recover [10]. Post-test measurements of heart rate and lactate (minute 6 and 10) provided explained variances to the match performance from 15 to 21% [10]. Reliability analysis displayed a high intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) > 0.75) for 82% (18/22) of the measured loading parameters [17]. For the load parameters, the SEM ranged from 0.06 (10 m sprint without a puck) to 6.5 (slap shot 1 after test) and the corresponding values for the stress parameters ranged from 0.74 (resting lactate) to 8.7 (heart rate recovery minute 6) [17]. From a practical point of view (coaches, players), it is important to provide position-specific reference data. These data allow for a valid interpretation and the derivation of specific and individual training recommendations. Until now, a reliable, valid, and reference data-based ice hockey-specific complex test has not been available and therefore highly warranted by coaches and sports scientists. The purpose of the present study was to analyze longitudinally collected reference data for this valid and reliable test by player position. We only considered field players (goalies were excluded) and differentiated between forwards and defenders. We hypothesized that forwards would be faster than defenders and show a higher performance level concerning skating skills.