2nhockey

Every single time I am playing and think I will try playing without shoulders next game... something will happen that makes me glad I was wearing them. Last time was a puck to the ribs, before that it was a shot to the chest... once I got sandwiched between a massive guy that was bigger than me (and I’m bigger than many) and my goalie... me and the goal posts took the brunt of that... I don’t always wear shoulders for drop-in but I always do for league - and am glad for it.

I had business on the other side of the state yesterday that brought me to within 30 minutes of the hockey shop so I stopped in and found some Graf PK1900 and 3900 to try on. The 1900’s felt absolutely terrible. The 3900’s felt kind of ok. Completely different skate than the 1900. I couldn’t even see how they were related. The 3900’s just didn’t have enough volume. My feet felt like they were busting out of the skate. Pencil test failed from 2nd eyelet down all the way to about 3rd eyelet from the bottom. Second was arch pain immediately behind my arches. Do 755’s have more volume? will changing insoles solve the arch pain (burning)? thanks!

My S180’s are D width. The CCM’s were 46K’s (pump) in a 10 D that I had punched around the balls of my feet on either side of both skates and punched by my little toe just before the toe cap on both skates. Regular street shoe size is a 12.5 EE (Brooks Addiction running shoes). Since tennis shoes in EE are rare, and even more rare is half sizes over 12 my regular shoes are 12.0. I have 2 pairs of Rockports for work. Both 12’s, one is D and the other is EE. The EE is more comfortable and on the D’s you can see my feet are trying to bust out the sides. Neither is painful. the amount of skating is new but there’s been a build up over time. one thing mentioned on the radius is the fatigue. About my 2nd or 3rd game of the day I notice that while standing during warmups I feel a lot of fatigue in my hips. Wondering if the radius will change that?

Great help! so then the question is on radius. My hollow is currently set to 5/8. What will I gain/lose by going to an 11’ radius? I know what will happen if I change the hollow but don’t know what happens if I change the radius. I like the idea of two different pairs of skates. I don’t know how switching intraday from a Supreme to a 755 or PK will go but I’m open to trying.

Appreciate the help. yes, I pronate some. Not sure how bad it is and never knew I did it until I went to a runner shop for new tennis shoes and the guy there observed my gait and told me I pronate. The rivets on my skate are good. I played beer league last night and I pull my insoles after every skate and have a look. So perhaps going to a +2 is a start? What about the radius? Currently on a 9’. Is that too sharp? how about Graf width? Is the 755 going to fit like a Supreme? Or is it more Vapor? And you think Grafs will fit nearly a full size larger than Bauer? thanks again!

I wondered if the profile might be the problem. I like it for playing, though. I’m in western South Dakota. i can walk - it’s just tender. Feels like bruising...? The skates are far more comfortable than the CCM skates I came from!

I have no LHS. The nearest one is about 5-6 hours away and they only carry Bauer and CCM. Right now I am in Bauer Supreme S180’s in a 10. Aside from lace bite (cured with extensions), and me needing a size 9.75 the skates are reasonably comfortable. I’m doing quite a bit of reffing now and I’ve noticed after some of the faster games the balls of my feet hurt, like they’ve been bruised. Also, after 2 games the skates start to hurt. After 3 my feet and ankles hurt. After 4 games the foot pain is nearly debilitating and then my tolerance for the skates for the next day’s games is very low! I will spend the better part of the next week healing up so I can walk normally, just in time to skate again the following weekend. I have heard Graf skates are the way to go for reffing. I’m considering a switch to try and stop the foot pain on those days I have 3+ games (I had 9 games last weekend). Is the fit of a Graf 755 going to be close enough to my S180’s that I could order online? What about my steel? Currently on a 9’ radius at +3. Will the Graf holder and steel be close to that? Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks!

Located in Rapid City, SD. We were at A skate camp last weekend and had the local shop try to stretch the skates. The Grafs didn’t really take the stretch but they did move a touch. Then we put some Superfeet heel lifts in and she said it got her toes far enough off the cap that she could skate. It isn’t really the solution we wanted but they didn’t have the ability to punch the toe cap, either.

