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Lawnie posted:Unfortunately I really can't. I live in the north suburbs but go to school in Champaign, which is at least 2 hours away. Most of the guys who I know that live in the Chicago area swear by the Total Hockey in Downers Grove or the Gunzo's in... Niles, I think it is? I think it's Morton Grove. And Gunzo's has another big store in River Forest which is pretty good. They have pro shops in 5-6 rinks in the area, including the IIC in Romeoville and both Johnny's in the city, but for the love of god, DO NOT GET YOUR SKATES SHARPENED AT THE PRO SHOP LOCATIONS. Everyone I play with has some horror story resulting from a lovely sharpening job from a Gunzo's pro shop. The two big stores allegedly sharpen skates pretty well though.
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Mar 15, 2011 05:31
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xzzy posted:I've been nothing but disappointed with the Gunzo's pro shops. Seriously, do yourself a favor and avoid them even if you're desperate. I'm pretty sure their hiring process is "are you 18 years old and able to chew gum? if yes, award job". There's a good shop on the south side, in Alsip (Jerry's Hockey Warehouse, google it for the address, they have no website). That's the store where the Marist and Brother Rice high school teams get all their poo poo, and I won't take my skates anywhere else to get them sharpened ($7). Prices on gear are average to slightly higher than average, but it's five minutes from my house so I go there anyway. I know there's at least one goon here who goes to UIUC, depending on where you live in the Chicago area this store might be good to check out on the way to or from school. It's about 30 seconds off of 294.
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Mar 16, 2011 04:22
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xzzy posted:I looked up the address, and man, I will never have a reason to be out that way. How big is the store? Maybe when I get to the gear buying stage I'll try them out, if they're newbie friendly. It's not a huge store, not like Gunzo's at least, but they have all the basics (although for whatever reason, they don't stock CCM skates). Stick selection is very good though, and most importantly the staff actually knows what they're doing. For whatever reason (shits and giggles?) they stock those ultra-crappy $30 Sher-Wood shin pads. It's fun to feel around the poorly-padded part around where the kneecap goes one those and imagine the cracking sound of your knee cap as it hits the ice. Anyway there's probably no reason for you to venture down this far to this store, if you're closer to either of the reputable Gunzo's locations, unless they have a big sale or something (which you'd have to call to ask about). I will reiterate however that their sharpening jobs are second to none, and relatively quick because they have two machines and two people to run them. The store is also located right down the street from Southwest Ice Arena (in Crestwood), a gritty south side rink and home of the rowdiest Friday-night open skates I've ever been to. When I got all of my crap, I started with the skates (went to the above place, Jerry's), then got a bag at a Gunzo's pro shop. Got my shin, elbow, & shoulder pads, cup, gloves, and pants at the Gunzo's in Morton Grove. A week or so later I went to the one in River Forest and got an undershirt, helmet, mouthguard, two sticks and a water bottle. Went back to Jerry's in Alsip and got skate guards, suspenders, a dark jersey/socks and a few pairs of ultra-thin skate socks. White jersey and socks came from an online retailer selling Slap Shot movie stuff (Charlestown Chiefs!). Altogether I spent a dump truck full of money. Edit: xzzy posted:Skating instructor suggested getting some superfeet last night, I haven't yet researched them. Agreeing with another poster, get these, they're great. I have the yellow ones, you get the ones in your size range and trim them down to size with scissors. bytebark fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Mar 16, 2011 |
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Mar 16, 2011 21:23
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I got them not for arch support or anything, but because the regular inserts were getting sopping wet from sweat, and my foot was sticking to them and pulling them out when I took the skates off. The superfeet inserts are made of a heavier material, are stiffer, and so that solved my problem of the inserts bending up and not staying in the skate. Although it's not why I bought them, I do notice that the overall foot support is better.
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Mar 16, 2011 21:39
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dms666 posted:Any advice on trying to learn to stop on ice? Been trying the last few weeks at public skates with not much luck. Got just about everything else down pretty good from playing inline for over a year now Learning how to do a hockey stop is 99.9% a mental thing. I've gotten good at it on my right foot, not so much my left. If you can find a sparsely-crowded open skate (mid-day weekday skates seem to be this way) just go and practice stopping in the corners. Repeatedly. Eventually you'll get it. Also, another poster suggested doing snowplow stops first, and that's good advice. Get good enough at these and suddenly a hockey stop doesn't seem too hard and is easy to transition to.
