UMWhockey

It is fun to watch right now, but if the game tomorrow is played the caps have to stop with this sleep walking through the first 30 min of each game. The last 4-5 games have been 30 min of "well they are going to loose this one" and then the final 30 min are more of a "I don't think anyone can beat this team" Would like a full 60 min effort against Pit though

I beleive all three are the highest scoring teams in their leagues as well

Don't care what division you play in, 10 in a row is kinda good

So looks like the shop will have FBV in the next day or so. Excited to finally be able to give it a go and see how it skates. Only took a year+ to get it in the shop

take it for what you will, but hockeybuzz.com is reporting that Nylander is signing with a team in the KHL www.hockeybuzz.com

I have a feeling he won't make it to the 13th round in the MSH draft tonight

Well as usual I was too lazy to change out the holders, so I went with the stock set-up. After a couple months, here is my review so far of the S17 Intro I finally couldn't skate on my 8090's anymore as they had completely fallen apart after 5 years and a lot of skating. I use Kor Shift 2 skates for coaching, so these S17's are my playing skates. I use them twice a week in Beer league and whenever I play in tournaments. Even though I am a lazy hockey player now, I still put these skates through some hard skating from time to time, so hopefully this will be a good test for the skates Fit I love the fit of the boot. The heel lock is great the after baking the skate fits real close to my foot without pressure points. The boot is a stiff boot as you would expect in a composite skate. One thing I don't like about the skate is how high cut the boot is. Not saying it needs to be a S500 type boot cut or anything, but maybe a slightly lower cut would help. I feel like I struggle with tight turns and crossovers as I can't use my ankle's as much since the book is a little constrictive. Might have to not do up the top 2 eyelets and see if that helps as I already don't do the top one. Only other thing I would change is not have the felt tongue be so thick. 8/10 - would be 10/10 if it was a little lower cut Blade/Holder It hasn't been as bad as I first through now that I have been on it for a little. I am not playing super competitive hockey anymore so it's not a huge deal for me. the holder is fairly responsive and a little stiffer then the Tuuk Lightspeed's that I have used in the past. The steel seems to hold the edges well so far. I skate on a 3/4 hollow and still get 6-7 games out of a sharpening. 7/10 Protection Coming from the 8090 and how much heavier it was then the S17 I was a little worried about protection. I just started playing D on both my adult league teams so wasn't too sure about blocking shots. After taking a couple shots off the foot, I will say I was impressed. Guess that is the advantage of a composite skate. You will feel it, but the sting went away after a minute or two and no problems afterwards. 9/10 Weight Both skates seem to weigh the same as one of my 8090's, so I would say they are very light. No complaints here 10/10 Durability This is what I was curious to find out with these skates. There were a lot of complaints about the S15 and them falling apart very quickly. I have had these skates since May and there is no real visible damage to them. All the stitching is still in great shape and the composite shell is in great shape. No cracks and the holder still looks brand new. No complaints so far. Will have to see what it is like in a couple more months. 9/10 Conclusion I have never skated in Easton before and wasn't too sure about it as I have never seen them as a real good skate company. I kinda wish I had waited until the S17 Black came out as I am not a big fan of all the silver. The only drawback so far is how high cut the boot is, but other then that I love the skates so far. My 8090's were tanks so my big question will be how long these skates will last. Can they be a skate that I am in 4 or 5 years from now? Hope this was helpful. PM me if you have any other questions. ~Mike

