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19 o'clock posted:Oh, hot drat. I suppose you probably have me beat, then. Working there with your peers doing the after-hours is tough to miss out on. Or Hal Gill.  Is there any kind of small sheet of something that mimics the surface texture of ice that can be used for off-ice shooting practice? I want to learn how to actually shoot a Real Hockey Stick so I can snipe some goalies at some camps I'm going to be working at in August. I have this Reebok Slide thing that seems like it'd be pretty smooth that I'm totally trying out tomorrow in the backyard, but if anyone knows of any cheap material that I can get at Home Depot or something that would be better, that'd be awesome.
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May 15, 2012 06:50
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Dry erase board is the home depot solution. Put some silicone spray on it and it will be as slick as ice.
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May 15, 2012 14:28
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I was at my future in laws over the weekend for mothers day, and the brothers had a green biscuit training puck in the driveway. After playing with it for a few minutes, it felt far better than nearly any training puck Ive ever used. They have a really nicely laid brick driveway which looks great but sucks rear end for shooting a puck let alone stick handling. It was able to glide really well on any surface which made practicing stick handling pretty easy. Every inline puck I've tried tends to bounce and roll whereas this stays flat and glides easily. I don't know about shooting it but as far as stick handling goes, I was impressed. http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=GB Also, I'm insanely jealous of people who have a driveway and can set up a net to shoot on. After spending an hour in their driveway shooting against their goal with the blocker on, I realized my shot is a lot more accurate than I thought but could still use work.
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May 15, 2012 15:10
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Verman posted:I was at my future in laws over the weekend for mothers day, and the brothers had a green biscuit training puck in the driveway. After playing with it for a few minutes, it felt far better than nearly any training puck Ive ever used. They have a really nicely laid brick driveway which looks great but sucks rear end for shooting a puck let alone stick handling. Icewarehouse use to sell these and this is what I use: http://www.totalhockey.com/Product.aspx?itm_id=969&div_id=2
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May 15, 2012 15:36
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You don't want to practice shooting with a green biscuit.. it will explode if you hit anything solid. Great for parking lot passing and stickhandling though.
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May 15, 2012 16:05
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These work really well for street hockey.
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May 15, 2012 16:59
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Gio posted:These work really well for street hockey. Yeah our rinks usually use pro shots, but they always tend to roll and bounce in the street but they work great on the inline surface.
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May 15, 2012 18:06
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This may be the wrong thread for it, but I just wanted to vent a bit. I think I finally convinced 3 total hockey/skating virgins to come play hockey with me and it's been years since I even laced my skates. For some reason they are afraid of ice and wanted to start with inline. It's always awesome teaching people hockey, because once they start they're addicted. Anyway, I'm in Knoxville and there doesn't seem to be any inline rinks around anymore, and the two outdoor public areas that I know of are always filled with people playing soccer. I love soccer, but man, that's a dick move. Is anyone around Knoxville, and if so, where the hell can you play inline around here? Awesome OP, by the way, I will make my friends check it out so they don't learn too wrong from me.
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May 15, 2012 18:21
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Just keep nagging them until they agree to try the ice.. it's not any harder (or softer) than concrete and once you got pads on you don't feel falls anyways.
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May 15, 2012 18:32
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In other news, I just watched a zamboni do a double resurfacing on an untouched sheet of ice. It looks so loving smooth, I wanna go skate on it and tear it up a bunch. 
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May 15, 2012 19:01
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xzzy posted:In other news, I just watched a zamboni do a double resurfacing on an untouched sheet of ice. Pretty sure I actually found this video in this very thread, but every time I think of perfect ice, it makes me think of this beautiful sheet of ice in Windy Arm, Yukon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwvfYmpYdaM Although pretty ice is great to skate on, if the sheet was originally untouched, I'd probably rather have the extra 15 minutes of being on the ice than the extra cut. When I was a kid, I hated it when there was an empty free skate or whatever before games and they would do the ice instead of letting us on the ice early and have an awesome 15-20 minute warm-up instead of the usual worthless 3 minutes.
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May 15, 2012 20:37
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Cool Ranch posted:This may be the wrong thread for it, but I just wanted to vent a bit. I think I finally convinced 3 total hockey/skating virgins to come play hockey with me and it's been years since I even laced my skates. For some reason they are afraid of ice and wanted to start with inline. It's always awesome teaching people hockey, because once they start they're addicted. I'm gonna be in Jackson for the summer, and so far, I haven't been able to find a rink anywhere near there. I'm very sad
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May 15, 2012 23:00
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drat, Gio. I miss your dog avatar - how do you rack up so many changes?