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Mar 21, 2011 05:40
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I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as skates in a hot car go. If anything it'll make them more comfortable to put on, as opposed to skates which have been sitting in a parked car for 9 hours in a Metra lot in sub-zero temperatures. I have experience with the latter, and boy howdy did it suck.
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Mar 24, 2011 22:12
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Thufir posted:If it is the bottom of your feet/arch hurting I recommend the Superfeet, worked like magic for me. My team did exactly this for our last game (actually stuck it on the locker room door before the game). Won it 6-1 against a team that was undefeated too. Also, probably helped that their goalie was having an off night, their leading scorers weren't doing much scoring, and their goon wanted to make sure they were shorthanded for much of the night as well. People who are smart about skates: I ordered a pair of MLX Skates and it looks like they will get here on Friday. (Theoretically my current Reebok 8Ks are good skates but after playing ~3 times a week for the past year I don't think they're going to "break in" any further and they're still lacking the comfort and flexibility I want.) Anyone have a pair of these MLXs and if so, what do you think of them?
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Oct 27, 2011 02:22
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sellouts posted:Everything I read about the MLX is that it has an exceptionally stiff boot. If you're looking for flexibility in your skate you might want to look towards Graf or something. Most high quality skates (not that Graf aren't quality) are going to have very stiff boots. I have these huge calves and ankles. So wide that my shin pads' wraparound straps don't go all the way around, and I have to use tape. I thought for a while that they'd slim down once I started losing weight after playing, but when that happened my legs stayed the same size, and just got more toned up. Which is OK, because that's great for skating power. The problem with my current skates (the Reeboks) is that I lack back to front flexibility because my ankles are so huge, and they just take up most of the wiggle room toward the top of the skate. Lean forward, get lacebite. Lean back ... well, you can't. My skating posture is sort of stiff, and I think it's mostly due to the skates. The MLX ones caught my eye because there's apparently additional padding in them to prevent lacebite, and the tendon guard is designed to bend backward. The new skates should be delivered tomorrow morning ... I think I'm going to blow off off of work and hour or so early so I can get home, bake/mold them, get them sharpened, and then use them for my instructional league class tomorrow night. I'll post about how they are sometime afterwards.
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Oct 27, 2011 18:42
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Yeah. I emailed them maybe a month ago, because they were out of stock of what I *thought* was my correct size (11). Very quickly, they responded that they were having issues with the supplier of their own holders, but could put a Bauer holder + steel on there, except if that's on there you can't adjust the angle of the blade like you can with an actual MLX holder. That's one thing I want so I held off. Fast forward to last Sunday, when I measured my feet again on a whim, and discovered I'm a size 10 - which they have in stock. So I don't need a custom skate, but they can do it if need be. Their factory is in Winnipeg so its not like they have to wire all kinds of dimensional information overseas. I play with an assistant manager for Gunzo's here in Chicago who's worked at a few of their busier locations and he told me that of all the skates he's sharpened, he only came across one pair of MLXs. Kind of surprising because there are a ton of people in the area who play. I'll bake & mold the skates tomorrow before I leave and if he's working, have him sharpen them at the pro-shop at the rink. Will take some photos for SAS hockey goons.
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Oct 28, 2011 00:08
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Another thing you can do is turn the net around, and position it so the open end is facing the boards about 8" - 12" from them. Goals are anything that winds up in the net, either after getting stuffed or by banking it off the boards. Kinda like this better than "playing post" for some unknown reason.