Ok, so I have played with, and broke both sticks as of yesterday. Here is my little comparison of the two. Bauer One95 - This stick has the best kick right off the shelf I have ever used before. I used an 87 cut down a little and with most 85 flex Easton sticks I use I tend to have to play with them a little to get a little more whip in them before I get the flex I am looking for. Not the case with this stick. From the first snap shot, the puck was jumping off the blade. What I liked the most was I could feel the flex in the stick. Some sticks I feel like I have to really go down into in order to get that flex and snap on my shot, but this stick seemed real easy to flex and the shots were effortless. The shape and grip of the shaft were right on as well. Not too tacky like the original XX Stick-ums, but still enough that when I grip the stick to shoot, my hands don't slip at all. My eagle palms are real slick, so a non grip stick just doesn't work for me. The downside of the stick is the durability. From day one the blade started to chip and it wasn't long before the blade started to go soft and eventually crack on the bottom towards the heel of the blade. Easton SE16 - This stick was a little different for me as compared to the previous SE that I had used (and loved) I broke this stick in about a month of use while both my SE sticks lasted over 6 months. I don't take a lot of slap shots, so I am not all that hard on sticks, just tend to whip them out. Compared to previous Easton sticks I have used, I really didn't like the SE16. It was the complete opposite of the Bauer where even when it broke, I just didn't really feel the nice smooth flex in the stick to really load it before shooting. It is almost like the SE16 was made stiffer then the previous SE or even the first run 100 flex S17 sticks (that were really more like an 85 flex). Maybe my stick was mis-labeled an 85 flex but was really a 100 flex. In order to really get the puck to jump off the stick, I had to really go down into a snap shot to get the flex required to get the shot speed I was looking for. That makes off balance and other quick shots much harder to take with the velocity I like. Overall I was impressed with the Bauer stick as I haven't really liked any of their previous sticks. The biggest disappointment for me was the SE16. If you read back through any other reviews that I have done, I have always spoke very highly of the Easton sticks I have used, but I was truly disappointed in the SE16. Hopefully I just got a bad stick off the production line, but I was not impressed. ~Mike

So between this and the stick reviews, I have some new toys to play with. These S17's are a size 8 and I have skated about 5 games with them so far. First impression is that the boot is great. It does a great job of locking my heel in the boot and the baking really molded the skate well around my foot for a nice tight fit. One thing I don't like is how thick the tongue on the skate is. The went with the pro felt tongue and for the way the rest of the boot fits I just am not a fan of the thick tongue. I am not one to block shots eaither, so I really don't need the protection. Before I really get down to the details of what I like and don't though, I am going to need to put some Lightspeeds on these skates as I can't stand the holders and steel that Easton puts on these skates. Once I get the Lightspeeds on there I will have a better base to really review the skates... Til then...

Well since my replacement for my Fuel Ti grip came in as well I will do a side by side compairson of the Bauer One95 and the SE16. I have had a chance to use the SE16 twice so far and here is a little of what I think. The SE16 seems a little stiffer right off the bat then the SE did. Almost like I needed a session to "break it in" before it really started to load well. After that the puck war really jumping off the blade. I feel as though the SE16 has a little bit better puck feel over the SE as it is a little easier for me to feel where on the blade the puck is for stickhandling with my head up and also getting quick shots off. It's only one game, but I will be playing in the Labatt tournament in Laurel this weekend and should have a chance to use both the SE16 and the One95 and see how they compair. The One95 is a Malkin curve 87 flex stick-um

Going to do a review of the Easton SE16 here. I have used a lot of the easton sticks and reviewed them on the site, so this is my next in line. I just got the stick yesterday and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but will be playing in a tournament this weekend and it will get a lot of work. Easton SE 16 non grip 85 Flex Zett

I don't think we ordered anything other then what i added for myself. I need to check to see when that stuff is coming in anyway, picked up a fuel ti pro as well

Chadd... should have some new pitch steel coming here soon... mission closeout for $8 a peice..... still trying to convince Andrew to get at least the portable, will have to take him to the booth in Vegas

