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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Our rink has repeatedly threated anyone with a lifetime ban if they know you have a skate sharpener and offered your services to anyone besides your immediate family because it "hurts their bottom line." Absolutely hilarious. Guessing this same rink either never closed or closed for an extremely short time due to covid.
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Oct 4, 2023 22:20
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| # ? May 23, 2024 07:42 |
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xzzy posted:You skate at the most absurd rink in the world.. you really ought to collect stories and sell them or something. Agreed, and I'd rather not get a lifetime ban thank you  Kevlar v2.0 posted:Guessing this same rink either never closed or closed for an extremely short time due to covid. They shut leagues down for like 3 months, but still let people rent private ice on the downlow, which was basically every night from what I've heard. Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Oct 4, 2023 |
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Oct 4, 2023 22:39
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So I haven't posted in a while, but I am now at the start of my second year of hockey! My D4 Tuesday team got bumped up to D2 on Monday nights after going 9-1 last season and losing in the championship. So I am playing on that team, a D league at another rink on Sundays, and then joined a different free agent D4 team for Tuesdays. Anyways after the year of playing hockey, I finally feel ok at it. I know the game, I can skate decently, can read the flow of the game etc. On this free agent team I'm one of the better players and now I'm mentoring the guys who joined out of learn to play, or who have been playing for a year or 2 but don't have ADHD and spend all of their free time playing. It feels really good to look at the progress I've made. I feel like I can contribute to any game that I'm a part of now, even though I'm the worst player on my D2 team, I'm fast, don't give up on plays, and a positive locker room guy, so they seem happy to keep me around. Plus I keep rocking up assists with my strategy of "pass the puck to the guy who used to play college club hockey". Dude can snipe the puck on a one timer from anywhere it doesn't make sense. Hockey rules. Last week I had a game Thursday, then a game Friday with 5 skaters and a goalie, then a game 2 hours later with 9 skaters, then a drop in on Saturday, then a game Sunday, then a game Monday with 7 skaters, then a game on Tuesday. My body is dead. I'm on day 2 of doing nothing and just everything is sore. Definately should not playing so many games in a row holy poo poo
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Oct 5, 2023 19:30
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Finished my first learn to play league yesterday with 5 goals and 4 assists. I’d be open to moving up a level but can’t find any open teams or anything so I’ll probably do another rookie season and just work on power skating and positioning. Might be time to move from a wood stick to composite? I see a sher-wood rekker on clearance for $60. Any suggestions for first composite stick or should I just stick with wood for another season?
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Oct 9, 2023 17:49
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Rudest Buddhist posted:Might be time to move from a wood stick to composite? I see a sher-wood rekker on clearance for $60. Any suggestions for first composite stick or should I just stick with wood for another season? That's a decent stick for a beginner, make sure it's cut to the right size for you (however long you feel comfortable), and make sure that it's got a decent flex to start, and then you can experiment down or up. Wood sticks are fine too, but modern composites are very well made and very durable for lower end hockey.
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Oct 12, 2023 15:44
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Sweet, going for it. The 5030 is great for wood but I’ll use this to start dipping into composites. I went P92/75 flex. I weigh 145 so should be about right. Stoked! Gonna be fun.
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Oct 12, 2023 22:47
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If I'm not mistaken P92 is the most popular curve so you should be good. You may benefit from starting with a 65 flex if you are going to cut it down. Since cutting down increases flex.
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Oct 13, 2023 00:23
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Cool, hopefully I’m good without cutting it. I don’t cut my 5030s and would even prefer if they were maybe a few inches longer.
