marka

Howdy, Right, but "wide" differs in meaning between boot models even within the same manufacturer. I'm hoping to get some idea what these particular boots are like. I can't even figure out if they're heat moldable, from the website? Given the cost, even at full retail, I've got to expect that these aren't anything too advanced but ?? Mark

Howdy, So... For the Marsblade O1 + boot combo... What's the sizing of the boot like? I wear a 7.5 D Mako for ice. The volume and forefoot width are both arguable too small, but the combination of the heat moldability plus the metatarsal guard spreading out the lace load I think makes them work. But they do work and I have no issues being in them for say five hours at a go when I ref. I don't brush the endcaps with my toes, but it doesn't seem like there's a ton of room in there either. The Bauer scanner thinks I should be in a 7.5EE Supreme. I've got an older pair of 8D Ribcores that I could convert, but I'm thinking of just getting the boot / holder combo, particularly at the $280 price vs. $200 for the holder itself. The Ribcores also feel a little sloppy compared to the Makos, so its not like they're at all perfect either. edit: Standing on a ruler, my right foot seems to be ~26.8cm and left is ~26.5cm Mark

Howdy, So, Marsblades... I guess specifically the original O1's... Everything seems to say that they "feel like ice skates." I'm trying to understand that a bit. I've never played roller hockey. I do have a pair of inlines, but they're super cheap Vapors that don't fit that great. They use a hilo chassis setup with 76 fronts and 80 backs. When I skated with them, it felt like my feet were on skis or something. Unless my foot was in the air, I couldn't rotate/turn my foot at all. I got some extra 72mm wheels and put them on to rocker the "contact patch" a bit and that helped some. It felt a little more like skating on ice, where if your weight is over the balls of your feet, you can rotate your foot essentially without resistance. But still not great. Then I tried the extra 76 front in the back position, so that my wheels (front to back) were 72, 76, 80, 76. That felt the most like being on ice. But I noticed I didn't have much 'rear stability'. It frequently felt like I was going to fall backwards if I didn't concentrate on keeping my weight on the balls of my feet. Which all brings me to my question about Marsblades... It seems like the point of the system is to let your foot rock back and forth longitudinally on top of the chassis... But all four wheels are pressing down into the skating surface equally still, right? So does your foot still feel locked in one direction when there's weight on it? I guess I'm wondering if the feel is different enough to what I have with my "regular' inline skates to be way more like ice skating. With all the rinks shut down and my guess that they're either not coming back soon or that I won't be willing to be in them if there are two teams worth of people in there, I'm considering getting a little more serious about using inlines for off ice stuff. Most of the reviews I see are from people that already do a lot of roller hockey. I'm curious about the perspectives on this stuff from folks that have never really skated inline very much. Mark

Howdy, Well, one of my local rinks has ice again, but its not for us... https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/04/16/bradys-run-park-ice-arena-refrozen-coronavirus-bodies/ Mark

Howdy, Our team was holding its own pretty well. I would say that the past couple seasons we've been in the "above average but not dominant" range and this session was similar. Things were shaping up that sometime later this month we'd likely have been going into playoffs with a realistic shot at a championship game rematch against the top team in our division, hoping to be on the other side of the 2 games to 1 defeat we had last season. And now its all cancelled. The rink shuts down in the summer months, and last week they officially pulled the plug on restarting before fall. Mark

Howdy, Also... If this is causing you stress and you want to just have it be done with... I don't think anyone would fault you for deciding that skip SummerJam this year. These are pretty wild and unprecedented days. If the Olympics can be cancelled / postponed a year... 🙂 Mark

Howdy, I really hope that we're all playing hockey before August 1st. And I'm for sure still wanting to come to SummerJam, assuming its going to happen, as long as I'm not putting myself or others at risk. At this point, I think it almost has to be a wait and see attitude though? Particularly for folks in the NYC area. If I were you, I'd put a line in the "date sand" out there (like maybe a week before the earliest "money has to be spent / stuff ordered" date?) and then essentially forget about it and concentrate on home life. Mark

Howdy, Interesting. How come? It sounds like its more than just comfort? Mark

Howdy, I have a love affair with Warrior Covert QRL and QRL Pro gloves. I absolutely love the (tight) way they fit, even more than the QRE's that replaced them (14" QRL's are perfect. 14" QRE's are a little short in the fingers and 15" are a touch too long). I probably have three or four pairs at this point and have auto searches on ebay. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Baierl? They're still open for adult league, AFAIK. Which is fucking ludicrous. I'm not going to attribute it to trying to squeeze money vs. trying not to lose a ton of money / make sure they can keep paying their employees. Or even a misguided attempt at providing a place people can go to not go stir crazy. But its all just so "not the right thing to do". Mark