they did last year

2007 Easton Synergy Elite Grip Forsberg 85 RH Introduction: I'm 5'7 200 lbs, 24 years old. I skate anywhere from 5-8 times a week between playing beer league and coaching travel hockey. I am not a big slap shot guy, so my sticks don't take that kind of a beating, but I would say I have an above average wrist and snap shot in which I really put a lot of flex into the stick. With that, I whip out sticks long before they break. Aesthetics: I am starting to care less and less about what my equipment looks like, so this is not a big deal to me. I think the stick looks sharp without being overly flashy. 9/10 Assembly: I can't say I really looked that closely at the stick before I got it. I didn't notice anything cosmetic wrong with the stick and there seemed to be nothing wrong at the taper or the blade when I received the stick. 9/10 Weight and Balance: Coming off using the Stealth, the adjustment wasn't as big for me as the adjustment I made from the Si-core to the Stealth. The stick is very well balanced, much better than the Stealth, which added to more puck control. I think Easton's goal was to make it more balanced than previous models and they did a wonderful job. 10/10 Blade: Maybe this stick took a little more of a beating then my Stealth did, but the blade was not as durable in the SE as it was in the Stealth. Off the shelf, the blade was a little softer than the Stealth, which I liked. It offered better puck control and receiving. As I used the stick more and more the blade started chipping much more than it did with the Stealth, along with getting much softer than I like a blade to be. I guess there is a give and take between making a stick more balanced and giving it better blade stiffness. 6/10 Shaft/Flex: I have always loved the 85 flex Easton makes. They always have a very good feel when I flex them and creates a perfect flex for me to shoot with power out of any position. The shaft seemed a little thicker than the Stealth, which provided for a softer puck feel which I like. The shaft also seemed to fit a little bit better in my hands which made it a little more comfortable to play with than the Stealth. 10/10 Stickhandling and Passing: This stick had a slightly unfair advantage over the Stealth since I was now used to a much lighter stick than in the past. That being said, I had much better feel with the SE than with the Stealth. The shaft seemed a little thicker along with a softer blade gave me much better control as well as better feel. My only problem was that the blade went too soft too soon and I lost a little bit of the strength in face offs and battles for the puck. 8/10 Shooting: Although the stick felt better to me off the shelf, I was able to whip out the stick a little too quickly. To me the stick shoots much better than the Stealth right off the shelf, but the Stealth had a lot more durability as far as maintain stiffness. Also I felt the stiffer blade of the Stealth gave me a better slap shot as opposed to the SE which went soft and made it hard to transfer all my energy to the puck as well as keep it online. for a pure shooting aspect, the Stealth is a better stick 8/10 Durability: Like I said before, I do whip out sticks, but don't break them very easily. While the stick has yet to break, it is broken down. This shaft and blade chip very easily. My stick looks like I have had it for years, even though I have played with it for about 3 months. I was very disappointed with the durability of the stick and hope the S17 has improved on this flaw. 5/10 Performance drop: This was also another area where I was disappointed in the stick. The blade went soft after only a couple weeks and the shaft whipped out much sooner than with the Stealth. While the softer blade and shaft allow me to take quicker and harder off balance shots, I am unable to get the max out of a hard wrist or slap shot in which I really try to get my weight into. 6/10 Conclusion: Off the shelf this is a better stick I felt than the Stealth which I had before. It would be my stick of choice if I had an endless supply of them and was able to use a new one every couple of weeks. Like most of us though, I don't have that luxury. I need a stick that can take a beating and maintains it's stiffness. I put a lot of flex into my wrist and snap shots and need a shaft and blade that can hold up to it. If the next stick I buy is an Easton, I might have to go back to the Stealth. 8/10 Sorry that I compared this stick to the Stealth the entire time, but since it was the last stick I had used it gave me something to compare it to. Hope someone finds this review helpful. ~Mike

