Ice to Roller

[Cattman 0]

I've seen plenty of threads about guys going from roller to ice, but who has gone the other way? Any tips?

I'm just asking because I'm moving soon and there isn't an ice rink near one of the places I may move to. It's ironic, I live in Florida now and I play ice. I might move to Maryland, and the ice rink is over an hour away.

[twolinepass 0]

Forget anything you know about defense

I currently play both and what I have noticed:

Roller is faster... some people here say ice is faster but my roller rink is 15 feet shorter and we have no offsides so its pretty fast

There is no center so one forward has to play deepish on offense

Do not hit anyone, even in non check ice leagues you can play the body but in roller it will get called

Roller tends to have more "see my moves" people who can stick handle like crazy

Buy roller girdle and pants, they are a lot cooler than ice pants and socks

Dont wear shoulders

[RichardsIsTheMan 0]

I originally started with roller when I was 8 years old and makeing the transition to ice was tough for me, especially stopping. After I started playing ice, I gave roller a break for years. When I came back to it, I felt like I had never played before. It was crazy.

Stopping is completely different, that's for sure. Also, roller tends to be all about being flashy. Stickhandling that ball tends to develop really soft hands, unless of course you're playing with a roller pcuk, which I don't ahve much experience with. Also, positions tend to not be as important in roller, especially in 4 aside hockey.

[Fisticuffs 0]

Forget anything you know about defense

I currently play both and what I have noticed:

Roller is faster... some people here say ice is faster but my roller rink is 15 feet shorter and we have no offsides so its pretty fast

There is no center so one forward has to play deepish on offense

Do not hit anyone, even in non check ice leagues you can play the body but in roller it will get called

Roller tends to have more "see my moves" people who can stick handle like crazy

Buy roller girdle and pants, they are a lot cooler than ice pants and socks

Dont wear shoulders

In my experience, as you move towards higher-end inline, the actual plays become much faster, but the flow of the game is much slower. With no-offside rule, the offensive team can slow play down and work the puck around slowing the pace of the game. Highly skilled teams can control the puck so well, that they can settle play down for 20 or 30 seconds and look for their opportunity. In ice hockey, the blue line restricts the attacking team's ability to do that, resulting in more back-and-forth hockey. Inline also seems to have more flow from a positioning standpoint.

If playing inline doesn't make your hands better, you're doing something wrong.

[W.Heinle 0]

Dont wear shoulders

True dat. Last spring my son (12u) was playing a team at the Narch qualifier at Dumars.

The biggest kid on the other team was wearing shoulder pads.

He and all his teammates were chirping and razzing the kid about his shoulder pads all game.

It was hilarious

[Raft 0]

The biggest thing I notice with the Roller game is that it is more about puck possession than anything else. It is a completely different game from Ice but still fun and the non-stop action and high scoring are always a plus. I have been playing both for years and like both for different reasons but if I had to choose, I would definitely say that I prefer Ice Hockey to Roller.