Who here plays(ed) on Olmypic Size Ice?

[sc37 0]

With so many teams in the leagues I play in, they schedule games on every single rink in the area. Well, we got the unlucky draw last night and wound up on the Olympic sized ice for our game last night. It was my first experience, and hopefully only one ever. All I have to say is, it is a helluva lot more skating...and all the skating still got you no where it seemed. Defending the 2 on 1 wasn't pretty either. I was the last man back, and I thought I was much closer to the middle of the ice than I was and wound up being a ton of space that a pass could have been slipped through. Just glad it was a bad pass made by the opposing team. Not fun, I can see why there might be an adjustment period for the Euros coming over and vice versa.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

One of the teams we play has Olympic ice as there home ice..

It is different to play on, theres alot more room to work, and its harder to defend. I think you skate a little more, but not enough that I cared a whole lot. .

I can tell why some people are in favor of the NHL going to Olympic ice, it makes alot more room for plays to be made. Its fun to play on from time to time

[DP_57 1]

I played on one like 3 weeks ago and IMO, the game is still the same, nothing different.

[marc_9 0]

i played on one last year just a little bit more skating didnt notice it that much.

[deadmanjolt 1]

In my house league we have both an NHL and an Olympic rink. I typically play my pickups on the Oly rink too. I like the extra space, and I like having more room to skate (maybe cause I think I'm quick).

[ctaz 0]

oh come on SC37, I love playing on Easton 1 (Columbus' only olympic sheet), maybe it's because when I was playing in high school I was fast so it gave me a lot more room to work with to skate around the D. Personally I think it opens up the ice a lot more which makes it easier to transition quickly into the offensive zone. It's not much different from a standard rink to defend against as I've notice a lot of times that players don't seem to use the extra space they have. I have no idea why everyone else hates it though, you'll probably end up playing on it a couple of times, but you don't have to deal with it that often.

[M-Cohen 0]

Played on olympic ice, loved it. I wish every game I had was on ice that size.

[All Torhs Team 0]

Played on olympic ice, loved it. I wish every game I had was on ice that size.

I play on it almost every weekend, sometimes longer. I love it. If your a speed team you guys will dominate. If you guys dont have as much speed or if your a big defensmen then youll need to adjust your gap.

Gap control is key.

[jon93 0]

how much bigger is oly to NHL?

[ktang 34]

I played a few seasons in Europe (was born in Canada and grew up with the smaller ice), and that extra room makes it a very different game. You can't really forecheck (or at least my teams couldn't), it was easier to gain the zone, cycling really worked, regroups were easier, and like the other guy I was lost a few times.

[DP_57 1]

for cycling it's true, but not for forecheck or regroups, if the pressure and the system is really good, it changes nothing. BTW, that game, we won 2-0. So it didn't give more goal than smaller rinks.

[wickedwrister 0]

My son's team plays on Olympic size ice every now and again. His team is all about speed and puck possession. Works very well for his team.

[Miike 1]

Our old rink in the new two surface building is one of only 3 Olympic Size ice surfaces in Nova Scotia. We play on it now and then, played on it all my home games up until last year, and i'm in Midget now, so i've played on it lots. Love it for the skating teams, can be used to your advantage alot.

[hyprlte 0]

Ive played many games on olyimpic ice, but to be honest i didnt notice THAT big of a difference

[End_Of_Line 0]

i play the only olympic sheet in NC. seems a lot more open to me but alas i'm just a n00b right now to hockey.

[Edge 0]

I play on them all the time and love it. It really benefits the players who like to skate and make long passes. As a defenseman, it is more difficult to play 1-1s and such because more room is provided for the forward, but it is not that big of an issue.

[RadioGaGa 162]

You realize how big it is....when you are on the far boards from your bench and turn for a line change....it looks like a MILE away.

[JR Boucicaut 3803]

15ft wider to get around the defenseman still playing between the hash marks...

Played 6 years between pro/oly

[EBondo 233]

I love Olympic sized rinks for the same reason most of you have already said. There's so much more room to work with on 1-on-1's and behind the net, especially. Sure, it's more tiring, but fatigue is the key to skating hard. When you're tired, you know you've skated hard.

[Adam91 0]

One of my local rinks is Olympic sized, I love having all the extra room out there

[SWP27 0]

At York's Ice Garden there is an olympic size ice.. I could barely make out the goalie from one end :lol:

[BK 0]

Our rink is very figure skating oriented..

3 indoor rinks under one roof. 2 olympic sized and 1 nhl size.

The fun part is, the NHL size is covered with astroturf and they they use it for indoor soccer ONLY. Olympic is the ONLY thing I skate on. It also gives us an advantage because we are used to skating longer distances so its a cakewalk to play against teams who have regulation rinks (and vice versa).

[GoalMaster 0]

yeah we play city teams and up in sibley they have olympic sized ice :D

[Quintin 16]

Our rink here has Olympic sized ice. Never played on anything smaller I don't think. I've probably skated in a super small rink but when you're a kid, everything's huge.

[All Torhs Team 0]

If this is your first time playing on one, and you've got a coach, he'll give you the whole

"This rink is wider so your gona get tired quicker so drink lots of water and make your shifts shorter"

If you dont have a coach then you get out of the lecture