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Damnation! I never finished updating/refining this entry, originally posted in my beloved winter sports comm (I just learned way too much more about all the athletes and I didn't even know where to start) and tonight is the sled hockey episode of Ace of Cakes! I will just take a quick skim through and then post what I've got. Sorry it's so bulky and yet incomplete!
At the Paralympic level, sled hockey is a sport for athletes with lower limb disabilities (at a more casual level, anyone willing to be strapped into a sled can give it a try). All the same rules as stand-up hockey, same rink, same puck, same nets. But the players are in sleds (sledges if you're not in the US, we're the only people who don't call it sledge hockey) which have two blades on the bottom, and they have two shorter sticks that they use to propel themselves around the ice.
Team USA's adorable captain, Andy Yohe, and a player on the Japanese team model their sled hockey gear for you. ;) (Andy is sadly not featured in this entry, despite his endearing awkwardness in interviews.)
There are two blades but at the highest level I think they're about an inch or so apart so the balance involved is pretty prodigious. And the sticks are about 2 feet long and have a regular blade on one end, then pointy picks on the other end that are used to propel yourself. So players slide their hands up and down the stick to switch from moving to shooting. You can shoot with both hands or sort of dribble, and pass the puck underneath your sled, it's all really awesome. The puck handling just looks really, really cool. For me it definitely makes it even more fun to watch than stand-up hockey.
Although the two sports are pretty much the same - I think sled hockey might have a slightly different pace but it could also just be the teams I've watched. But yeah, apart from the sleds and sticks, I think one of the only rule differences is a new penalty: t-boning. The players check the living hell out of each other, but you are not allowed to drive the point of your sled into another player - no perpendicular hits in the sleds. It's a really physical game, though - and when you get checked in sled hockey, you're not going into the glass. You're being slammed right into the unforgiving lower wall of the rink. Also, very sharp picks.
Here, you can discover sled hockey alongside Rick Mercer (and Canada's 2006 gold medal winning team! yeeeah!):
Rick Mercer is my hero, by the way. He's the only way I get to see Paralympians get interviewed - he hung out with Brian and Rob McKeever and it made me so happy. I wish there was someone doing that in the US. . . (and just more people covering the Paralympics in general, obvs.)
Here's a sample of the game itself:
Normally I hate videos filmed from the crowd, and I don't like sports videos without commentary, but I think this one is really good. Of course it's Canada and Norway whereas I plan to focus on Team USA, but oh well! Try not to get mental whiplash or anything. (I initially focused on Team USA because I was heartbroken about team Canada, who didn't win a medal - and I still am heartbroken, but now I'm just absolutely, utterly in love with USA's sled hockey team. Actually thanks to the research I did to initially put this post together for _extreme!)
Team USA plays a hard, fast game of hockey. They like to send the puck out to open ice and have one of their team members race for it, because they know they'll be able to get to it first. They the youngest team in the competition. All but three of them were under 25 when they won gold, and 7 of them were under 21. XD
( Team USA awaits you! Or, well a couple of them! )
Anyway, you should all tune into Ace of Cakes on the Food Network at 10PM tonight is what I'm saying. 9PM central!
At the Paralympic level, sled hockey is a sport for athletes with lower limb disabilities (at a more casual level, anyone willing to be strapped into a sled can give it a try). All the same rules as stand-up hockey, same rink, same puck, same nets. But the players are in sleds (sledges if you're not in the US, we're the only people who don't call it sledge hockey) which have two blades on the bottom, and they have two shorter sticks that they use to propel themselves around the ice.
Team USA's adorable captain, Andy Yohe, and a player on the Japanese team model their sled hockey gear for you. ;) (Andy is sadly not featured in this entry, despite his endearing awkwardness in interviews.)
There are two blades but at the highest level I think they're about an inch or so apart so the balance involved is pretty prodigious. And the sticks are about 2 feet long and have a regular blade on one end, then pointy picks on the other end that are used to propel yourself. So players slide their hands up and down the stick to switch from moving to shooting. You can shoot with both hands or sort of dribble, and pass the puck underneath your sled, it's all really awesome. The puck handling just looks really, really cool. For me it definitely makes it even more fun to watch than stand-up hockey.
Although the two sports are pretty much the same - I think sled hockey might have a slightly different pace but it could also just be the teams I've watched. But yeah, apart from the sleds and sticks, I think one of the only rule differences is a new penalty: t-boning. The players check the living hell out of each other, but you are not allowed to drive the point of your sled into another player - no perpendicular hits in the sleds. It's a really physical game, though - and when you get checked in sled hockey, you're not going into the glass. You're being slammed right into the unforgiving lower wall of the rink. Also, very sharp picks.
Here, you can discover sled hockey alongside Rick Mercer (and Canada's 2006 gold medal winning team! yeeeah!):
Rick Mercer is my hero, by the way. He's the only way I get to see Paralympians get interviewed - he hung out with Brian and Rob McKeever and it made me so happy. I wish there was someone doing that in the US. . . (and just more people covering the Paralympics in general, obvs.)
Here's a sample of the game itself:
Normally I hate videos filmed from the crowd, and I don't like sports videos without commentary, but I think this one is really good. Of course it's Canada and Norway whereas I plan to focus on Team USA, but oh well! Try not to get mental whiplash or anything. (I initially focused on Team USA because I was heartbroken about team Canada, who didn't win a medal - and I still am heartbroken, but now I'm just absolutely, utterly in love with USA's sled hockey team. Actually thanks to the research I did to initially put this post together for _extreme!)
Team USA plays a hard, fast game of hockey. They like to send the puck out to open ice and have one of their team members race for it, because they know they'll be able to get to it first. They the youngest team in the competition. All but three of them were under 25 when they won gold, and 7 of them were under 21. XD
( Team USA awaits you! Or, well a couple of them! )
Anyway, you should all tune into Ace of Cakes on the Food Network at 10PM tonight is what I'm saying. 9PM central!
