Keep it down dummy!

[Neal 41]

I've been skating with a CCM V110 Fischer pattern blade in my Innovative for a few weeks now and I'm really struggling with the open toe. Whenever I'm rushed and have to snap off a quick pass, it has a better than 75% chance of being off the ice and most of those are waist high or higher.

Is there something I should be doing to keep the puck from rising? I'm already cutting my follow through short, so I don't think thats it.

[devilsrule711 0]

try to close the the face more when you pass

[gotdangles16 0]

damn that fischer curve..i used to have one and i hated it, make the stick longer maybe. that helped me out a bit when i used it

[#94 3]

Curl your wrists over the puck when you release, beit a shot and/or pass...

[Neal 41]

gotdangles16 wrote

make the stick longer maybe. that helped me out a bit when i used it

Thanks, but I can tell you haven't seen my stick, I'm already rocking the Chara exception super long. I'm 6'3" and the butt comes to my nose when I'm on skates. Any longer and I'd have a hard time getting it through doors... :P

devilsrule711 wrote and #94 concurred

Curl your wrists over the puck when you release, beit a shot and/or pass...

Damn, this is going to take a while to make automatic so I don't have to think about it. Ah well, thanks for the advice.

[SailRace 1]

The other thing you can work on, which is sort of a bandaid fix until you really get used to turning your wrists over, is cut short your follow through.

If it's a pass, don't flick you wrists, use a sort of slice motion to slice the pouck towards your target. It will a) avoid lifting the puck as much, and B) teach you to deliver a beautiful saucer pass, as the slicing mostion will put spin on the puck, so even if it does get airborn, it will hopefully land flat as a pancake and be easy to control.

For shooting, cooncentrate on stopping your follow through lower than you normally would. Physcis dictates how a pucl releases off the end of a stick, and the puck will continue to travel in the direction that your stick stops...so if you stop your follow through lower down, the puck will have a tendency not to carry as much.

Ideally, you do need to learn to curl your wrists, but that's just good technique no matter what blade pattern you use. It gives more spin and more control. But as in any major change to your mechnics, it's going to take a little while to get used to it all.

[Oberon 0]

Get a new blade. It seems silly to adjust your game to fit an easily replaceable piece of equipment, unless there are some other aspects of the Fischer pattern that you absolutely love.

[Neal 41]

Get a new blade. It seems silly to adjust your game to fit an easily replaceable piece of equipment, unless there are some other aspects of the Fischer pattern that you absolutely love.

I hear ya, but the toe flare does make raising the puck nice and easy. If I was still playing almost all D, I'd go back to a closed face blade. Ideally I'll master the wrist curl or the slice and still be able to use the big toe flare without endangering my wingers' teeth.

[SailRace 1]

Get a new blade. It seems silly to adjust your game to fit an easily replaceable piece of equipment, unless there are some other aspects of the Fischer pattern that you absolutely love.

I hear ya, but the toe flare does make raising the puck nice and easy. If I was still playing almost all D, I'd go back to a closed face blade. Ideally I'll master the wrist curl or the slice and still be able to use the big toe flare without endangering my wingers' teeth.

I think that if you like the other aspects of the blade, and you like having the abiliity to roof the puck easily, then stick with it and figure out what to do.

The thing is, you'll actually be teaching yourself how to take a proper slapshot that way. Curling your wrist over top of a shot is a funamental part of a good slapshot. So while another pattern may make it easier not to knock out your wingers, it won't teach you propoer technique.

Trust me...spend a couple of days practicing with the flick of your wrists at the end of a shot, and you'll figure it out in no time, and your shot will have so much more control because of it.

Same goes with the slice passes....you'll learn how to perfectly control a saucer pass for distance and height, and it will add dimensions to your game you never thought you could do.

I figured out my slapshot early. it's alway been my strongest weapon, and i love a big open heel, like Lecavalier or Lidstorm curves, but i had to learn how to keep my shot down when someone was screening. But if i've got a wide open shot, i can pick the upper corners like it's nobody's business. I was top or second top scorer on my team as a defenseman, a couple of seasons in a row.

then, i decided to learn how to pass propoerly, and now, i look for that sweet saucer pass every time, which means i'm not scoring goals as much, but i lead the team in assists now, pretty much every season.

[Neal 41]

Thanks guys, I've never been much of a finesse player, but running a guy through the end boards is frowned upon now that I'm playing beer league, so I guess I'll have to learn how to play now.