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May 16, 2012 04:19
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So we finally got some pictures from the pond hockey tournament back in February that sellouts and I played in. Here's me trying to defend and probably failing. You can see what the nets look like:  I like this one because you can see the trees and poo poo. The area was beautiful as was the lake that the thing was on.  This was probably before 10am:  Here's sellouts with some dedicated defense:  Team!  Pretty sure we're going next year, it was awesome.
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May 16, 2012 04:25
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I'll probably switch back to hipster dog at the end of the season; this one is for a resolution that I kinda tried to avoid committing to. e: haha, what a dummy, wearing that cage. bet he got concussed pretty bad.
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May 16, 2012 04:25
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bewbies posted:
If this doesn't answer if you want to play in this next year, I don't know what to tell you. bewbies posted:
That's actually me avoiding a 1.5 inch crack in the ice and a loving tripod. Also this team won the bronze championship
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May 16, 2012 04:39
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bewbies posted:So we finally got some pictures from the pond hockey tournament back in February that sellouts and I played in. pondhockey.jpg Pretty sure a bunch of us are going for the 2013 version and it's gonna be awesome. I'm even going to try to remember how to skate out!  (and probably take a few penalties for going to my knees to make some saves) 
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May 16, 2012 04:41
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That looks amazing. The ice has to get pretty lovely after a while, no? Also, how cold did it get? My toes are frozen after a game at the rink. I can't imagine being outside all day in freezing weather.
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May 16, 2012 04:47
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The guys I skate with who went to that talk about the drinking they did more than the hockey. To hear them tell it, no hockey ever actually happened.
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May 16, 2012 04:47
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Yeah I gotta put that on my bucket list now, too. Along with Windy Arm, but I think this one is way more attainable! Dumb question, did you guys have to do anything to prevent frostbite?
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May 16, 2012 04:48
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Gio posted:Dumb question, did you guys have to do anything to prevent frostbite? Booze.  From what I've heard it can get well below zero if a wind kicks up. You either have to keep moving or spend a lot of time in the warmup tents. A set of long johns can help too.
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May 16, 2012 04:51
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The ice was pretty awful. I'd never played outdoors before in my life and it was a huge difference. Stuff that I normally do automatically just didn't work quite right. I think I got a little better once I started keeping my head down and stopped passing so hard. I went up with almost no winter clothes (I just had my coat), so the other guys helped me out a lot. I wore thin thermal biking gloves under my hockey gloves and they worked great, other guys had some problems with their hands. Toes weren't bad at all. That said, I think it was a bit warmer than it usually is up there (it was like 10 degrees) so it might get worse. Out in the sun on the lake it really was pretty nice.
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May 16, 2012 04:54
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Yeah I've played outdoors plenty of times growing up and I'll add to that sentiment--outdoor ice is awful, awful. I'd seriously buy a cheap pair of skates--or use it as an excuse to buy a new pair (and use the old ones)--if I did something like that. Fun as hell, regardless. e: or just accept that i may have to buy new steel afterward Gio fucked around with this message at 05:00 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 04:56
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You wimps. Up here in Breckenridge (9,600ft, mind you), half of our winter season league games take place on outdoor ice. I still have not figured out how to keep my toes from freezing by the start of the third period. I drink out of a gallon jug of water, because of which at ten minutes my jersey is a solid sheet of ice.
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May 16, 2012 05:07
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I learned to skate on outdoor ice.  Well, sort of. I learned how to skate forwards. All that fancy stuff like crossovers and junk didn't come until much later. But it wasn't "real" pond hockey because it was an outdoor rink set up at the elementary school. Can even see it on google maps.. and the ice looks like poo poo even from a satellite.
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May 16, 2012 05:11
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Super stoked to play in that tourny next year  As long as the wind doesn't kick up too much it can't be any worse than waiting for a bus for 45 minutes in the deepest part of a Canadian winter.
