Biomechanics of Ice Hockey Slap Shots: Which Stick Is Best?(Report‪)‬

Biomechanics of Ice Hockey Slap Shots: Which Stick Is Best? At its historical core, hockey is a game rooted in the natural environment. First played on the frozen lakes and rivers of upper North America, ice hockey--begun as the Native American game of shinny--featured carved wooden poles as sticks and hand-sewn fabrics as balls (Oxendine, 1988). As Europeans took up the game, they applied their technologies to this traditional equipment, gradually yet substantially changing the hockey stick by constructing it out of multiple pieces of wood, curving the stick blade, and wrapping the stick in fiberglass and laminate plastics to increase its durability and performance (Pearsall, Montgomery, Rothsching, & Turcotte, 1999).