She’s 17 so not growing anymore. thanks for explaining the risks and process. I don’t have a lot of hope but it is a really nice skate so hoping to salvage them.

Probably less than that. If new skates are only answer then that’s what it is but hoping to not have to do that.

Thank you. heh.., great toe... son’s foot doc calls the big toe the great toe. Guess it differentiates between the big toe and if the second toe is longer... idk. The skates are Graf PK7700. They are broken in, but because the toe cap pushes on her big toe at the tip they aren’t worn beyond that at all. The width is a proper fit. I’d have to look at the insoles to be sure but I think Bauer Speedplates are in them. If not, then it will be the original Graf insole. She just needs to find 1/4” or so of space on that one spot. If new skates are the only answer - fine, I’ll get her new skates but I don’t want to if I don’t have to, cost being one consideration but the other being the 6-7 hour drive to the nearest hockey store. Thank you!

My daughter’s skates are just a hair too short on her right foot and the toe cap puts uncomfortable pressure on the great toe on her right foot. The left skate is fine. What options do we have, if any, to get that skate to fit? Thanks for any insight.

It is relatively remote here so all the club sports have similar issues. The school sports aren’t quite as bad because the kids can pile on a bus and parents don’t have to travel. When my daughter was playing in Minneapolis with some girls from a Montana they made it sound as if they fly to a lot of their games... as far as school goes, no breaks except the attendance rules aren’t strictly adhered to for athletes. School sports don’t have to worry about it but hockey... I get letters all the time about her absences. She goes to her classes before we travel and drive time and hotel time is homework time. She’s a straight-A student but her study habits are anything but orthodox.

Geeze... reading this... I live in western SD and am very fortunate to be within 20 minutes of either my adult hockey rink, the youth hockey association rink or the outdoor ice. So for practices or adult league games, 20 minutes. But... the next closest sheet of ice is 3 hours away, and it goes up from there. The kids’ league play is an average drive of probably 6 hours each way. Some of my daughter’s tournaments are 9-13 hours away each way, and more than once we’ve flown for league games. This weekend is a tournament in WY she’s skating in. 4 hours each way. Hockey is not a school sport here so we miss a lot of school or work... typically leave Thursday night or Friday morning, skate all weekend, and crash into bed Sunday night/Monday morning around 2:00 AM, short nap and then school and work Monday morning... Adult hockey is local but some of us will participate in adult tournaments and those drive times will vary but minimum is 6 hours each way... I can’t really identify with complaining about a 2-3 hour drive to play...

This was my team last year. Finally took getting bold in the locker room and declaring strategy or shift times or something as simple as where to position everyone on face offs before games to bring the team around. By the end of the season last year we were starting to come together. This year our first game is in the books (lost 2-1 in OT to a team that embarrassed us last year). Basically the captain had to become a decisive leader.

The extenders on my skates are a little bigger than the ones Colin’s put together. Also mine are set to cover 3 sets of eyelets. So I haven’t been on the ice in 2 weeks and still I have bruises and swelling... was hoping to get on the ice this weekend to try out the extensions but that doesn’t appear to be likely. Does anybody have a source for the rubber band in the video? Seems bands are a common recommendation for a lot of but I don’t know where to get them.

I went to a boot repair shop and they used a single piece of leather and fit it to eyelet 3, 4, and 5 (curved part of the boot). As soon as I can find some ice I’m going to try it out. It looks good in theory. I have concerns about the leather holding up but we’ll see.

That looks very good and works on the curve of the boot. What material did you use?

Yeah, don’t wait. If you can do some basic skating then go to drop in. Maybe wait for league play but I’d advocate drop in now. It’s been my experience the guys at drop in are more than willing to slow their play, especially in the off season, to help new players out.

Yeah, just to follow up on that... so I called the closest thing I have to an LHS (6 hours away) and he understood what I was trying to accomplish and the problem I was having. He looked at the Great Saves product and cautioned it looked like it wasn’t meant to go on the curve part of my boot where my troubles were (eyelets 3-6). Any thoughts on that? i also talked to someone that really knows his stuff up in Minneapolis and he knew what I was talking about and said he’d only ever seen them on custom skates. Thanks for the help.

