Roller or Ice

[sitzlejd 0]

Which do you guys think causes more injuries, assuming the ice is no checking?

[twolinepass 0]

I voted roller just because people tend to wear less protection and that might lead to more injuries. And all the hockey injuries I have are because of roller.

[althoma1 574]

I voted ice - I've played in various recreational roller leagues for 16 years or so and have never sustained injuries that caused me to miss games (bruises, minor strains, sure, but nothing serious). During the same time period I've been injured in ice about 5 times and 3 of the 5 were in a non-contact ice league (all of which kept me out for at least several weeks). Here's why I think that is:

• There's more space in roller because it's 4 on 4
• The puck is lighter in roller...one of my injures was a broken finger after a shot to my hand in ice. It may not have been broken with the lighter roller puck.
• Generally there's less contact in roller than even non-contact ice and people tend to be more aggressive in ice leagues.
• At full speed, ice is faster - lead to a knee sprain for me years ago after a full speed collission in ice where I slid into the boards knee first.
• You can get caught in ruts on ice. You can slip in a wet spot in roller, but I think the ruts are worse (a second degree ankle sprain after getting caught in a rut and light contact supports that in my case)

[wetwilly17 6]

i agree with althoma. ice is more dangerous. with inline, i got more upper body bruises because of the lack of shoulder pads. but they are just minor bruises, nothing serious. the more serious injuries are more likely to occur in ice:

1) ice hockey is faster skating and you are able to turn much faster/sharper and stop much faster.

2) 5 on 5 means more contact and less open ice compared to 4 on 4 even though the inline rink is smaller

3) even in adult non-checking leagues, ice games are rougher/more physical than inline (everywhere i've played) and the refs allow more contact and expect you to stay on your skates more.

4) with ice, there is much more danger with the boards. since you can skate faster, the pace is faster, and you slide way more when you fall there is much more danger of going into the boards hard on ice.

[ts.krajewski 0]

I voted roller, for the reason I have had more pain personally playing roller over ice. That being said ice I say has a greater chance of long lasting injures with it being physical and all.

[Chadd 916]

The one you aren't used to playing

[gxc999 7]

 I said roller for two reasons. 1) Less protection and 2) people think you get injured less often so some use that as an excuse to be negligent or reckless.

[mhkehoe 1]

I chose ice for many of the same reasons above:

1.) Ice puck is heavier and seems to cause more damage. I have no fear of the roller puck hitting my skate/shin pad, ice pucks I still worry a bit

2.) Ruts in the ice, I broke my ankle about 10 years ago when my skate got caught in one.

3.) The general speed, there are a lot of ways your body can go funny into the boards.

4.) Skate blades, I'd rather be run over my roller blades.

5.) Ice is a bit more physical, even in non-contact.

[Brian Harte 1]

I've played roller for a long time and never really seen any big injuries. Little bruises here and there from blocking a shot or taking a slash, but overall I think roller seems pretty "safe".

I'd imagine ice would offer much more of an opportunity to get injured.

[sickwilly 37]

I'd vote for ice for a lot of the already-mentioned reasons - ruts, heavier pucks, more bodies, more aggressive (from what I've seen), and skate blades.

[Fisticuffs 0]

I'm not really sure. Most of the injuries I've sustained playing ice hockey (in fact, every injury worth a trip to the doc) was sustained playing check ice hockey, and mostly the result of body checks.

I think ice tends to be faster, and more run and gun, so there tend to me more opportunities for high speed body contact, even in a non-check setting. The more controlled style of play in inline lends itself to less body contact. Obviously, with ice, you also have sharp blades that add a different dynamic.

In inline, players tend to wear less padding (because the facilities are often very warm). The inline pucks are also much less predictable in flight than an ice hockey puck. Inline pucks seem to get some air under them and take some weird turns in the air. That can add some danger to the game. As an experienced inline player, I find the inline playing surfaces vary so much, it can also be difficult to stop reliably. Skating full tilt towards the end boards, you're really at risk if the surface has any moisture on it.

I could go either way really. I think in a high level inline game, you're probably safer than a high level ice game, since the high level players can use their ability to mitigate some of the dangers better in inline, whereas in ice hockey, high level play exacerbates the dangers. As for beer league, its probably about even.