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Oct 28, 2011 18:40
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I play in a league at Johnny's. But, it's the low-end, D3-equivalent Federal League (SLAP SHOT LOL) which was formed back in January more or less as a "next step" transition for people who are in Johnnys' extremely popular Hockey 101/102 instructional programs. There is a waiting list to get into the Federal League, and there are only six teams and due to ice time constraints that number probably won't be increasing. I've been in the league since it started up so I don't know what the newbies are really getting into when they get on the waiting list, but generally they'll get put on a team as a sub for the first season (each is allowed 3), and then as roster spots open up for the next season - not necessarily on the same team, but in the league - they're allowed to take them. The subs pay something like $20 per game they play in, and if you're full time it varies by the team (some have sponsors, others don't). Goalies are free. On the subject of the lunch rats at Johnny's East: Many of the players are corporate guys who make money hand over fist and incidentally don't have to be at work every day, and oh yeah, are pretty good at hockey. The lunch there always sells out and there are always at least two goalies.
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Oct 29, 2011 21:54
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So I have some good things to say about the MLX skates I bought last week. Have about 3 hours of skating time on them so far. They showed up at my house on Friday, and I blew off of work a couple hours early so I could get them ready. Baked them for the required 16 minutes (8 on each side), and laced them on so they could cool off and mold to my feet for 20 minutes or so. After pulling them out of the oven, they literally are like butter, but after molding they're harder than my old Reebok 8Ks. After cooling I took them to my LHS and got them profiled/sharpened and then it was off to my instructional league session. Thoughts on these skates: - Other reviews out there about the extreme comfort of these are not stretching the truth at all. They feel like a pair of snug winter snow boots. - Ankle support, in my case, is exactly what I was looking for. More front-to-back flexibility, with better side-to-side support (no flopping ankles). No lacebite. - The included insoles are actually pretty good. I briefuly took them out and replaced them with the Superfeet insoles from my old skates, but put the original ones back in and think I prefer them. - These skates have a decidedly homebrew, handmade look to them, probably moreso in my case because I purchased the $100-discounted "factory 2nds" version, which means it has little cosmetic flaws which don't affect the performance. You can tell where glue was manually applied, where the material was cut, and that maybe the stitching isn't totally symmetrical. There isn't even the standard label under the tongue telling you what size they are in six different countries. - The metal hardware on these looks like it's all stainless, so hopefully no rust. - The ability to manipulate the angle of the blade is neat. I angled mine a little bit inwards and now all of a sudden I'm much better at taking corners. I imagine that if I'd angled them outward, I'd lose some of that but be able to push off from a standstill a bit quicker. A cool option to play around with.
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Oct 31, 2011 18:59
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xzzy posted:My shop does have equipment for punching and stretching, and I've tried it, but It hasn't really helped. I think it's more about finding someone who's an expert in feet and has the time to sit down with me and figure things out. The Eastons I bought last spring are the most comfortable skate I've ever had, but I still get issues. Foot issues loving blow. I've had plantar plantar fasciitis for years (although it's not as bad as it once was) and wear orthotics in most of my shoes. About two weeks after getting my first pair of skates I knew the original insoles weren't going to fly so I got some Superfeet ones, which improved things somewhat on that front. But I also have wide feet, especially around the toes. Had the skates punched out around the ball joint of the big toe on either side, to accommodate for this, and it felt a little better ... for a while. Eventually I started getting big callouses on not only the ball joint for my big toes, but the ball joint for my little toes too! Essentially my feet were getting wider because of this, not good when your skates are already of the "E" width (as wide as they go) and punched out in that spot. I realized those skates needed to go when we were finishing up games and the only part of me that was really sore was my feet. I'd love to be that guy who just "makes it work" with an old pair of CCM Tacks they found in the basement, but realized a while ago that it wasn't going to happen and I'd probably have to spend more on skates as a result. (Also, on NHLers going through skates like mad: I think a lot of it has to do with the lining. They sweat a lot more than Joe Beerleague and all that sweat is going to eventually gently caress up the insides. Easier to replace than repair. And when they say a pair of skates only lasts 10 games, consider that there's probably 10-15 practices in there as well between the games.)
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Nov 1, 2011 02:38
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xzzy posted:I wish I had snow already. The CPD outdoor rinks are supposed to open up on November 26th, let's hope that actually happens. My favorite outdoor rink is one in Evergreen Park, where they have open rat every night, Tuesday - Friday. It's outdoors but covered by a roof, so the ice surface isn't too rough either.
