Weird puck trajectory

[Zavesa]

Well, every once in a while, I get a slapper from forwards in which the puck changes its path.
Ice pucks fly in a straight line, InLine pucks sometimes don't.

Example: The guy winds up and releases, I go into motion to glove it and the damned red thingy (puck )
turns downward, usually about 5-3 meters infront of me (15-10 ft) and goes in under my glove.
I've had some going in a slight curve to a side and up over the years,
but mostly on theese cases it just turns down (I guess kind of like a curve ball...).

I think the reason for this is the puck weight (lighter than rubber puck) and that it has small holes trough it.
So when it grabs air, this kind of tips it and along with the spin of the puck causes it to turn.

If find it easier to stop redirections than this as it seems to be random and completly unpredictable
(I have this D on my team that says he does this on purpose and a lot of his shots do turn,
so I kind of belive him, but other than him no other player I've faced have ever done it twice against me).

Here's the type of puck we use:
http://jaka.iprom.si/elvodice1/ahi
(this one is all used up )

Haven't had a chance to invetigate if there is any difference in behaveiour of new and used pucks.

Anyone else came across the "curve" puck?

[elite]

In my experience, the curve of the shot wholly depends on the talent of the shooter. Generally speaking, crappy players have no idea how to take a slapshot (or other shot), and so their shot ends up with a wobbly puck coming at you. Sometimes you'll come across a good player that just so happens to have a crappy slapshot and does this very thing.

I think it has very little to do with the puck. In fact, I've used many, many pucks, and I haven't noticed any trends. You'll find some pucks are more bouncy or tend to come up on the blade a bit, but in my experience it usually depends on the player, not the puck.

But you're right that those shots are incredibly hard to stop. Like you said, I find it easier to stop a redirection because I can become big and attempt stopping it. Wobbling or curving shots are wholly unpredictable, and it's a game of guess & hope whether or not it turns into your body or over your glove.

[PatrickE34]

This is just my experience, take it for what it's worth:

I had a guy last night take a shot that started "dipping" about 5-7 feet away from me. Luckily it was headed for my chest, so when it dipped, it just hit lower on my body. If it had started dipping earlier (or I hadn't been at the top of the crease), it probably would have gone five hole. This guy was a pretty good player, and knew how to take a slapper.

I personally don't know the reason behind it, I don't think it's the puck per say. Maybe the lighter weight of the puck is a factor... Anyway, I see the puck dip more than I see it curve, but I don't see either often at all. Last night's "dip" was the first in probably 2 or 3 months. (Which is a lot of games for me.)

I do agree with elite that guys with crappy slapshots drive me nuts with those "wobbly" shots. Next time, just use the trusty golf swing shot instead!

[Beeker]

I have seen this also. Im wondering if with the velocity of the shot and the spin, as the air passes through a puck with holes it makes it wobble or change direction?

[Matt The Hammer]

It's common. Since the puck is not solid and has recesses and holes in the surface it's going to change directions as it moves through the air. This is similar to the seams on a baseball affecting the trajectory of the ball.

[Dharmaboy]

I am a ball hockey goalie.

try catching a sinker or a riser or a screw ball that should be coming in straight.

damn ball hockey ball does a splitter and goes in top corner when you think you got it.

now thats annoying.

[PatrickE34]

Originally Posted by Dharmaboy

I am a ball hockey goalie.

try catching a sinker or a riser or a screw ball that should be coming in straight.

damn ball hockey ball does a splitter and goes in top corner when you think you got it.

now thats annoying.

I play some ball hockey on Tuesdays in a "social club" league, and it's frustrating to no end. I put my glove up to snag a shot, only to have it curve down and to my right, ending up in back of the net.

My favorite was when it curved out of the path of my glove, hit me in the side of the helmet and rolled in.

[Webster]

Originally Posted by PatrickE34

I play some ball hockey on Tuesdays in a "social club" league, and it's frustrating to no end. I put my glove up to snag a shot, only to have it curve down and to my right, ending up in back of the net.