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Oct 13, 2023 00:56
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Common misconception is stick length. Most beginners play with far too long of a stick that makes handling and shooting the puck more difficult. The more skilled a player gets, often the shorter the stick, especially for forwards. Defensemen usually have a slightly longer stick for better reach. Play what feels right for you, but I think chin-nose height when you're on skates is a good starting point. The lie, angle of the blade, should change with stick length so the blade lies flat vs overly biased on the heel. Longer sticks should have less lie (4.5-5°), shorter sticks, more (5-6.5°?). Honestly I wouldn't recommend a 65 flex for a beginner transitioning from a wood stick unless you're really cutting it down. 75 would be the minimum but I find 80-85 flex p92 is like the absolutely best starter stick. Mid range flex without feeling like a noodle with good durability. Good blade pattern for control and shots without raising the puck too high or being too curved. I have friends who were learning and bought aggressive patterns like ovi or O'Reilly and struggled figuring out how to shoot the puck correctly. It would often come off the stick wobbly or knuckled with no accuracy. When they tried more mellow patterns, their shots were noticeably improved in accuracy, power and control. The puck was flatter on release. That said, try everything you can to see what you like. Sticks are very personal in preference and performance. Try friends sticks, go to a store that lets you try them out if you have one. Odds are when you find the perfect stick, you'll pay with it for a while and it will be discontinued and you'll never find it again. If you live a stick, buy several at once. RIP Easton s19.
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Oct 13, 2023 10:28
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I used 85 to start and I also didn’t cut it down at all. It made up for earlier inadequacies in my skating a bit but man I couldn’t handle the puck worth a poo poo. 20 years later I decided to cut it down very low and love it - but even at 75 I find it very stiff and at 65 or intermediate sticks I just broke them every few games. Sucked. As most things in hockey basically this is a strength issue at this point. But I’m also in extremely casual pickups so who really cares?
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Oct 13, 2023 13:58
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Yeah when I started again after playing as a kid, I got a cheap stick to experiment with stick length. I cut it down to a length just at my clavicle, then got a plug to bring it up an inch after every half a year or so. I ended up at a length about below my chin now on skates. What that did for me was it progressively worked my top hand into becoming much stronger (I'm so much stronger on the one handed puck movements now), and brought me up to the length that I was comfortable with without trading handling abilities.
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Oct 13, 2023 15:39
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Good stuff. The 5030 is 58” and just about hits my chin on skates. So an inch or two more is probably the sweet spot in between nose and chin. I only weight 145lbs if that makes a difference on flex. Stick shipped today so excited to mess with it when it gets here.
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Oct 13, 2023 20:36
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While wearing skates, stand straight up with your stick in your top hand. Hold the stick directly in front of yourself. Does it lie flat, or is the toe off the ice? Too long. Is the heel off the ice? Too short. That’s how I take about 3” off a factory senior stick, and whip around with 75 flex sticks that are more like an 85 after shortening.
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Oct 13, 2023 23:40
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Gotcha, so cut it so the mid point is parallel with the ice?
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Oct 14, 2023 00:05
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However much you think you need to cut it by, cut half as much and skate with it a few times. I have definitely made a stick _juuuust_ a little too short before and it was a nightmare to play with.
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Oct 14, 2023 00:14
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Yep, that’s how I cut sticks. Too short: https://i.imgur.com/742IFEY.jpg Too long: https://i.imgur.com/oZbY0rh.jpg Just right: https://i.imgur.com/QJPW3zO.jpg Edit: yes listen to Specs advice too.
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Oct 14, 2023 00:26
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:While wearing skates, stand straight up with your stick in your top hand. Hold the stick directly in front of yourself. Does it lie flat, or is the toe off the ice? Too long. Is the heel off the ice? Too short. This can also point to an incorrect lie though. I think it's better to measure sticks with the toe on the ground and measure where on your face the butt is. Some like it at the collarbone. Some want it on the tip of the nose. Idiots want it at the eyebrows. Once you've measured that then you do the flat blade test to determine your lie.
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Oct 14, 2023 02:55
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I thought most sticks were just 5 lie now, I can’t remember seeing the lie on a stick since I bought two piece Warrior sticks 10+ years ago. I could just be an old man with no attention to details though.
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Oct 14, 2023 05:09
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There aren’t a ton of retail lie options. You’re not going to the store and asking for a P92 lie 6 vs a P92 lie 5.