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Nov 2, 2011 18:27
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That rink in Evergreen Park (a south suburb, not a part of the city) has open rat. There's also an outdoor rink in Elmhurst that hosts leagues, although last time I looked, no rat hockey. The CPD rinks don't have rat times listed on the website. However, the one by me has nets and I've seen people using them. I guess you could go to each rink and find out when they have it. The also CPD rinks have pretty crude ice conditions - always good and cold, but rough and possibly covered in snow and leaves. I don't think they have lines/faceoff dots either ... but again, if ice is what you're looking for, those rinks are there. A few northern suburbs also have unattended outdoor rinks, but on their website they say that hockey is not permitted and they're only for recreational skating.
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Nov 2, 2011 18:58
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A couple guys on my team have athsma and they just bring their inhalers on the bench. Been a couple times where one guy forgot his inhaler, so they share one of the others, like real teammates. Edit: ^ If you're a goalie who'd like to keep an inhaler within reach, you could just put it inside an extra (empty) water bottle on top of the net. Also, I'd like to shout out a hearty "gently caress you" to the Bauer Invitational for blowing into town and taking over every rink in sight today so most of the Friday afternoon rats in Chicagoland - and my instructional league session - have been canceled. I took the day off specifically to go to rat. 
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Nov 4, 2011 18:41
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Some of the AAA/high school tournaments require late-teens kids to play 3-4 games per day, if they get shafted on the schedule. A buddy of mine was a AAA goalie 9-10 years ago and even though he's still only 26-27 right now and in pretty good shape, swears he could never do anything like that ever again.
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Nov 6, 2011 20:46
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Doctor Butts posted:By this christmas I'll have a pair of new skates (since I assume that's not something you get used). Not necessarily true! Some people have good luck with used skates and swear by them. Lots of skates you find at used sporting goods stores have the same stories behind them: this pair was received as a gift but didn't fit, that pair's owner bought them, used them at the park district's open skate a few times and then gave up on skating when they had a bad fall, etc. Retailers selling new skates won't take them back once they've been sharpened. One of our subs got a nice pair of Nike Bauers used at a pretty significant discount from the new price. They were basically new, and the previous owner was some kid whose divorced parents each bought him the same exact pair of skates for Christmas. Usually what you'll find are the "current" models from 2-3 years ago because that's how long unused skates tend to linger in closets before being traded in. On the subject of other gear, the one thing you should probably NOT buy used is a helmet.
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Nov 7, 2011 17:57
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When I got all my poo poo I went all out and bought Reebok 10K shin pads, I think the top model they made at the time. This was because I had already heard a bunch of people say "oh, hockey! yeah I used to play that until I hosed up my knee." Only later did I realize that lots of other shin pads don't have the extra calf protection. A couple times in our league guys have gotten hit back there, but to be fair it doesn't cover the whole back of your leg, only the part (lower calf, right above the ankle) where I think it would hurt the least if you got hit with a puck. One guy took one right in the back of the knee (no protection there!) and was out for the rest of the game.
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Nov 8, 2011 02:46
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real_scud posted:Goddamnit, I hope they leave the MLX skates alone because Eaton's skates fit terribly on me and I was really hoping to get a pair of MLX's when I next had to buy skates. Goddamnit indeed. The article says: quote:With the development of Easton’s new skate, the MLX skate brand will no longer be marketed. Which pisses me off to no end because the new product will probably be dumbed down for mass production, and you know, not as good. I had a feeling something was up a couple months ago when I initially tried to order a size 11 of MLXs and wasn't able to get them due to "supply issues" with the holders. They still don't have any size 11s so they're probably just not ordering new parts. This buyout has probably been in the works for a while and I wouldn't be surprised if Easton unveils some new MLX-based skates soon. (which will probably be made in loving China)
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Nov 11, 2011 01:14
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Evil Mother Teresa posted:Could be good technology-wise, but if they don't figure out their durability issues it's meaningless. I got a pair of Eastons when I got back into hockey. They were fine until I started playing a lot more and a lot harder, at which point they started breaking down quickly. They weren't a high end model, but I was amazed at how soft the boot actually was once I bought a pair of Vapors to replace them. Plus the cap was coming loose, the stitching was beat, etc. I've seen some dudes skating in higher end models, but they tend to be falling apart on their feet as well. What is Easton steel like? Before buying my now-retired Reeboks I had always heard Easton steel was soft and (aside from the fact that my feet wouldn't fit in them) that's why I didn't get a pair of Eastons. Of course the Reeboks didn't exactly prove their worth either in this regard. Six hours of ice time (about two weeks for me) would result in blades so dull I couldn't do crossovers without falling down and a proper hockey stop wasn't so much as "whoa I'm goin long" as it was "hahaha am I supposed to be slowing down here?"