My favorite was when it curved out of the path of my glove, hit me in the side of the helmet and rolled in.

Tell me about i hate that with ball hockey.
you put ur hand out to glove it then suddenly it drops down slightly and goes in and you look like a compleate fool lol

[chrisco]

I don't play inline, but I have played goal on ice for almost 40 years. One day during a scrimmage session years ago, one guy kept taking slapshots that came high and hard, and then about 10 feet in front of me took a sudden drop, much like a frisbee does. After about half a dozen goals on me, I approached him asked asked him about his shot. He proceded to explain how he holds the stick and puts a vicious spin on the puck, causing it to drop. I've seen it occasionally since, but never again have I seen it done consistently. Good thing, because it is almost impossible to stop.

[Zavesa]

Theese are not "wobblers" but real slappers from guys who know how to take a shot.
Never gotten one of theese curved shots from a noob (they tend to shoot pucks which drop due to lack of power or unability to make a proper shot, mostly taking shots with their heads down and not knowing which direction the puck will go).

However, even the good players seem to be unable to "reproduce" this kind of shots (except this D of mine I mentioned, he can make 2-3 out of 10 if given time to set up).

So I concluding that it has to do something with the puck (holes and theese "pegs" on which the puck has contact with the surface), spin and air.

Thinking about it, sometimes I hear the "curved" puck whiste (zzzzzzzzz kind of sound) and the noise only comes from newer pucks. Used ones never "sound" like that.

This is similar to the seams on a baseball affecting the trajectory of the ball.

This makes sense.

I don't play inline, but I have played goal on ice for almost 40 years. One day during a scrimmage session years ago, one guy kept taking slapshots that came high and hard, and then about 10 feet in front of me took a sudden drop, much like a frisbee does.

If you know he can make this kind of shot and does it on regular basis, it's also easier to adjust since you can expect the puck to turn down.

The problem is when you don't expect it. And since almost nobody can shoot it without being lucky, you think its gonna be a normal straight shot.

[Matt The Hammer]

You can make your shot consitantly (sp?) move with the motion of your wrists in the shot. Like Chrisco stated that the shot has a bunch of spin - aka "english".

You can do this in table tennis (the amatuers call it "ping pong") with a smooth light ball.

[Dharmaboy]

Originally Posted by PatrickE34

I play some ball hockey on Tuesdays in a "social club" league, and it's frustrating to no end. I put my glove up to snag a shot, only to have it curve down and to my right, ending up in back of the net.

My favorite was when it curved out of the path of my glove, hit me in the side of the helmet and rolled in.

Yeah seen that too.
Guy took a shot from the left circle, I went down to grab it with my glove because it was a PP for the opposing team. Hit my glove at the thumb, then off my mask and then went in top corner.

gotta love it.

[NJDev803]

I play inline and one of the players on my team is an excellent player and has been playing for about 15 years, an his slapshots occasionally dip and curve on me...I noticed that the longer the puck is in the air the more likely it is to change direction...so if its a high slapshot that could potentially make its way all the way across the rink, it will dip and curve more than would a shot 6 inches off the ground...

...ALTHOUGH I have taken slapshots that were 6 inches off the ground and they dipped, bounced off the ground, changed direction and squeaked by me

Point is, it happens occasionally, regardless of the player's skill

[stlgoalie1973]

i played roller for years and my roomate and a couple of other guys had this mastered....they used it mostly on snap shots ...i never figured it out exactly but they usually came on snap shots not full slappers and usually seemed to have an abbreviated follow through....darn knuckleballs i called them.....my roomate was the master as he would make them dip and hit the floor 5 feet in front of you...then you get to guess how high it will bounce and play catch the bouncing puck....hardest shots to save by far....

no answers from me, just sympathy

[kgjg920]

I think the biggest challenge is that you have to watch how much you come out to cut down the angle in ball hockey, cause even worse are the guys who whoot it wide, and then it breaks behind you and goes in. Makes you look clueless.