Product: Mission Pure S500 Carbon 7.5 D Reviewer specs: 5’7’’, 200lbs Intro I use these as my coaching skates, so I am on them anywhere from 2-4 hours a week. It might not seem like they would get put to the test, but I am a very active coach who demonstrates everything and half and full speed, and I am not really as light on my skates as I used to be about 30 lbs ago. Fit Well I finally gave up the dream that I might grow another couple inches and got a skate where my toes were right at the end. Coming from a very stiff skate I figured these would fit much better out of the box than my last pair. After baking them I had very little if any break in period. Even with this being a lower cut book, I still left the top eyelet undone and felt as though I was able to secure my heel and foot in the boot with no sliding. I always knew I needed a lower cut boot, but never had one so I knew there would be an adjustment period. The boot gave me a lot of flexibility in my ankle while still providing support when I need to make hard turns or stops. This is by far the best fitting boot I have skated in. 10/10 Blade/Holder I have used E-pro and TUUK lightspeeds in my previous skates and I really liked the lightspeeds. I was not impressed with the holder even though I really like the pitch idea. I wish I had a reason for not liking it, but they just didn’t feel as responsive in quick stops and starts or hard turns as compared to the lightspeeds. That being said, I absolutely love the steel! It takes me a little longer to put an edge on it as compared to the TUUK, but it holds it’s edge so much better. It is by far the best steel on the market. holder- 7/10 Steel – 10/10 Protection Well I don’t use these in games, so I haven’t taken too many shots to the foot. I have stopped a couple passes which bounced and hit my foot and lets just say I would not want to block a slap shot in these things. 5/10 Weight I don’t need a super light skate and these didn’t feel heavy. They are not going to be for the person concerned with the weight of their skate, but the one plus is that I didn’t feel as though it retained water after skating multiple times a day during a week. 8/10 Durability I have had them for a little over a year and have a slight tear at the base of the tendon guard. I thought about fixing it, but it really hasn’t worsened since I noticed it. Other than that, they still provide the support when I need it, but the flexibility in the ankle area. 8/10 Conclusion This is a skate for someone who skates side to side more than forward and back. The lower cut, softer boot allows for quick lateral movements and changes in direction. Like Chadd said, this is not a skate for someone learning how to skate. This is for someone who knows how to properly use their edges by keeping their body weight over their skates, not letting the boots stiffness hold them up. This skate is not for everyone, but can be very beneficial for the advanced skater looking for a little more agility. 9/10

Itech 908Ti cage Fit: I have not noticed much difference in fit compaired to my Bauer cage. Although they both do fit diffently, my not noticing the difference is a good sign for Itech. This cage fits very well and in no way hinders my vision. 10/10 Protection I take a lot of sticks to the cage, which is probably a product of playing adult league in NC and only being 5’7’’. The biggest thing for me is that a cage can one, stop a stick or puck, and two, not dent or chip. This cage has passed both with flying colors. I have taken the stray stick and puck a couple times and still looks new. 10/10 Weight Isn’t this the whole reason for getting the cage in the firs place. This cage weighs nothing. It doesn’t affect the balance of the helmet and still provides the protection you need. 10/10 Durability Now this might be the biggest plus to the helmet. I am not exactly the best at taking out my gear to air it out, so my Bauer cages have rusted very easily. One of the reasons I wanted this cage was in hopes of never having to buy another one and so far so good. I have had this cage for about 8 months and it still looks new. No signs of rust anywhere. 10/10 Intangibles Not really much here. I have very good vision with the cage. I had the benefit of getting the cage at cost, so the price wasn’t a drawback at all. Looking at how this cage holds up, if you are willing to spend the money, it is a very wise investment. 10/10 Conclusion Price aside, this by far the best cage on the market. If you are looking for something long term, than look no farther. This can very easily be the last cage you ever have to buy. 10/10

Medium Mission Intake Helmet Fit: 9/10 I have used two bauer 5000 helmets before this and really like the Mission helmet. Now I gave it a 9/10 because the helmet is extremely comfortable and fit my head well. My reason for the 1 point deduction was just how tall the helmet is. Remember kids, it’s not how you play, but how you look. Protection: 8/10 Not that I have been hurt using this helmet, but the one drawback is that if I take a shot to the head, I do feel it a little more than when using the Bauer 5000. Maybe it is how I get hit, or maybe I just got hit so hard in my Bauer helmet that I can’t remember anything. Really any helmet out there is going to protect you well, it is all just an opinion on my part. Weight: 10/10 This helmet is very light in my opinion. I use the Itech TI cage with it and the whole package is much lighter then the Bauer helmet I used previously. Durability: 10/10 I have had this helmet for about 8 months and it looks like it is still new. By now my Bauer helmet would have started to have problems with the padding inside, where as with the Mission helmet the padding still feels like new and there are no signs of anything starting to fall apart. Intangibles: 8/10 The helmet does help keep your head cool, which is a very big plus, but like I said before, I think the helmet looks a little too tall. I think the Bauer helmet is a little shorter and provides a better look, but if I was going to buy another helmet anytime soon, it would be another Intake. Overall: 9/10 Really the only helmet that I believe competes with this is the RBK helmet. From what limited experience I have with the RBK helmet, I believe that the Intake is a better made helmet at a slightly better price point. I have been extremely happy with my Mission Intake and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new helmet.

