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Who here actually plays hockey?

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Nick Papagiorgio said:
New skates may be in my near future. Bad sharpen led me to examine the steel and it appears warped on at least one skate and I think both. Could be a mounting issue. Boots are in good condition but... I might need to indulge here and get new skates because I just want to.
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If your boots are still good, why not save some money and just replace the blades and possibly the Tuuks, too? Or maybe you really do just want new skates, and you should therefore ignore me.
goldy_331 said:
If you're going to go, go big.
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I see parents looking at those for their kids all fall long when I'm in getting my skates sharpened. Usually the only ones that buy them are the ones whose kids are already wearing the letter jackets. It makes me wonder if they realize that they could save a few hundred bucks just by buying last year's best-skate-ever model.


Tangent to this skate talk, I broke my left skate last night. I pulled the tongue out again. The seven-year-old Chinese girl who made my skates better get whipped good for shoddy workmanship. She probably used lead paint, too. At any rate, it's another trip back to George's for me today. I am so glad I kept my old skates.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

For what it's worth, hfboards.com has a fun section called "The Rink" which is basically people who play beer leagues. Lots of equipment talk, war stories, etc.

I get to play again tomorrow. Can't wait - we're playing our toughest opponent, and the games are always lots of fun between our two teams.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Is anyone using the Reebok socks? I got a pair for Christmas and used them once.

They're supposed to be a better fit, but the one-size-fits-all socks only fit if you have legs like tree trunks.

I'm going back to the tried and true knit socks.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Good news... my skates are actually ok... so no new skates for me. The boots are still in great shape and the steel was fine after looking them again a few days later. It's weird because my teammate noticed it and it definitely looked a bit warped but a few days later it looked fine. So in the end I got my skates sharpened at one of the best places in Mass, they agreed the steel is fine, and should be good to go now.

SteveP said:
Is anyone using the Reebok socks? I got a pair for Christmas and used them once.

They're supposed to be a better fit, but the one-size-fits-all socks only fit if you have legs like tree trunks.

I'm going back to the tried and true knit socks.
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RBK Edge socks are notoriously huge. There is no middle ground unfortunately. Heard mixed reviews on them, they definitely keep you cooler and repel water better but also get cut up more easily... haven't tried them although I've been tempted. Only one side of velcro isn't exciting either. Pro stocks are a tighter fit supposedly and they also have L and XL so the large pro stocks are decent options if you're looking for something tighter, but those have NO velcro on them whatsoever so they are difficult to get to stick to anything unless you use a garter. Of course you could do your own modification on them but... that's a lot of work and money on a freakin hockey sock.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Nick Papagiorgio said:
RBK Edge socks are notoriously huge. There is no middle ground unfortunately. Heard mixed reviews on them, they definitely keep you cooler and repel water better but also get cut up more easily... haven't tried them although I've been tempted.
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I know where you can get a pair cheap. :)

Nick Papagiorgio said:
Only one side of velcro isn't exciting either. Pro stocks are a tighter fit supposedly and they also have L and XL so the large pro stocks are decent options if you're looking for something tighter, but those have NO velcro on them whatsoever so they are difficult to get to stick to anything unless you use a garter. Of course you could do your own modification on them but... that's a lot of work and money on a freakin hockey sock.
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Agreed on all counts. It's amazing that my knit socks, with no velcro, stick just fine to the velcro on my compression shorts, but Reebok just puts one strip of velcro on their "high tech" socks. BAH! It's all Bettman's fault. :rolleyes:
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I have played something that loosely resembles hockey in that I wear skates and hockey protective gear and carry a hockey stick. I hesitate to actually call it hockey though.:o

I plan (hope) to finally play in the posters game in St. Paul this year after threatening to do so for years.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I've wanted to play hockey my entire life, my mom never let me when I was younger, I'm 5'7" 128lbs and cannot skate at all. I play a lot of floor hockey with my varisty prep team friends though, I can dangle them all, haha.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I had a game tonight, fifth game in five days. This league is sort of like a beer league, but not as good. I call it the "Root Beer" league, full pads are not required and I don't where shoulder pads. At any rate, I'm playing D, and a hole opens up in front of me so I go on the rush with a pair of opponents positioned to force me between them. Well, they both screwed up their footwork, and I split them. As I make it past and had a good stride or so on them, the guy to my left and towards the boards not only hooks me under the armpit, but acted as though he was trying to set a line with a biting fish. Those who've met me can tell you that I'm a big guy. I'm not easy to move without consent. I got jerked backwards so hard that I had to fight to stay upright. It's now about three hours after the fact and I can still feel where his blade got me. It makes me so glad that we won the game tonight, just to rub it in that *hole's face.