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Nov 11, 2011 02:12
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xzzy posted:I get about 15-20 hours on my EQ40's before I feel like I am sliding around. Evil Mother Teresa posted:I'd agree with xzzy and say about the same. Admittedly, I'll push it and will go a while without sharpening. Not that I don't notice it eventually, but my excuses include laziness and lovely rink pro shop hours. Jesus Pissing Christ. My old skates were seriously hosed.
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Nov 11, 2011 03:01
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Loqieu posted:benching stuff I got benched on my old team in the D-league I'm in. For whatever reason when the league was formed, they decided to make each team have one extra guy (in addition to having three subs) so if the roster was full on a given night there would be some sharing of shifts. Most teams, when they had the full roster, would simply share the extra bench spot with the whole team throughout the game, so no one got really screwed over. Not mine though! I was designated as the "floater" and had to share time on a different line each period. This only happened twice during the regular season but it pretty much sealed my opinion on wanting to switch to another team. When I was on that team we did get into the playoff game, where I think I played a grand total of 4-5 minutes (of course all the guys who'd been blowing off games left and right throughout the season showed up for that one so we had a full roster). I don't remember how exactly it worked but I was the floater for the first period, didn't play at all in the second, and was supposed to be the floater for the 3rd but we were tied at that point so of course all the "big guns" were pulling a two-shift cycle and the weakest forwards were sitting. In the end we wound up losing that game (and thus the championship) in a shootout but I wasn't too pissed with it because I was sick of that team anyway. As it happened, the best defenseman on that team (and a buddy of mine outside of hockey) decided he'd had enough and volunteered to captain an expansion team when the league added two. Myself and another forward who'd gotten similarly benched on a few occasions joined him as well. My new team is far more fun to play with and NO ONE GETS BENCHED. Also the three of us who left that old team for the new one were the only ones with perfect or nearly-perfect attendance, and now my old team is lucky to have two forward lines on a good night. Aaand we're also beating them in the standing by a fair margin. bytebark fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 19:34
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Lawnie posted:please bring an airhorn for when your team scores. really rub it in. My team has two. From trains. A small one from a New York subway car for the regular season, and a massive three-chime diesel locomotive horn for the finals game (if - I mean when - we get into it). Both horns with hockey glove for size comparison. I can confirm, horns are pretty good for pissing off the competition.
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Nov 18, 2011 10:49
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WouldDesk posted:
Not my clip or my horn, but the same exact type: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMpd3MZGDw I believe it's the same exact horn the NY Islanders use for goals. And we're going to use it for beer league.
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Nov 18, 2011 20:15
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That one on the right just looks dangerous to ears.
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Loqieu posted:My team's record keeps getting worse, but our post-game beer consumption keeps increasing. Rink management loves the six-team intro D-league I play in because we drink the most at the rink's bar of all leagues who play there. The usual Thursday night bartender actually plays too, and is at the same level where she could fit right in with no issues in our league, but flatly refuses to give up her shift behind the bar that night because it's the most profitable of the week.
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Dec 8, 2011 03:57
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Tournaments are fun as hell. We won our league's "Outdoor Classic" yesterday, basically coming from the bottom (third seed out of six), the only team who played three games instead of two. Just for the hell of it, I weighed myself yesterday morning and this morning again - lost about 5 lbs, and that included when most of the team went to gorge on pizza and beer in a three hour gap between our second and third games.