2006 Easton Stealth CNT Forsberg 85 RH Introduction: I'm 5'7(on a good day) 200 lbs, 23 years old. I guess I can be light on my stick since they do last me a long time, but I do whip them out long before they break. During the winter season I playing two adult leagues and coach travel three times a week. In the summer I teach private lessons and work with some goalies as well, so my sticks get a lot of use. I received this stick around March 2006 and it broke mid February 2007. Aesthetics: I have never been someone who likes flashy equipment, so this stealth wasn't too bad. I prefer a grip stick, but to be honest, the blue appeals to me a lot more than the red grip does. I really don't care too much for how a stick looks and the way that Easton designed the graphics didn't keep me from trying or using the stick, so they did their job as far as I am concerned. 8/10 Assembly: Although the previous post provided a lot of problems with stick upon delivery, mine was quite the opposite. I only had one blemish that I noticed, which was right about where the taper started. It looked as if a chunk had been taken out of the shaft and someone had tried a quick fix hoping that no one would notice. I thought this would affect performance and durability, but to my surprise it didn't really affect anything. 6/10 Weight and Balance: This was my first time using one of the super lite performance sticks. My last Easton stick was a Si-core grip which I loved. Not so much for the so called technology in the blade, but for the weight of the stick. The Stealth took a couple weeks to get used to. The shaft felt very hollow, more so than the previous years stealth, which I did not like. I was surprised how balanced a stick that light could be. After adjusting to the weight, I felt as though I could pull off some moves which I had a little trouble with before. It is not like it was a huge difference, but being able to get over a defenseman's stick a split second faster and make the difference in beating him or getting tied up. All in all, I was very impressed with how light it was and the balance it provided. 9/10 Blade: If anything was going to go early on this stick, I figured the blade would be the first. I have used the Forsberg/modo curve for a long time and really have no plans on changing. I matched this with the si-core I have and they were very close, at least to the point where I couldn't tell a difference when playing with the stealth. With how light the blade feels and how many slap shots I take when I work with goalies, I didn't think it stood a chance. To this day the blade is still in tact, just not the shaft. At first the blade felt very lively. I noticed a difference in my shot, but also had a little trouble receiving hard passes. I guess with the si-core I got a little lazy, but had everything under control within' a week or so. The blade stayed stiff throughout the life of the stick and other than a few chips here and there, I felt it was the best feature of the stick. 10/10 Shaft/Flex: Having tried the previous year's stealth and then using this one, I would say I liked the older model better. This one felt a little too hollow to me. Maybe it is just that I like a little more weight in my stick, but the vibrations that were caused by the shaft and blade were it's biggest downfall to me. As far as the flex, it felt a little stiffer than previous 85 flex Easton's I have used. It could be that I am used to my old whipped out stick, but the extra stiffness did bother me at first. After a couple ice sessions I could feel the stick start to give a little more and get into my comfort zone. To my surprise, after becoming a little whippier right off the bat, the stick held it's stiffness for about 5 months before the shaft started to whip out. I am a player who will use anything from an intermediate stick to a 100 flex, so when a stick starts to whip out it really doesn't bother me. When my stick broke, it was right where that little repair I talked about earlier was. Can't say I was disappointed though, the stick lasted a lot longer than I expected. 8/10 Stickhandling and Passing: Here is where the biggest adjustment came. Using the lighter stick took some getting used to as far as my puck control goes. At first I felt as though I was just hitting the puck back and fourth when I was stickhandling, where as I like to feel as though I am pulling the puck from side to side. As with anything, this took a little time to get used to and was the biggest overall adjustment I had with this stick. While my puck skills may not be the best in the world, I do rely on them when in traffic and the sensation of hitting the puck hinders my quickness in my stickhandling, so it was frustrating at first. After the adjustment period I started to learn the feelings and feedback that the stick provides and once I got used to how light the stick was, felt as though I could pull moves off a little quicker just due to the lightness of the stick. Passing was not much of an adjustment, but receiving was. The blade seemed to have a little jump in it, which is good for shooting, but hindered me when reciveing hard passes. Like I said before, this took a little adujustment, but really required me to stop being lazy and receive passed like I am supposed to. The hot blade along with the flex in the shaft allowed me to release passes harder and quicker. Also, the little flex in the blade help with controlling the passes. 8/10 Shooting: Here is where the stick makes it's money. After the initial period where I felt the stick was too stiff, the stick became the best shooting stick I have used. Usually a stick is either good for wrist and snap shots or good for slap shots depending on flex and blade stiffness. This stick provided me with the best of both worlds. It provided me enough flex when I lean on it a little to get off quick accurate wrist and snap shots, but also enough resistance to lean all over a hard slap shot. As you can tell from above, I am not the lightest person in the world, and I attribute most of that to beer, so having a stick that gives me a quick hard wrist shot and holds up on big slappers it always a plus. I didn't notice any real loss as far as my shot goes until the end of the sticks life. For a good 9 months this stick held up as though it was new, and always let me get off a hard accurate shot no matter the situation or shot selection. 10/10 Durability: Like I said before, I do whip out sticks, but don't break them very easily. The stiffness in the blade and in the shaft surprised me. I was able to have the same performance in the beginning as I did in the end. This stick lasted me almost a year and I used it anywhere from 3-5 times a week. I play center, so the blade did take a pounding on face-offs, but held up much better than any stick I have used before. Even though this is a high end stick and comes with the high end price tag, I would say that you would get your money’s worth with how long this lasted for me. 10/10 Performance drop: I never really noticed a performance drop in this stick. Maybe it was because I needed it to whip out a little to suit my game well, but it really stood the test of time. I still have the blade even though the shaft is in two pieces, and the blade feels just as stiff as it did when I got it in the mail. 9/10 Conclusion: Although this review fails in comparison to the previous one, I hope this provides another opinion to the CNT. From working in shops for a couple years I have played around with a lot of sticks, but don't have long term exposure to many of them since when I find something I like, I stick with it. That may be why I still have 3 more si-core sticks at my house. I always stayed away from the light performance sticks because I never liked the puck feel, but after using the Stealth CNT for almost a year I have a new found respect for them. I loved the way this stick performed and how long it lasted. There was an adjustment period for me, but after that I enjoyed the consistent performance the stick provided. This is a stick I would recommend to anyone out there who is looking for a high end stick with durability. 9/10 I also wanted to thank the people at Easton. This stick was sent to me and I will say it surpassed all my expectations. I hope someone finds this review at least somewhat helpful if you are looking into buying a Stealth CNT in the near future. ~Mike