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May 16, 2012 05:21
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EAGLE RIVER POND HOCKEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Eagle River is a town of approximately 1500 and each year in mid February around 260 teams of 7 players, from all ages and abilities, fill the town to play on a frozen lake called Dollar Lake. How cold can it get in mid February? This is a photo from our car I took while dropping off the registration paperwork in the morning of our first game. We had one of the later morning games that day.  Was it really that cold? Nah. Did it feel that cold in the wind you'd expect on a lake? Almost. It was really cold. Most years you can park on the lake due to it being frozen feet deep. However this year due to the lake only being 16" thick they didn't want cars parking on it. A late cold snap I think froze it even deeper so some cars could park but this year it resulted in long walks down the surrounding road and riding in the back of a pickup truck that was a shuttle. Once you're on the lake you go into one of 3 giant "heated tents" which had hot air blowing in, but it was still on ice and cold. Here, you can see a picture of me crammed for space and barely able to pull up my breezers. Also I was so cold I was dreading it. With the schedule of games constantly rotating everyone just finds a spot, leave your bags, and then when your game is over odds are the people who took your spot are leaving and you can come back. Repeat 3 times, unless you make the playoffs.  As bewbies said, it's loving beautiful. No snowfall during games this year.   And by the end of the day, this sight is familiar and welcome.  The format of the games are pretty simple -- 2 halves I think they are like 15 minutes each? BEfore the game each team shovels their side to get loose snow off of the rink. By the end of the first round of games they are pretty bad. By the end of the 3rd round of games it is worse than any rink, with cracks that would be deeper than the ice surface itself. Kind of dangerous. If you win a game, you get a case of Labatt Blue. If you lose, you get a case of Labatt blue. It's a great system. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask -- this was a bit of a challenge to put together with players from 6 different states coming almost 2000 miles to get there, but we made it happen and I learned some logistical lessons. Also, I highly recommend reaching out to the Eagle River hockey association to reserve ice time at their rink. It is 100/hr, or in our case we could skate as long as we wanted as long as we turned the lights off. Super fun. And you can skate here  Yeah, a giant wooden dome. On Sat night the local "semi pro" / beer league team played another town and the game was practically sold out. Afterwards the team came out in their gear and drank beer from pitchers with the fans. It was pretty awesome. If you're thinking about doing it, put together a team and do it. Just sign up the day that registration opens because it filled completely within 3 days and some divisions filled within a day. 
sellouts fucked around with this message at 06:08 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 05:22
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Gio posted:Yeah I gotta put that on my bucket list now, too. Along with Windy Arm, but I think this one is way more attainable! I wore a throat protector that was mandatory in Peewees that I still had. It was like a giant pillow around my neck and kept it warm. I also skated with a skull cap under my helmet to keep it warm. I also skate barefoot and continued to do so this tournament. That...kind of sucked but it was fine until I had to stand in the snowbank when I Wasn't playing. Then they got really cold. Henrik Zetterberg posted:
Yeah, this is a whole new level of cold for feet. Most years plenty of people drive up from Chicago and neighboring cities and they bring trailers with bbqs and other things that they park on the lake and you can huddle around to keep warm. This year wasn't the case, but if we go next year I'd like to find a way to keep us at the lake so we're a bit more social and also find a way to keep us warmer if we decide to do so. sellouts fucked around with this message at 05:27 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 05:24
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seriously have to do this next year. e: were there things you guys wish you had brought that you didn't? what things are a must? i mean other than the obvious answers e.g. warm clothes and booze. and any other advice about lodging and other INTANGIBLES. Gio fucked around with this message at 05:31 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 05:27
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Why wasn't I invited sellouts
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May 16, 2012 05:33
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Gio posted:seriously have to do this next year. Biggest initial mistake we made was not renting big enough cars. I rented a Nissan Pathfinder, the biggest SUV at the place, and thought we would fit 4. We were lucky to fit 3 + gear. We had to rent another car that day, which presented a whole host of problems including it not having 4WD (ended up being fine) and having to put someone on the spot to rent it, which I hate doing. Next year if it makes financial sense to fly into Chicago vs flying into Central Wisconsin I want to look at renting a Dodge Sprinter, which would be the perfect vehicle to haul a small teams worth of stuff and hang out in during the day. Other than that, bewbies didn't bring enough warm stuff. I brought thermal long underwear and a thermal top and honestly, I was fine. I also have stupid old/big shoulderpads that I wore along with a sweatshirt underneath. If you didn't bring that, you were probably pretty drat cold. I would also bring insulated shoes. You're walking on ice to/from the rink and it's loving cold. Just bring cold weather gear. If we stayed at the lake I would have wanted to stop at Rhinelander on the way up to get snacks, water, etc. Bonus points if there is a way to make it warm (warm soup, warm coffee, warm food etc) One day you play one game, one day you play 2, so on the day with 2 games if you can stay at the lake you'll meet more people, have drinks with more people, and save the hassle of getting food in town, getting warm in the hotel room, then trudging back out there. Also Bart made a veteran move by bringing a bottle of Jameson to the warming hut, which made him very popular, kept him warm, and was generally just a cool thing. That thing got passed around to so many people it was great. EDIT: In that vein, I think we should have stopped for some more/better beer and drinks. The pool, hottub and sauna at our hotel allow booze at the pool which some took advantage of but probably could have been better utilized. D C posted:Why wasn't I invited sellouts 2 "random" goons were enough last time, of course one of them bailed with about 2-3 weeks to go after we got the (free) custom jerseys made. I also met you after this was in motion...however you are officially invited this time though! I don't know about the skill level of the guys that are going this time. We played 21+ Bronze last year and got smoked in the last game against the eventual champs and got beat the other 2 games. That was a team of people from different places I've lived though so there was no chemistry and some dudes were like 45+. I still think that with the crew this year we should pair down to Novice, so I hope you're ok with that? Signups are in like 61 days though! I'm sure I'll remind everyone closer to that if they'd like to register their team. sellouts fucked around with this message at 05:52 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 05:45
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I totally forgot about the pond hockey tournament right in my backyard. http://www.michiganpondhockey.com/ It must have been terrible this year considering how warm it was here. I remember guys calling into sport radio (yeah I listen) complaining about this.
