hockey sticks  ice skates  and pucks

the equipment  you need for ice hockey

The game of hockey has existed in a variety of forms for thousands of years.  Its popularity has grown most over the past few years, and today it is one of the highest played sports in many parts of the country.  There are a few vital pieces of equipment a hockey player must have: a puck, a hockey stick, and ice skates.  Once one has obtained these, they are ready to start playing.

One feature that makes hockey very different from most other sports is that it does not use a ball.  Instead, hockey uses a small, oval shaped rubber disc called a “puck”.  This puck has taken on many forms since hockey was first being played.  Historically, a puck was made from things like a piece of coal, an apple, wood, or even a clump of manure!  Then, a rubber ball was used.  This ball resembled a lacrosse ball.  However, the more advanced and well-played hockey got, the more dangerous using a ball became.  The ball was breaking windows.  At an arena in Montreal the manager got upset about the broken windows and grabbed the puck, sliced off the top and bottom of it, and gave it back to the players.  This was the final major development in the hockey puck, and has remained so for the past 50 or 60 years.

Today, ice hockey pucks are still made with rubber, specifically elastomeric rubber polymer, or vulcanized rubber.  To be even more specific, a hockey puck is made up of many other ingredients, including natural rubber, synthetic rubber and a filler, which is usually carbon black or coal dust, along with additives such as sulfur and anti-oxidant that make the puck strong, durable, and hard.  All of these ingredients are poured into a mixer and a forming process that molds and textures the puck. A hockey puck is one inch thick and three inches in diameter.  Official pucks weigh between 5 1/2 ounces and 6 ounces, but there are also other types of pucks, like lightweight pucks that can weigh between 4 and 5 ounces (good for younger children), heavier pucks that are about 10 ounces, and there are also sponge pucks that are only 2 ounces.  Some brands of ice hockey pucks are Inglasco, Encore, and Sonic.

The hockey stick is comprised of a shaft and a blade.  The stick as a whole is about 1.5 meters long, with a flat blade of 10 to 15 centimeters long.  The shaft is what one holds while they are playing, and the blade is what makes contact with the ice and puck.  The blade is sometimes curved, which helps lift the puck or control it better.