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Oct 14, 2023 06:17
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The rink is having problems with their refrigeration system. Apparently there’s air in the pipes and it’s been working its way throughout the slab, currently one corner won’t freeze. Games cancelled last weekend, last Wednesday, and now we’re playing 3v3 this weekend, blue line to end boards. The rink was built early 2000s, so I’m worried that the useful life of a refrigeration system is almost up.
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Oct 14, 2023 20:50
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:I thought most sticks were just 5 lie now, I can’t remember seeing the lie on a stick since I bought two piece Warrior sticks 10+ years ago. I could just be an old man with no attention to details though. Warrior does things differently in regards to lies. Apparently for them a lie of 6 is actually closer to a 5. I find Warrior works better for me on similar curves because of this.
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Oct 14, 2023 21:05
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One of our guys broke his ankle in our semi-final game tonight. Got caught up in the Zamboni doors. After a lengthy delay we restarted the game and got the win for him, setting us up for the championship game next weekend.
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Oct 15, 2023 06:53
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Got new gloves and am looking forward to the one single game where they won't have that glove smell.
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Oct 15, 2023 14:21
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If your gloves get rank after one skate, gloves ain't the problem.
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Oct 16, 2023 00:45
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After many years of frustrations, I caved and have just now placed in an order for a Sparx machine. I printed this off https://www.printables.com/model/472407-skate-hollow-gauge and confirmed my suspicions that the local sharpeners don't really pay attention sometimes. Anyone have any tips or pics of their Sparx setup?
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Oct 16, 2023 15:47
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LowOnCyan posted:After many years of frustrations, I caved and have just now placed in an order for a Sparx machine. I printed this off https://www.printables.com/model/472407-skate-hollow-gauge and confirmed my suspicions that the local sharpeners don't really pay attention sometimes. I have their V1, I'm curious to see what their laser edge checker is like. Where I have complaints about it, they changed on the next two iterations, mainly cleaning it. The other issue is that it can be tricky getting the ring aligned as it relies on you looking though a magnifying setup to see where a line on a ring lines up with a thin piece of metal. If you are not straight up and down you can get the wrong alignment. They may have fixed that in the newer versions so it might be easier. I've contemplated emailing them to see if I can do a trade in and get a discount on a new one.
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Oct 16, 2023 17:01
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I scored a goal last night as a defenseman. With my butt! Into my own net.
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Oct 17, 2023 03:58
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Own goals are always hilarious.
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Oct 17, 2023 04:03
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:Own goals are always hilarious. I turned around and apologized to my goalie for my rear end being to large. I was at least clearing a forward out from in front properly, just left 1/2” too slowly. It hit the far post and just dropped in.
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Oct 17, 2023 04:07
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Had a goal bounce off my shoulder and in whole fighting the center for net front position. Goalie blamed me for that goal but still didn’t make up for the 8 soft ones he let in the rest of the game so I can’t be too mad.
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Oct 18, 2023 18:31
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V for Vegans posted:Had a goal bounce off my shoulder and in whole fighting the center for net front position. Goalie blamed me for that goal but still didn’t make up for the 8 soft ones he let in the rest of the game so I can’t be too mad. lols, definitely your fault that you lost that game too, right? Our goalie wasn't upset. I was more upset than he was. He looked lined up to catch it, but those bounces happen. We do only give up 2-3 goals a game these days when we're playing teams in our division, but we're working on scoring next. The big deal is that we've stopped the 8-9 goals against this season now. I switched into playing D this season too, and learning the timing on my transitions took a couple weeks. Figuring out what looks like a good pinch and bad one has been interesting too. Really makes me appreciate people who can anticipate the puck that well to routinely keep it in the zone. I've stopped over-pressuring at the offensive blue line, and I've been managing to keep most of the breakouts to the outside too.
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Oct 18, 2023 19:06
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LowOnCyan posted:After many years of frustrations, I caved and have just now placed in an order for a Sparx machine. I printed this off https://www.printables.com/model/472407-skate-hollow-gauge and confirmed my suspicions that the local sharpeners don't really pay attention sometimes. Being able to get a quick sharpening in before a session is awesome.