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May 16, 2012 06:11
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sellouts posted:I wore a throat protector that was mandatory in Peewees that I still had. It was like a giant pillow around my neck and kept it warm. Barefoot is the only way to go. As you and bewbies were describing this, I was only thinking about how I would never be able to play hockey while wearing socks...eww. I'll be moving to Chicago this summer, so I'm going to need to do this. It will be easy to do as well considering the distance. If you need an extra player, let me know. I'll be trying to get some people together, but you never know. Few of my hockey playing friends from growing up still play 
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May 16, 2012 15:39
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gently caress it. I'm doing this next year. That looks like ridiculous fun. Question: About how much should one expect to drop on registration/lodging/transport? If I do this I'll probably grab a bunch of guys from my beer league team. waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 18:05 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 17:44
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Registration: $420 per team, split amongst 7 people max. Flight: Depends on where you are flying from. Nearest airports are: 1 hr away: Rhinelander (RHI) 2 hr away: Wausau / Central Wisconsin (CWA) 2.75 hr away: Green Bay, WI (GRB) 5 hr away: Minneapolis, MN (MSP) 6 hr away: Chicago (ORD) (MDW) I flew from Los Angeles and it was around 420-450 round trip into Wausau, which was consistently the cheapest when I broke down the cost of additional drive time and convenience. Rhinelander was always a bit more and the times just didn't work for me flying from Los Angeles. People on the team from Austin flew into Minny for cheaper, stayed with family for a day, and had a direct flight. They loved it and actually ended up arriving into Eagle River earlier than I did after meeting everyone at Wausau and leaving LA at 6am on the dot. Car rental: Can be expensive given the size, but I used some Hertz points I had to make it cheaper. I definitely recommend renting a car that is as big as possible if you're carpooling at all. And do it early, these smaller airports run out. If you're renting a car, the standard 20-30 day + tax is fair, but if you're renting an SUV it's probably close to 50 - 100 a day. The actually appear to have minivans this year which look to be about 80. Plus all of the tax poo poo. Hotels: Cheap. 99/night for 2 queen beds at the Days Inn or Best Western or whatever. Food: Cheap too. We ate at nice enough restaurants and had 10-15 dollar meals. Drinks were cheap too. If anyone actually goes to this bewbies and I will meet you at Smuggler's for drinks and their incredible homemade horseradish. It's really a cheap trip once you get there. I just don't think there's much savings in flying into a bigger city further away and having to make up 10-15 hours round trip driving. Closer airports also allow you to leave later on Sunday, which is good if your team is good enough to make the semi finals or finals. The finals end at 2pm so you'd be hard pressed to make it to even Wausau before the last flight of the day. sellouts fucked around with this message at 20:09 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 20:07
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I've always wanted to do that.
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May 16, 2012 20:18
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sellouts posted:Or if you are dumb like me, you'll drive 12 hours there, and then 12 hours back.
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May 16, 2012 20:30
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I was running the financials of driving 17 hours each way from Saskatoon until I realized it would use up 1-2 weeks of vacation (because I would turn it into a 4-5 day road trip each way rather than a power-driving marathon).
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May 16, 2012 20:37
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Pleads posted:I was running the financials of driving 17 hours each way from Saskatoon until I realized it would use up 1-2 weeks of vacation (because I would turn it into a 4-5 day road trip each way rather than a power-driving marathon). Worth it. I took two weeks off to drive from Chicago to Las Vegas for a two day lan party. The gaming was fun, but the drive was the best part by far.
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May 16, 2012 20:39
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Haha...I'm debating the logistics of driving myself as well. 19 hours each way from Denver. I used to road trip back and forth to PA with my dad though, and to/from Mizzou, so I'm kind of an idiot that way.
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May 16, 2012 22:06
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