Understood, thanks. Mt. Vernon is my local (30 min) rink, they used to have a pro-shop across the road, but it moved to waldorf (I think) so my closest is in reston (45 minutes) and the guys are great, but the stock is limited. I buy when I can, and I don't need skates, was just looking for mid level alternatives, to see if they fit me better Thanks though really ashburn and laurel are the best shops in the DC area. Other then that you will end up with a limited stock of gear.

had one in the shop today..... told me up front, so i told them it was $30 to get fitted if not buying at the shop.... and they paid the $30, which was more than the difference between the internet and my shop :lol:

someone want to pay for me to fly out there? If we did something in the summer and they do the Powerskating Symposium just outside of detroit then i will be in the area then..

Helmet: Bauer 5000 Shoulder Pads: Sherwood SP 5030 Tradition Elbows: Jofa 9066 Pants: Tackla 5000 Shin Pad: Jofa 9060 Skates: Bauer 8090 Gloves: Eagle X70 Navy Blue Sticks: Bauer XX P9 87 flex, Bauer XXX P9 87 flex, Synergy Si-core grip modano 85 flex, CCM V-130 Recchi regular flex. Will eaither be getting RBK equipment or Bauer equipment for some hockey camps i am teaching this summer, plus might be getting the KOR skates which i really am looking forward to skating in.