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Jan 29, 2012 18:22
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xzzy posted:How was that third game? I've noticed if I eat a meal less than 2 hours before going to the rink, my motivation tanks and I really gotta force myself to do something useful. Schedule went something like this: 1:00 - 1:45 1st game 1:45 - 3:10 - sit around waiting for the 2nd game 3:10 - 3:55 - 2nd game 4:30 - get to restaurant, order pizza 5:00 - eat pizza 5:45 - finish eating pizza, save leftovers for team captain who is reffing another game in the tournament. Realize we're all getting drowsy and want warm drinks. 6:00 - Arrive at Starbucks, get hot caffeinated drinks. Goalie doesn't want anything while we're there, and not wanting to snap his streak (won the first game 3-1 [I think?], 2nd was a 4-0 shutout), we don't press this issue any further. 6:25 - Get back to the rink somewhat rejuvenated. Slowly start getting dressed again. 7:30 - 3rd game starts So clearly the secret to our success was pizza and Starbucks. Edit: Third game was fun but obviously we were all dog tired. One of our guys sprained his ankle badly in game 2 and had gone home after (Facebook pictures of it he took at home are cause for concern), and another had to work that evening so we knew he wasn't going to be in game 3 all along. This being a non-points tournament, we picked up a couple subs from other teams - both of which were then on their 4th game of the evening, having previously subbed in the third place game. One of our D-guys, "day to day" with a back injury, showed up right before game 3 and after he got dressed, started double shifting so our captain could take longer breaks. He needed it after having reffed ~3 games, in addition to playing in our previous 2. The other team had a 2-1 lead going into the second half, but we tied it up and went to a shootout. First three shooters for either side, one goal scored each. We didn't do sudden death, but just one more shooter from either side in a 4th round - they didn't score, we did, and won. Finally got out of there about 9:15 after cleaning up and stopped at the nearest Oberweis Dairy to gorge on a bucket-sized chocolate shake. bytebark fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Jan 29, 2012 |
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Jan 29, 2012 20:43
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xzzy posted:On the other hand, a rec league player spending a grand on his skates seems pretty ridiculous. A buddy of mine works at Gunzo's, and he says that by far, the people in my league (the just-learned-to-skate-league, the lowest the level league the rink offers) are the ones who spend the most money on the highest-end equipment there is. Bauer/CCM/whoever come out with a new pair of $900 skates? Within a week you can bet your rear end there will be at least three guys out there wearing them.
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Apr 17, 2012 00:27
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Aniki posted:A lot of lower level players are guys who are trying to get back into the game or are new to the sport and they're either gear whores or are willing to throw money at the problem. Yeah this is exactly it. My buddy thinks it's funny because there are only a few truly heat-moldable skates they sell (I think they were CCMs? Gunzo's doesn't sell Graf though). Everything else you can heat up, but you're still going to be doing most of the breaking in by skating in them. So these guys get these hugely expensive pro-level skates, up near the $1000 range, which will always be too stiff because the buyer skates in them for maybe 45 minutes once a week.
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Apr 17, 2012 01:27
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xzzy posted:What did you mean by "truly heat moldable"? Everyone seems to have different opinions on this.. that baking means the breakin period is gone, that it's a complete waste of time, and everything in between. What's the difference in a high end boot with regards to shapability over something in the $300-$500 range? I'll ask him which skates he was talking about when I see him on Thursday. Basically the idea I got from him is that there were very few pairs of skates on the (mainstream) market which you put in the oven, and they get all buttery feeling and will absolutely wrap around your foot - and stay that way. On these, the plastic/composite/whatever has a temperature threshold which is intentionally low so you can get it halfway to melting, lace the skate up, and then leave them on so the boot retains the shape of your foot. Since this is all a big guess, I'll keep providing conjecture based on my own experiences on owning a "heat moldable" pair of skates and then a real heat moldable pair: I suspect the moldability advertised on most skates has nothing to do with the boot shell, but rather the padded liner. Warm that up, stick your foot in, lace up the skate and it fills in the gaps around your ankle, ball of your foot, etc better than if it were cool. But the boot structure on these will still need to be broken in through lots of skating.
