Ice Hockey - Equipment
The basic equipment required to play Ice Hockey is the Puck and the Hockey Stick. In addition, there are quite a few other equipment which are discussed below.
The Puck − It is a three-dimensional circular puck made of black vulcanized rubber material. It typically measures about 80 to 85mm in diameter and 25 to 30 mm in thickness. The puck usually weighs from 1 to 1.5kg. It also has a protective covering of 2mm in thickness on the outer side.
Hockey Stick − It is basically made of wood and graphite and are 150 to 200cm in length with flat horizontal extension known as blade. The blade is positioned at an angle of 135o, making the hockey stick to look like the alphabet ‘L’. The blade is 25 to 40 cm in length and is a little bent at the end to enable the player to hold the puck on the rink. The dimensions of hockey stick vary from player to player depending upon his height. The goalie’s hockey stick has a wider blade with a smaller angle positioning compared to the skater’s hockey sticks to make it convenient to block the puck near the goal cages.
Helmet − An Ice hockey helmet comes with an optional face cage and is mandatory for all the players. These helmets are made up of a stiff however flexible thermoplastic outer, with strong shock absorbent padding on the inside to avoid head and facial injuries.
Mouth Guard − It is worn to avoid teeth, jaw injuries from knock-downs and falls. A custom made plastic mouth guard is obligatory for the players on the ice.
Neck Guard − It comes with outer nylon plates and inner padding as a wound resistant for both skaters and goalies to avoid injuries on the neck and throat areas.
Shoulder & Arm Pads − It is a key equipment with hard outer made of plastic and shock absorbing foam inside. It gives the players a broad-shouldered look. These pads mainly guard the shoulders, chest, spine and ribs in case of collision between skaters in the play.
Elbow Pads − They guards the elbow joints, upper, lower arms and forearms from fractures.
Gloves − Hand gloves made with leather with thick padding linen helps to protect player’s fingers and hands from strong impacts on the rink.
Hockey Pants − Nylon knee-length pants come with safety belts to hold the hip, tailbone, thigh & pelvic pads on the inner side.
Shin pads − The knee and leg calf protector with strong plastic outer to shield against skates, sticks, pucks and other injuries. Available in different size scales based on the player’s height and leg measurements.
Hockey Socks − A little different from the original socks, ice hockey socks are made out of knitted wool without the foot portion to cover the shin pads. Foot portion of the player in this game is used to balance the skates.
Ice Skates − Skaters need perfect firm outer shell boots and memory foam inner sole with rounded heels and attachable skate blades which is quite essential for ice hockey skaters. Unlike skaters goalies need thick and blades with more radius and a lesser amount of ankle support to easily glide with his skates. The goalie’s boot is nearby to the ice surface than a skater’s boot to stop pucks from sliding between his boots and skate blades.
Jersey − A nylon material loose coloured shirt with coloured side panels is worn by all the players. Usually the players name and number are mentioned by his team colour.
Chest and arm protector − Goaltenders need to put on thick foam padded chest and arm guard extended to the abdomen and knotted with the hockey pants to ensure seamless protection to goalie’s forearms, biceps, ribs and abdomen.
Blocker − Goaltenders need to wear blockers on one hand to hold the hockey stick. These rectangular padded gloves are used to block the pucks and bounce them back on the ice.
Catch glove or trapper − Goaltenders put on catch glove usually thicker than normal leather gloves on the other hand to block the puck by holding a rapid shot.
Leg Pads − Goaltenders’ most noticeable equipment on the ice are the completely flat faced, extensively foam padded leg pads. These pads are worn by goaltenders on top of their shin pads for additional protection and to appropriately block the puck with these pads.