Really appreciate the advice and feedback. Not exactly sure how to conduct a proper pencil test but what I did... pulled my laces and flopped the tongues out of the way. Put the skates on barefoot then tried to get my foot as deep in the skate as I could, then slid a pencil down the skate feeling for contact. Counting from the top on my left skate there was contact on eyelets 3, 4, and 5. On my right skate, which had (and still has) the bigger bruise, there was contact on eyelets 3, 4, 5, and 6. No LHS here but my daughter has a tournament coming up in Minneapolis and there are shops there. Are lace extenders a ‘while you wait’ operation or is it pretty involved? Should I send the skates off? Is there a measurement process? Thanks again for the help. Much appreciated.

I’m a pretty new, self taught player. I went thru the local rink’s Learn to Skate classes, then I jumped onto a developmental team and started playing league games (once a week for about 2-3 months). Then I played a full season on the developmental team (once a week for probably 5 months). During that time I played drop-in 2-3 times a week and would occasionally do stick-and-puck or open skates. So my skating has come a long ways. I still struggle with certain things (backwards crossunders at speed for example) but I am a competent skater in my league. In an effort to get better (in my 40’s so no prospect of college or pro hockey - I play hockey for myself to satisfy my competitive needs and stay in shape) I finally decided to go to a Laura Stamm clinic (next oldest skater was 12, so that was fun). Learned a ton about my skates and I hope I’ll emerge as a stronger skater for it. No ice locally for another 2-3 weeks so I can’t practice my moves like Jagr for a bit. The camp was 2 hours per day on ice running various edge work drills. I have been in my skates for a year and never had pain, discomfort or hot spots etc. I lace my skates (Bauer Supreme 180’s) one eyelet down, cotton laces snug, bordering on loose. On the second day of camp I had egg sized bruises on the front of both feet/ankles at about the point where the boot transitions from ‘foot’ to ‘ankle’. Someone told me that was lacebite. Wasn’t super painful but was bothersome. I got some A&R lacebite gel pads and put them in for the last day of camp. Didn’t seem to make a difference. Today, about a week later, the bruises are a little smaller but turning kind of yellow/green. Apparently I have lacebite issues. What is the best way to prevent this going forward? Remember I don’t crank my laces down. Also, is it only an issue because of the unique stresses and time on the ice for camp or can I expect more of this? Is it possible my skates/tongue just needs replaced? Thanks for any wisdom!

As I continue to play and improve I am starting to evaluate my gear more critically. I’m working on my sticks now. Last season I used a True TC4 curve and for the most part it was ok. It did most things ok for me except sauce. Whenever I’m trying to sauce the puck would flutter and frequently would bounce, rendering my passes useless. So I recently spent some time with an Easton E36 curve and I didn’t like it. I couldn’t do anything well except puck handle. I sure couldn’t lift the puck without thinking about it. So last couple of weeks I have been trying a CCM P19 curve and it does everything real well for me. It sauces great, I can backhand well, and it shoots great for me. Of course I now know P19’s don’t exist any more. So, what curve for me? Somebody recommended a Warrior Pacioretty curve. Not a super common curve but if I can find one... does anybody else have a curve recommendation? A P30 looks kind of close to what I’m after (P19). Can anyone confirm? thanks for any help!

I didn’t know the liner was repairable.

Hey, fellas - Last summer I replaced my CCM 46K’s with some Bauer Supreme S180’s. I’m really happy with the 180’s in terms of comfort. My one gripe with them is the liners on both sides of both skates on the top 2 eyelets has worn away to nothing. I haven’t even had them for a year. I play beer league once a week and I play drop-in once or twice a week. I wear my shins over my tongues. Is this rapid wear to be expected? Second question... I think I should replace the skates. Except for the liner wear I am pretty happy with the skates though I wish there was a little more impact protection. What would I be giving up by going with the S170’s? Thanks!