synthetic ice

[riks92]

hey
i go on synthetic ice often and i use different skates but does anyone have any advice in how to prevent the blade from becoming so dull so easily? i know it gets dull quickly on synthetic ice but anyone have any info on how to be able to have a more durable edge?

(i have the y-stick thing to try to keep a good edge too for my skates)

thanks

[PotsdGoal26]

I usually just bring a sweet stick with me and swipe after ever drill ...

[S2daj]

While we're on topic of synthetic....

Do you guys think that it actually helps to practice on synthetic ice? and i mean like for T-glides and other crease movements..

I have heard that shuffling is impossible etc..

i might have a chance to practice on some now and then, and was wondering if its worth the hassle.

[PotsdGoal26]

I believe so ...not so much for your slides ... but footwork percision and just over all seeing that many shots will really improve your game ..its also pretty rough on your body ....

[Damion]

What you can or cant do on synthetic ice depends 50% on you and 50% on the kind of synthetic ice in question.

If it is a good kind of synthetic ice it will take you a few sessions to get used to it then you will be able to do all movements and beter yet the added resistance willo make you a stronger more explosive skater.

[gola223]

it is not the same feel as ice and bugs the hell out of me plus i sweat like crazy in the little synthetic room. given that my team gets two hours of free ice during the day in the off-season, i would much rather be out on the real thing working on my game. who needs that dumb plastic crap ruining your skates? if you dont have ice available then i guess it does the job

[GoalieGal]

Originally Posted by S2daj

While we're on topic of synthetic....

Do you guys think that it actually helps to practice on synthetic ice? and i mean like for T-glides and other crease movements..

I have heard that shuffling is impossible etc..

i might have a chance to practice on some now and then, and was wondering if its worth the hassle.

I think its definitely worth it. It's certainly better than doing nothing at all. I've just started training on it; I've been to three sessions. I'm not completely used to it yet but getting better each time. I actually found that shuffles are easier on the synthetic ice because there's less resistance. But actual skating moves are more difficult. However, I'm not doing skating drills like I do on ice; I'm taking shots and doing positioning drills, if that makes any sense. So its definitely helping me with my conditioning and with save movements and recoveries and that sort of thing.

What makes me nuts is how dull it makes my blades. I use the sweet stick too, but by the end of a session I've got no inside edge at all when I step onto "real" ice. I have to get them sharpened after each time, which I don't think is good, since I go every week. Will the blades on my skates wear down from being sharpened so frequently?

[twopadstacka]

By any chance do you New Jersey goalies go to either The Hockey Stop or Give Em Nothing?

BTW synthetic ice has 3X the friction of regular ice. Its crazy how strong your legs get after a couple sessions. I agree the only downside is the wear on the blades.

[GoalieGal]

I go to Hockey Stop. Where's Give Em Nothing?

[Damion]

Sharpening once a week is not a big deal at all chances are if you are playing allot your skates will break down before you run out of blade or if you are still growing youy will grow out of them before you run out of blade.

However the sweet stick is a band aid fix and although it makes a noticeable difference in how sharp your skates feel. They also cause more blade to be taken to regain a proper edge at your next sharpening.

I would not make using one a habit. it would be O.K in a game situation if you absolutly lost an edge but other than that I would steer clear.

Ice time is important but if you also train on synthetic ice you will deffinatly notice large gains in your skating power over training and practicing on ice alone.

[GoalieGal]

Thanks for the sharpening info.

I'm on the ice about twice a week... so, yeah I'm definitely still getting ice time. I wish it could be more but I need to keep earning a paycheck!

But to bring it back to the topic at hand... how the heck do they "resurface" synthetic ice? I saw a video on youtube and they were dragging some sort of heavy-looking fabric thing behind them to resurface it.

[Damion]

Synthetic ice dosn't really get resurfaced like regular ice (at least the few kinds that I have seen)

It is obviously quite a bit harder than regular ice and it more or less resurfaces itself as it is slowly being scraped away by skates.

This leaves small shavings that should be swept off or vacumed up ocasionaly

It does need to be kept very clean and free of dirt and such.

Some kinds are periodicly sprayed with a silcon type spray that aids in gliding.

On ice twice a week?
Do you mean the synthetic icce or actual ice.?

If I were you I wouldn't worry about sharpening your skates once or even twice a week.

[GoalieGal]

On actual ice twice a week, synthetic ice once a week.

Thanks for the info. Glad sharpening the skates so much won't be a problem.

[profly_coach]

I used to take my son to a synthetic ice set-up when he was a beginner. It had a puck machine and was great for creating the "motor control programs" beginning goalies need to learn the game.
Synthetic ice seems to have more value to forwards and d-men as far as skating goes. The extra drag inherent to it makes it a great conditioning tool for them.
I don't feel it's too good for goalies, however. As others have noted in this thread, you can't really move properly on it, up or down. It's hard on skates and pads and those shavings are almost impossible to get off your stuff.
When the training center went out of business, I made my son some inline goal skates and created a mini-training center in my basement. We still use it today from time to time. Other than not having a puck machine, i think he gets the same benefit.

[Hockeywall33]

The Synthetic ice is great for training.

Here are a few reasons I have found why it is good training up at the Canadian Goaltending Academy in Barrie this season.

1) You can't cheat. If you cheat, try to stop with your weight shifted back or anything to that extent, you will fall/wipe out. You need to have hard crisp stops.

2)You MUST put lots of power in your strides/shuffles/ slides. If you try to glide you will stop well short of your desired ending point. By using your leg strength and constantly having hard pushes, it will translate into faster, harder, crisp skating. It has helped my movement around the crease with footwork.

3) It is one hell of a workout.

I found it was fine to get up and down, If you cheated or leaned back/anything to that extent you will screw up. You can correct some of the bad habits you have on the ice. Getting the shavings off my pads were not a problem(I have all black pads by the way).

You have to work harder while doing drills, and it is a good alternative when ice is not available to train. Going to The training center i've never been worked out that hard in a hour session.

The drills are constant with a 5minute break at the half hour mark that your pretty much begging for after 6 or 7 of these skating drills .