IPv6Freely

Elbow pads??

Yes, heat moulding IS the end all be all of the fit. That's the entire point.

I didnt have any issues with mine, but yes it was impossible for me to get the boot on prior to baking. This shouldn't be surprising to you, they're meant to be heat molded.

As somebody who hasn't been following this thread and is therefore watching the videos all for the first time, at the same time, I will say.. wow. What a huge difference. Even the difference between the Jan 14 and Jan 25 videos is staggering. Quite honestly, I think your skating backwards is even better than your skating forwards. Crazy. I wish I could skate backwards like that, and I've been playing hockey for like 7 years now. I'm super impressed.

It's so weird seeing pictures of people in a butterfly position with the 5-hole shut and they don't have their knees together at all. I squeeze my thighs together as much as I possibly can and still have a 4-6" gap. This is pretty much what mine looks like:

What do you mean by 'knee flaps'? I'm honestly still a bit confused, but I'm probably just misunderstanding or not picturing it right.

It's the GAA that hurts. Then again, the 14-3 loss kind of killed that. It had previously been hovering around 3.00 which I was very happy with. There are enough goals scored in this league that 3 GA will win you most games.

I'm not sure I'd be up doing doing 3-on-3. Not for any longer than maybe 20 minutes at the end of a stick time or something. Can you explain how making your thigh rise smaller will close your butterfly more?

Total Hockey, and only in store at this point.

The toe box, the heat mold-ability and the fact that it isn't a ski boot are the biggest plusses for me.

Decent enough game on Sunday. We won 11-4 (though the official score sheet says 10-4... they do that sometimes, stop recording goals over 10). With the exception of one stupid play trying to poke a puck away that had gone up in the air and getting caught (and luckily not paying for it), the play was pretty good. First and second periods weren't especially eventful but they turned it on in the 3rd and I got pretty busy. I'm fairly happy overall with my play. The second goal I should have had though, no excuse for a puck to go through me like that.

Nice.

We have a Monday at 11am skate here that actually HAS A COACH to do drills with. Usually 5-6 on the ice total. I really wish I was in town more often so I could go to one of those. Daytime public skating at another rink has at most 3-4 on the ice, two of which are a figure skating pair that practice every day.

I hear you. 6 goals against when you're getting shelled is one thing, 6 goals against when they only managed to get 6 shots is another. It sucks. Hang in there. As for stick time, honestly I'd expect it to be totally dead based on your description. Regardless get out there and work on some movement drills. Don't even take shots until near the end.

More moldable, though I'd agree that the selling point is that they're shaped to your foot (and then the heat moulding makes them wrap around your foot.. Almost TOO well, actually)

He's been wearing them for quite some time, in Graf cowlings.

The down time during pickups is probably a more likely bet than during a game, but those are so damn long the whole 'trying to save energy' thing is multiplied even more. 90-100 minutes on the ice without any significant amount of rest is brutal. At least games have whistles! I've started including a small bit of footage of me putting my mask back down and grabbing my stick only 3-4 seconds before having to make a save just to show how little time I often have for a break. Hell, there's been times I've skated out of the net with my bottle because they seem to have decided only THEY get water breaks. By the end of the last video I posted I was barely able to skate back to the benches, and definitely needed somebody to open the door for me. I can definitely tell when I haven't been working out, it really shows on the ice. What I REALLY need to do is to actually just hit the open ice times or stick time/puck play. Just wear the lowers and maybe the mask (just in case) and work on movement. However being on the road away from home almost every single week kills that idea for the most part. I hate travel! I also really should hire a goalie coach, even if just for 1-2 sessions. It's not THAT expensive and would probably go a long way. That said, even if I'm not specifically working on some things, its definitely getting better in general. I just can't wait for my new pads... likely mid february!

We don't really have warmups. 3 minutes usually spent stretching and taking a couple shots. As far as working on stuff during the game I'm not sure how you find the time. I'm trying to catch my breath when the puck is at the other end. Also trying to keep focus on the play. I'm also trying to not go down more than I have to so my legs aren't shot by the 3rd period. I wish I had more time, I just don't. I also can't just work on things if I don't actually know how to do them correctly in the first place.

Nope. The only ice I see is my games on Sunday and occasionally pickup on Tuesday. No time to work on anything.

Here's the video from last night's pickup. Messed up the camera angle, but improved it (slightly) eventually. I was pretty happy with the play for the most part. After the disaster of Sunday's game, this was a nice confidence booster. I was really dying by the end though - it really shows when I haven't been working out! Highlights/Lowlights: - Fixed the camera at 01:36 - Yard sale leading to a goal at 02:39 - Hat trick in a single shift at 04:04 - Forgot how to goalie at 05:12 - Guy getting dinged in the chops at 06:58 - Bad decision on a breakaway at 07:08 - Decent glove at 07:28 - Oops at 08:42 Yeah that one was especially bad. Also the one that I went paddle down for some inexplicable reason and leaving a good 8-10 inches of net open on the side. Just a horrible decision. I agree the D didn't play well, they know this team's entire game plan is "give Harley Quinn the puck and let him score" and they really need to cover him more. This is the team we beat when we only had 5 skaters, too. We won THAT game because we had a guy basically stapled to him the entire game.

Yea, I tried lol. Refs jumped in too quick. He'd better not come anywhere near the crease, that's for sure. He might get a bit of a love tap, Hextall style. Honestly you can chirp all you want, but once that final buzzer goes have some class and shake hands.

Here's the video from my Sunday game. Not a good one. Lost 9-2. I was WAY off on my angles, down too early, out of position etc. All of that compounded by a guy who decided to chirp me the entire game. Had enough by the end after he decided he was going to skate past me in the handshake line. Unfortunately no footage of the "altercation" at the end, because I'd taken the GoPro down already by that point. The guy with two different socks with the ponytail has absolutely zero class. He's the same guy that bailed early after we beat them when we only had 5 skaters a few weeks ago. Even the refs thought it was ridiculous. Unfortunately he wasn't actually breaking any rules (though I have seen refs in this league give out misconducts for taunting before). Anyway, from a "using my footage to improve my game" standpoint, I'll be forgetting this one. There was nothing good about my play. Moving away from shots, losing my angle, going down early, awful rebound control, etc. Keep in mind I cut these videos down to all my saves and all my goals against; you'll notice there were very few saves in this one. Anyway, enjoy, or whatever.

If you only have 7 guys and are facing a ton of breakaways you should be asking your D to have one guy stay right back. Well often have a guy at our own blue line or red line unless he gets a chance to jump into the play, when we're short. Just keep battling and try not to overthink.

I say go for it! Seriously though... I found it's not so much the knees as the hips (assuming you wear decent knee pads). Lower back was an issue for me for a little while, just because the crouch you're not used to being in, but it does get better. With your injury you might be okay, or you might want to consider a back brace. Shock Doctor makes a couple depending on how much support you actually need.