Howdy, Same general area as BenBreeg. One of the rinks I ref and play at closed. Two others nearby that I don't currently go to are closed. One's still open (the one he mentions). Another is so poorly run that I would expect they haven't yet heard about the Corona Virus. I think the one BenBreeg mentioned as still being open is a matter of hours until they make the right decision and close, but ?? Either way, I won't be there. My real question is if stuff like the Toronto Draft Tournament at the end of May is going to happen. Mark

Howdy, Not that big a surprise. Mine is a tight squeeze for CXN holder steel (new, Step). It fits, but there's no extra room. Mark

Howdy, Yeah, typically all the out-of-towners end up at the same hotel and usually Friday's get together is there. Not a 'requirement' to stay there or anything, but it makes it easier. JR negotiates a block of rooms rate. IIRC I think NJ is $200/night? I'm guessing you could probably find a buddy to share a room with but ?? I usually have my family with me and I'm one of those folks that likes to escape off to be by themselves at times so I've never tried to get a roomie. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Yep, exactly this. Anyone know the details for these? Mark

Howdy, Usually a dinner/get together the night before and the night of the game, generally later in the evenings for both (at least for an old man like me). I would say at these events the ice time / manufacturer demo / whatever is roughly half of the experience for me, with the other half being those get togethers or other activities (like if you've got family with you and do the tourist thing or something). "Worth it" is kinda a personal thing. Its worth it to me. Mark

Howdy, Whoa! So routine tests led to them finding that vs. any type of episode/symptoms? That sounds actually fairly lucky if so? Any restrictions on activities or anything? Mark

Howdy, Still jealous of all that empty ice. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Yep, should be good. 🙂 Assuming we're not all sick. 😕 Mark

Howdy, Sorry to read about your son's head injury! Hopefully no long term effects. I really wish that manufacturers would prioritize protection over looks/weight/gimmicks and then back that up with published testing results. The poor VT testing results and this anecdotal report have certainly put an end to any interest I had in the new True lid, despite my interest in the MIPS system. Mark

Howdy, I'm still just amazed that someone has the same stick they want to use four years later. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Yeah, those answers feel right to me (not that I have the hockey history that most here do). But I'm not finding that stuff in the rulebook. This rule is about the puck going out of play: https://www.usahockeyrulebook.com/page/show/1084689-rule-631-puck-out-of-bounds-or-unplayable And this is about hand passes: https://www.usahockeyrulebook.com/page/show/1084666-rule-618-handling-puck-with-hands The handpass rule specifically says "directly to a teammate"... Nothing about the other team getting possession or whatever. It seems like if a deflection out of play counts as a 'last play' (and I can certainly see that), it ought to count if its a deflection off a goaltender's pads too, right? And therefore that wouldn't be a handpass? I'm asking because I frequently struggle to find the "of course" answers to weird situations like this in the actual black and white rule book. Which I'm pretty sure is more an indication that I don't know how to read the book, more than anything else. And which I'd like to get better at, because I hate not knowing the underlying rules in those weird situations. Mark

Howdy, So, sorta morphing this into my "ask weird rules questions" thread... Does a deflection count as a "play"? I ask for two situations... 1) a shot is taken from the neutral zone, with all offensive players on-sides. It deflects off a defenseman in the offensive zone, going out of play. Face off location is supposed to be determined by the last play, but I'm not sure if the shot is the last play or the deflection is. 2) offensive player in the offensive zone bats the puck with his hand. Puck deflects off the goalie's pads, to another offensive player. Hand pass or not? If you REALLY want to help me out, you could specify which USA hockey rule applies with your answer. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, I think everyone is going to have different patterns for usage. And what works for you is going to depend on what steel, what hollow, how sensitive you are, etc. etc. For me (regular Step steel, 3/4 Fire hollow), I don't notice a difference in the way my skates feel for say the first 6 to 8 hours or so on the ice. Lately what I've been doing is making 3 passes every 6 to 10 hours or so. I'm not religious about it. If I haven't sharpened for a while and I have a game, I'll probably throw them on there. If I'm just reffing, I probably won't. Mark

Howdy, I bet Sean would give you lessons after the morning skate on Thursday... Mark

Howdy, Is it possible to ban users from specific threads? Mark