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Oct 18, 2023 20:51
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So I'm a 50 year old dude, been playing pretty much my whole life, but never been particularly good, but I want to improve my very average C-league hockey skills. Since I only play once a week I'm not getting enough practice time, so I've been hitting the local outdoor roller rink once or twice a week. But I really don't have a plan when I'm out there, I just skate the circles and practice stickhandling around loose pucks and such, chat a little bit with the homeless kid that's usually camped on the bench, shoot pucks into the net, stuff like that. But I think with a more focused regimen i could be improving a lot more quickly. I guess what I'm looking for is some sort of 45-60 minute practice regimen that will help me with conditioning, power skating, and puck skills (passing and shooting). Most of what I've found online is geared towards coaching young players and involves a lot of team drills. Curious if anyone has any recommendations or experience with books or videos or programs that someone can do on their own that have helped you improve your skills?
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Oct 27, 2023 02:13
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I just booked an hour of coaching time, and that’s one of the things I planned to ask - what are some solo drills I can do at stick and puck? I’ll report back next week!
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Oct 27, 2023 02:29
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Hawklad posted:I guess what I'm looking for is some sort of 45-60 minute practice regimen that will help me with conditioning, power skating, and puck skills (passing and shooting). Most of what I've found online is geared towards coaching young players and involves a lot of team drills. Curious if anyone has any recommendations or experience with books or videos or programs that someone can do on their own that have helped you improve your skills? I would consider getting a coach if affordable, or a group session if offered. Otherwise you will have to piecemeal it together like this guy https://www.youtube.com/@treygray2817, he has chronicled his journey so maybe you can make use of his playlists and the drills that he's doing. As for off ice exercises, I usually do a lot of bulgarian squats, lunges, sled pushes, uphill runs. This guy is really good too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp0Y3BDDp4A
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Oct 27, 2023 15:24
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P92/P88 are the best two "neutral" patterns IMO, you really can't go wrong with either one. And stick length is all preference, I've gone through 10" swings in the last few years. Pavel Datsyuk went from using a relatively short stick early in his NHL career to a telephone pole and didn't lose a beat. He used a 4-lie with a large, thick, boat oar blade with little curve. I have one in my collection and it's impressive he was able to do the things he did with that thing.Verman posted:I have friends who were learning and bought aggressive patterns like ovi or O'Reilly and struggled figuring out how to shoot the puck correctly. It would often come off the stick wobbly or knuckled with no accuracy. When they tried more mellow patterns, their shots were noticeably improved in accuracy, power and control. The puck was flatter on release. shyduck fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Oct 27, 2023 |
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Oct 27, 2023 18:47
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https://skate-armor.com/ I'm ordering a neck guard from here when they're back in stock. Supposedly they're the best according to an NIH study. I haven't worn one in over 20 years when my HS league mandated them for a year, but it's time shyduck fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Oct 30, 2023 |
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Oct 30, 2023 22:36
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I'm definitely curious to see how many people start wearing them. We had a guy on our team last night who already got one. I've been looking at base layers that include neck protection; naturally it feels like they're selling pretty quick rn.
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Oct 30, 2023 22:51
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Given the uptake on skate fenders and kevlar socks, probably not many. You'll see a few more at skates for a few weeks then people quietly stop wearing them.
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Oct 30, 2023 22:54
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How many people on your team wear mouthguards? It'll be the same people who will wear laceration protective gear. Not a bad idea at all, but a horrible way for people to start paying attention to it. I've just always worn the cut protection socks because they're the most comfortable ones I could find. I play bad low level hockey too, my biggest concern is people falling and stabbing me with their skates. I have more concern when I'm dropping the puck for a faceoff. Narrowly avoided taking a butt end this weekend to the face. I've also managed to only get submarined twice in the last few months, but I'm getting good at anticipating play and making sure I'm not getting run into in the corners. Helps when the players keep their heads up and look where they're going too.
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Oct 30, 2023 23:05
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