This same guy was called for two more penalties later on in the game, none of them were the "oh, gosh, sorry guys!" sort of happenings either. One was a corkscrew on a guy along the boards and the other was a shove in the shoulder from behind that caused that same guy he had already corkscrewed to go head first into the boards. Thankfully my teammate came out of the game unscathed. The two guys that run this quasi-league were there tonight, and I wouldn't doubt if this guy is told not to come back. A few guys on his own team were saying as much after the game. It's just pathetic. It's a rec league, and it really shouldn't get any friendlier than that atmosphere as almost all of us play pickup hockey together on the weekends.
 
SteveP said:
Is anyone using the Reebok socks? I got a pair for Christmas and used them once.

They're supposed to be a better fit, but the one-size-fits-all socks only fit if you have legs like tree trunks.

I'm going back to the tried and true knit socks.
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Not a fan. I'm actually not a fan of any Reebok gear.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

goldy_331 said:
I have played something that loosely resembles hockey in that I wear skates and hockey protective gear and carry a hockey stick. I hesitate to actually call it hockey though.:o
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hey, I play that sport too!!! :)

I am actually looking forward to a little time off from one of my teams. lost a little bit of the love. absence makes the heart grow fonder. or give up, whichever.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

St. Clown said:
If your boots are still good, why not save some money and just replace the blades and possibly the Tuuks, too? Or maybe you really do just want new skates, and you should therefore ignore me.
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Does anyone have any experience with replacing just the blade (particularly for goalie skates)? About how much does this cost? Are there any durability issues? I've had my skates since about 2004. Conservatively, I'd estimate that I've played about 200 games in them during that time, going 6-8 games between sharpenings. It's gotten to the point where I only have about 3/8" of blade left in the middle (there is only a scant 1/8" at the front/back edges of the Tuuks where the blades begin to curve upward).

I only paid about $130 for these skates and I'd probably spend a similar amount on a new pair. The boots are comfortable, and the thought of breaking in new skates does not appeal to me. On the other hand, spending as much or more for replacement blades than new skates would cost is kind of foolish.
 
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Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

You can replace the steel on regular skates; goalie skates I'm unsure of. If you take the insole out and look inside the skate, you may see two plugs--one in front and one at the heel. If those are there, you should be able to replace just the steel for between $50 and $75. You'll need a special hinged screwdriver-type tool to replace them. If there's not access and there aren't bolts/screws outside the skate, you're screwed and need new skates.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

HockeyBum said:
Does anyone have any experience with replacing just the blade (particularly for goalie skates)? About how much does this cost? Are there any durability issues? I've had my skates since about 2004. Conservatively, I'd estimate that I've played about 200 games in them during that time, going 6-8 games between sharpenings. It's gotten to the point where I only have about 3/8" of blade left in the middle (there is only a scant 1/8" at the front/back edges of the Tuuks where the blades begin to curve upward).

I only paid about $130 for these skates and I'd probably spend a similar amount on a new pair. The boots are comfortable, and the thought of breaking in new skates does not appeal to me. On the other hand, spending as much or more for replacement blades than new skates would cost is kind of foolish.
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It's $50-75, depending on the blade and where you get them done. Westwood was $50 for my old skates - standard CCM fit steel, the same as original equipment. George's in St. Paul charges $75 for new steel. Goalie blades are probably an extra $5-10 because of the extra length they have.

Maybe it was just me, but when I replaced my steel it felt like I had to get used to the blades for about the first half-hour of my ice time. The change in height isn't something that you would think could throw you off, but there I was, a bit thrown.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

goldy_331 said:
I plan (hope) to finally play in the posters game in St. Paul this year after threatening to do so for years.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the poster's game this year, I started playing hockey last fall (2009) and while I'm certainly not the greatest, I'd love to play in the poster's game, is there a thread yet for it?
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I need a new helmet, the current one just got burned tonight. I was playing in my outdoor league, and with the weather being below zero, the ice gets brittle. We were the second game of the night. Given that, there were quite a few cracks and holes formed in the ice tonight by the time my game started. Playing D, skating backwards while a guy was coming in on me. I'm about to make a move when my left skate hits one of those divots and I go down like a ton of bricks. I'm told that I just landed flat from butt to head, but then my head bounced off the ice and landed again. I certainly have the headache enough to agree with that account. The guy in charge made me quit for the night, and it was probably for the best. I felt a little dazed for a couple minutes, but then I was fine. Still, I need a new helmet now. I think I might look into one of those expensive ones with the advanced concussion protection.
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

techcodemonkey said:
I was wondering about the poster's game this year, I started playing hockey last fall (2009) and while I'm certainly not the greatest, I'd love to play in the poster's game, is there a thread yet for it?
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Agree completely with XYZ. The only players who might want to think twice are those that have played at a truly elite level. They're likely to be bored to tears by ordinariness of the rest of us. Everyone else should definitely go for it!
 
Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

St. Clown said:
...Still, I need a new helmet now. I think I might look into one of those expensive ones with the advanced concussion protection.
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Glad it wasn't worse.:cool:

Go for the advanced model; you've more than earned it.
 
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