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Apr 17, 2012 03:24
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This company does a lot of custom work for local high school teams: http://www.z2bags.com/. They seem to be the go-to people for high school/junior team orders (with the team's logo on it) but you might be able to look around and get a plain bag. Looks like there are a few places online to get them. A buddy of mine played goalie in HS - he graduated ten years ago and the bag from said company is still fine, sans any tears or anything. My Bauer bag from three years ago is in terrible shape. Pockets for skates shredded within six months of getting it, shoulder strap is messed up, etc. I should probably replace it soon and when I do I won't be getting any poo poo from Bauer/Easton/CCM/Reebok/whatever.
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Oct 7, 2013 01:29
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xzzy posted:Most of the big name brands these days seem to use lovely plastic materials to make the bag and every model seems to have someone complaining about random poo poo breaking after a year. The most durable bags are made out of plain old canvas with as few zippers as possible. Features like zippered skate pockets and fancy synthetic "breathable" mesh material all sound good until someone steps on that zipper while wearing a skate and ruins it, or the synthetic material tears because it's not strong enough to support many pounds of hockey equipment. This what happens when the hockey manufacturers develop new "bag technology" based on the same product development strategies they use for skates and sticks. "This new Reebok S3000 Supreme Crosby-edition hockey bag will de-moisten your equipment 35% faster than your competition, allowing you CHANGE THE GAME." Yeah until the handle tears off or you're losing rolls of tape when a hole opens up underneath. Honestly if you want to never worry about tearing up a hockey bag, go to an army surplus store and pick up a giant canvas duffel.
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Oct 7, 2013 04:11
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xzzy posted:I had no luck this morning finding anyone in my area that would sell me a Z2 bag, they all wanted to do bulk customization orders. I found a retailer that sells these online, and bought one: http://www.streiffs.com/product.php?productid=78602&cat=1169&page=1. Streiffs is apparently a local sporting goods store in Minnesota, and per the website they still have two of these bags left in stock. The bag came today - no choice on colors (mine is red, white, and blue), but definitely seems to be a cut above my old Bauer bag. There aren't any pockets but everything fits into it, so I'll have to learn to rough it like a high school player and just throw everything inside.
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Oct 10, 2013 06:49
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Beer leaguers: How long will a typical pair of skates last you? Like until you start to see legit wear and tear (cracks, etc), not just till you feel like upgrading. For a point of comparison, the pair I might be replacing get used on average once or twice a week.
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Oct 28, 2013 04:23
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sellouts posted:They're shutting down culver ice rink. It was home to a few LA kings practices, a couple gold medalist figure skaters and a ton of learn to play adult and kid classes. It's pretty dilapidated but still saw plenty of activity and has that charm. I believe they also used this rink for a couple skits on Jackass.
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Jan 20, 2014 05:19
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xzzy posted:Everyone, I have arrived, because I got invited to an actual beer league team for the spring season. Beer is the reason the D-league I'm in has really dropped off in quality. When the league started, the contract was signed as such: League paid Johnny's Icehouse (in Chicago) a dollar amount collected from players. In return, the league got: a). A weekly block of ice time (every Thursday evening, with games starting between 8p and 11p) b). All games played at the new Johnny's Icehouse West rink, where the Blackhawks practice c). Referees d). Scorekeeping + a Pointstreak page for our league & games e). Three seasons of hockey per calendar year This league is (supposed to be) self-regulating, meaning if you're too good you get kicked out and all teams are (supposed to be) balanced by skill level. So the deal Johnny's had with the league, to provide everything else at a consistent time and place every week, was a pretty good one. Rink management loved us because we'd go up to the bar before and after our games to watch the other games within our league happening that evening. Our league vastly outspent all others up at the bar (A couple times I was there til 4am) and so they saw it being worth their while to let us keep our same slot of ice time every Thursday because we always kept the bar full. Then one of the teams decided to get a sponsor. And to boot, their sponsor was a bar. Said team made it "team policy" to have their post-game beers at said bar only, not at the one in the rink. Rink management got wind of this and decided that our league was no longer worth accommodating on its own night. So the deal we have now is as follows: a). Games spread out all throughout the week. Usually on Saturday/Sunday afternoons, but with the occasional 11p weekday slot too. And poor game attendance as a result. b). Most games played at the dingier, smaller East rink which Johnny's owns and never has any available indoor parking c). Referees who are terrible because we now play at terrible times d). Still have scorekeeping and a Poinstreak page! e). Two seasons of hockey per calendar year When they axed our repeating schedule because that one team decided to stop drinking at the rink, most of the players on the other teams said "gently caress this" and voluntarily refused to patronize the bar in the rink as well, so their Thursday night cash cow went away entirely. So maybe, you know, not having a beer sponsor isn't such a bad thing.
