Science of Hockey: Hockey Gear (2024)

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Carbon-graphite sticks, aluminum shafts, and fiberglass/kevlargoalie masks are a few of the technological advances that have changed hockeygear, and consequently the game itself. In the game of hockey, the gearis uniquely personalized and meticulously prepared. The gear, like the playersthemselves, is placed in a hostile environment and receives a lot of abuse.Players, equipment managers, and scientists talk about the sticks, skates,pads, helmets, and other gear that help protect players and play a rolein the game itself.

In this section, there are RealAudio and videoclips from Sharks Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich, Exploratorium ScientistThomas Humphrey, Sharks defenseman Doug Bodger, and goalie Kelly Hrudey.

The "Hollow-Grind"

Everyone knows that skate blades are made of steel. Whatmost people don't know is that the surface of the blade is not flat, butconcave. A process called hollow-grinding carves out the center steel ina blade and produces two sharp edges. These edges give players the abilityto dig into the ice--to stop, start, or change direction.

Sharks Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich shows how tosharpen a skate.

More on the "Hollow"

Each team's equipment manager is responsible for sharpeningthe team's skates, and even the referees' skates during a home game. Sharksequipment manager Mike Aldrich took us through the process. The skate--consistsof a boot, the blade holder, and a steel blade, with the holder attachedto the boot with rivets. Once the skate is assembled it is taken over tothe sharpener.

The sharpener has a rotating stone wheel that creates the"hollow." The stone wheel itself is first shaped with a diamondtip, then the skate blade is passed over the stone a couple of times toidentify the exact center point of the wheel. Once the center point is established,the skate blade is passed over the wheel a number of times, each time becomingsmoother. A final pass is made with a light coat of oil to give the bladea polish and to remove any excess debris. The skate then gets a couple ofpasses with a hand stone and then it is wiped clean with a cloth.

Each player has his own personal preference as to how muchhollow he has in his skates. Goalies, for example, like less hollow in theirskates. This makes sense since they need to move quickly from side to side,and a deeper hollow may cause an edge to catch in the ice. Each player alsohas his own preference as to how often his skates are sharpened. Some playersmay go a couple of games between sharpenings, while others may even requestthat their skates are sharpened between periods. Occasionally, a playerwill even change the depth of his hollow depending on ice conditions.

Doug Bodger explains what happens when a player losesan edge

Losing an Edge When these edges get dulled, players will sometimes havetheir skates come out from under them. This phenomenon is called "losingan edge." A variety of factors can contribute to losing an edge. Sometimesthe skate blade will come in contact with sand or dirt in the bench areaor with a goal post. Most commonly, the skate comes in contact with anotherskate blade, during a collision or rough play near the boards. Players usuallydon't realize their blade has been dulled until they try to make a sharpturn or a stop and find themselves sprawled out on the ice.

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