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Jan 20, 2014 07:49
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Bootcha posted:From what I've heard Johnny's hasn't been great for awhile since Gunzo's had a poo poo-fit and pretty much left a token pro shop with only stick tape. Gunzo's had plans to open up a standalone shop about a block down the street from the East rink, mostly so they could sell Hawks memorabilia to fans passing to and from the United Center. Johnny's got wind of this and immediately kicked them out of the two pro-shop retail spaces in both the east and west rinks, thinking that they were going to bail anyway. Johnny's replaced the pro-shops with their own skate sharpening / stick tape counter. I've never gotten my skates sharpened there but supposedly they don't do a good job. If you're at the east rink it's not a terrible problem because the new Gunzo's standalone shop is right down the block (they do decent sharpening), but at the west rink you're SOL. xzzy posted:My beef with Johnny's is they forgot to build any parking. I know it's downtown and parking on the street is the normal thing to do, but once ten cars show up everything near the building is pretty much used up. Parking availability isn't really an issue at the west rink. The indoor lot is big enough to fit enough cars for a high school tournament. It's a different story at the east rink, which can fit maybe 20 cars inside. When there's a hawks game, half of those spots will be filled by people going to the game rather than playing upstairs. You have to actually get into the parking garage before you can look for a parking spot though, which leads to another point worth mentioning. The same guy who opens the garage door when you press the buzzer button is the one who drives the Zamboni. So if you inevitably show up late and he's already on the machine cutting the ice, you're delayed further because you can't get into the garage and have to find a spot on the street. The locker rooms at Johnny's are good, and usually mopped between games. However, the quality of the ice is not consistent (especially at the east rink) and rarely great. And the officiating. Oh god, the officiating. See, unlike most other leagues, Johnny's doesn't use USA Hockey-certified refs for their adult league games. Instead, they have some "house" certification which I can't find any official description of, meaning it may consist of buying a case of beer for the owner. The end result is that there are maybe three decent refs and the rest coast through the game calling as little as possible to ensure they get out of there ASAP.
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Jan 20, 2014 19:17
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Bootcha posted:You'd think Jerry's Warehouse would jump at the opportunity for a pro-shop downtown since they lost their spot at McFetridge. Was is this Jerry's that had a pro-shop at McFet? If so, interesting. Thought they only operated standalone stores. Furthermore, what is McFetridge like right now? Last time I skated there the ice was mostly water and the locker rooms were some of the worst I've ever seen. I've heard that they've done some work and the ice is better now, though. Edit: xzzy posted:Well they're also the only good option for ice for the downtown crowd and they have a reputation for pulling in the best skaters in the area, so they pretty much get to do whatever they want and people still line up to pay them money. Management there is bad enough that they almost lost the East rink to bankruptcy, until the Hawks dumped a bunch of money into the business so they could build the west rink and be the official practice facility of the team. Oh, and the land the West rink is built on was given to them for $1 by the city of Chicago because it was classified as a redevelopment project. Johnny's Icehouse West = Economic Redevelopment! I'm currently in a masters program for management degree and fortunately it requires no thesis paper to graduate. However if it did, I would seriously consider doing a study on terrible management at ice rinks. bytebark fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Jan 21, 2014 |
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Jan 21, 2014 05:35
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 03:21 |
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Anyone have any proven techniques for getting people to show up to the loving games they're paying for? My team has had maybe three full benches over the past 12 months. We've been averaging nine skaters a game, and there have been several where we had 6 or 7 (including one today, a 1-8 loss). Why the hell do people throw down the money to play and then not show? We have one terrible D-man who showed up for one game last season, and one game this current season (and managed to score a goal for the other team during the latter).
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Jun 29, 2014 23:48
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